Earl Tupper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Earl Tupper | |
|---|---|
 Earl Tupper |
|
| Born | July 28, 1907 Berlin, New Hampshire, USA |
| Died | October 5, 1983 |
| Nationality | USA |
| Known for | Tupperware |
Earl Silas Tupper (July 28, 1907–October 5, 1983) was the inventor of Tupperware, an airtight plastic container for storing food.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Tupper was born on a farm in Berlin, New Hampshire, USA. After completing school, he began a landscaping and nursery business until the Great Depression forced the business into bankruptcy. He then got a job with the DuPont Chemical Company.
[edit] Creation of Tupperware
Using inflexible pieces of polyethylene slag given to him by DuPont, Tupper purified the slag and molded it to create lightweight, non-breakable containers, cups, bowls, plates, and even gas masks that were used in World War II. He later designed liquid-proof, airtight lids by duplicating the lid of a paint can.
Tupper later founded the Tupperware Plastics Company in 1938, and in 1946, he introduced Tupper Plastics to hardware and department stores. Around 1948, he joined forces with Brownie Wise who caught his attention after a lengthy phone call to his office in S. Grafton, (Farnumsville), Massachusetts. Based on a marketing strategy developed by Brownie Wise, a Detroit native, in the early 1950s, Tupperware was withdrawn from sale in retail stores and Tupperware "parties" soon became popular in homes within the United States and abroad, the first example of "party-plan" marketing which has since been successfully emulated by many others. The Corporate headquarters was moved from Massachusetts to Orlando, FL. After a falling-out with Wise, resulting in her 1958 dismissal, Tupper soon sold The Tupperware Company for $16 million to Rexall (which became Dart Industries in 1969). Shortly afterwards, he divorced his wife, gave up his U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes, and bought himself an island in Central America. In 1984, the year after he died, his patent on Tupperware expired.
[edit] References
- PBS American Experience, People & Events: Earl Silas Tupper (1907-1983)
[edit] External links
- Earl S. Tupper Papers, ca. 1914-1982 Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
