Earl Tupper
Earl Tupper | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1907 |
| Died | October 5, 1983 (aged 76) |
| 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.
Biography
Tupper was born on a farm on Cates Hill in Berlin, New Hampshire, United States. Earl only stayed in Berlin until he was 3 years old before moving. After studying at Bryant University (then Bryant & Stratton), 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.[1]
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.[2]
Tupper founded the Tupperware Plastics Company in 1938 and in 1946 introduced Tupper Plastics to hardware and department stores. Around 1948, he joined forces with Brownie Wise who caught his attention after she made a lengthy phone call to his office in South Grafton, Massachusetts, in which she explained her extraordinary success selling Tupperware via home parties. Based on a marketing strategy developed by Wise, Tupperware was withdrawn from sale in retail stores in the early 1950s and Tupperware "parties" soon became popular in homes. This was the first instance of "party-plan" marketing, which has been successfully emulated by other companies. The Corporate headquarters was moved from Massachusetts to Orlando, Florida.[when?] After a falling-out with Wise which resulted in her 1958 dismissal, Tupper sold The Tupperware Company for $16 million to Rexall. Shortly afterward, he divorced his wife, gave up his U.S. citizenship to avoid taxes, and bought an island in Costa Rica. In 1984, the year after he died, the patent on Tupperware expired.[2]
References
- ^ Freeth, Nick (2005). Made in America: from Levis to Barbie to Google. St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company. p. 227. ISBN 9780760322703. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- ^ a b "People & Events: Earl Silas Tupper (1907-1983)". Tupperware!. PBS American Experience. December 11, 2003. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
External links
- Earl S. Tupper Papers, ca. 1914–82 Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.