A Legacy Not to Be Taken for Granted

As we think about the legacy empowering women have left behind, not all of them will be famous. Some will be known only to a few. Some will have left a great legacy but not be remembered by name but for what they left behind. Josephine Cochran is one of those. She is the woman who invented the first feasible mechanical dishwasher. It was a man by the name of Joel Houghton who came up with a wooden version, but it was Josephine’s patented design that ultimately was picked up by a manufacturer known today as KitchenAid. I imagine that back in 1886 when the patent was issued, Josephine had no idea that she would have made something that most people can’t even imagine living without. I will think about Josephine each day as my life is made a little easier by her legacy.