Editing Otto Frederick Rohwedder

{{Short description|20th-century American engineer; inventor of the first commercial bread slicer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Otto Frederick Rohwedder
| image        = Otto Frederick Rohwedder.jpg
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1880|7|28}}
| birth_place  = [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport]], [[Iowa]], [[United States]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1960|11|8|1880|7|7}}
| death_place  = [[Concord, Michigan|Concord]], [[Michigan]], United States
| nationality  = American
| occupation   = Inventor, engineer
| spouse       = {{Marriage|Carrie S. Johnson|1905|1955}}
| children     = 2
}}
'''Otto Frederick Rohwedder''' (July 28, 1880 – November 8, 1960) was an American inventor and engineer who created the first automatic [[Sliced bread|bread-slicing machine]] for commercial use.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Byrne |first1=Kerry J. |title=Meet the American who invented sliced bread: Otto Rohwedder, hard-luck hawkeye |url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/meet-american-invented-sliced-bread-otto-rohwedder-hawkeye |access-date=17 May 2024 |work=FOX News |date=17 May 2024}}</ref>  It was first used by the Chillicothe Missouri Baking Company.

==Early life and education==
Rohwedder was born in [[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines]], [[Iowa]] in on July 7, 1880,<ref>{{cite web |title=Fascinating facts about the invention of the Bread Slicer by Otto Rohwedder in 1928. |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430045703/http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/breadslicer.htm |website=The Great Idea Finder |access-date=17 May 2024 |date=7 October 2005}}</ref> the son of Claus and Margaret Rohwedder, of [[ethnic]] [[Germans|German]] descent. He was the second youngest of four brothers and a sister.

Rohwedder and his family lived in [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport]], where he attended [[Davenport Community School District|Davenport public schools]]. He then became an [[Apprenticeship|apprentice]] to a jeweler to learn a trade.

Rohwedder also studied [[optometry]], graduating in 1900 with a degree in [[optics]] from what is now the [[Illinois College of Optometry]] in Chicago. He became a jeweler.

==Marriage and family==
Rohwedder married Carrie S. Johnson in 1905. They settled in [[St. Joseph, Missouri|St. Joseph]], [[Missouri]] and had two children, Margaret and Richard.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geni.com/people/Otto-Rohwedder/4231086936920024600 |website=www.geni.com |access-date=2023-09-16 |title=Otto Frederick Rohwedder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083746/https://www.geni.com/people/Otto-Rohwedder/4231086936920024600 |archive-date=15 Feb 2018}}</ref><ref name="Bread Slicer">[http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/breadslicer.htm "Bread Slicer"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430045703/http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/breadslicer.htm |date=April 30, 2013}}, Ideafinder, accessed December 23, 2009</ref> Carrie died in 1955.<ref name=Argus>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-rock-island-argus/70701448/ |title=Davenport Deaths: Otto F. Rohwedder |newspaper=[[The Rock Island Argus]] |page=4 |date=1960-11-11 |access-date=2024-02-29 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

==Career==
Rohwedder first had a brief career as a jeweler, and became the owner of three jewelry stores in [[St. Joseph, Missouri|St. Joseph]], [[Missouri]]. He used his work with watches and jewelry to invent new machines. Convinced he could develop a bread slicing machine, he sold his jewelry stores to fund the development effort and manufacture the machines.<ref name="Bread Slicer"/>
In 1917 a fire broke out at the factory where Rohwedder was manufacturing his machine. It destroyed his prototype and blueprints. With the need to get funding again, Rohwedder was delayed for several years in bringing the bread slicer to market.

In 1927 Rohwedder successfully designed a machine that not only sliced the bread but wrapped it. He applied for patents to protect his invention and sold the first machine to a friend and baker Frank Bench, who installed it at the Chillicothe Baking Company, in [[Chillicothe, Missouri]], in 1928. The first loaf of sliced bread was sold commercially on July 7, 1928. Sales of the machine to other bakeries increased and sliced bread became available across the country.

Gustav Papendick, a baker in [[St. Louis]], bought Rohwedder's second machine and found he could improve on it. He developed a better way to have the machine wrap and keep bread fresh. He also applied for patents for his concepts.<ref name="Bread Slicer"/>

[[File:Grave of Otto Frederick Rohwedder (1880–1960) at Riverside Cemetery, Albion, Michigan.jpg|thumb|right|Rohwedder's grave at Riverside Cemetery]]

In 1930 [[Continental Baking Company]] introduced [[Wonder Bread]] as a sliced bread. It was followed by other major companies when they saw how the bread was received. By 1932 the availability of standardized slices had boosted sales of automatic, pop-up [[toaster]]s, an invention of 1926 by [[Charles Strite]]. In 1933 American bakeries for the first time produced more sliced than unsliced bread loaves.<ref name="Bread Slicer"/>

That same year Rohwedder sold his patent rights to the Micro-Westco Co. of [[Bettendorf, Iowa]], and joined the company. He became vice-president and sales manager of the Rohwedder Bakery Machine Division.<ref name="Bread Slicer"/>

In 1951, Rohwedder, at age 71, retired from Micro-Westco Co. and moved with his wife Carrie to [[Albion, Michigan|Albion]],  [[Michigan]], where their daughter Margaret (Rohwedder) Steinhauer and his sister Elizabeth Pickerill lived.  Rohwedder died in [[Concord, Michigan]], on November 8, 1960.<ref name=Argus/> He was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Albion.

==Honors and legacy==
* Rohwedder had seven patents approved from 1927–1936 having to do with bread slicing and handling.
* His original bread-slicing machine is in the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]

==References==
{{reflist}}
* [http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6280200 "The best thing since sliced bread?"], ''Mercury News'', Retrieved on July 6, 2007.
{{Portal|Biography}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohwedder, Otto Frederick}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American jewellers]]
[[Category:People from Davenport, Iowa]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Des Moines, Iowa]]
[[Category:American food industry businesspeople]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:20th-century American inventors]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Inventors from Iowa]]