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First
Patented Can Opener
The first tin cans were so thick they had to be hammered
open. As cans became thinner, it became possible to
invent simpler can openers. In 1858, Ezra Warner of
Waterbury, Connecticut patented the first can opener.
The U.S. military used it during the Civil War. In 1866,
J. Osterhoudt patented the tin can with a key opener
that you see with sardine cans.
William Lyman - Classic Can Opener
The inventor of the familiar household can opener was
William Lyman. William Lyman patented a very easy to use
can opener in 1870. The kind with the wheel that rolls
and cuts around the rim of a can. The Star Can Company
of San Francisco improved William Lyman's can opener in
1925 by adding a serrated edge to the wheel. An electric
version of the same type of can opener was first sold in
December of 1931. |
