Alva John Fisher

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Alva John Fisher

1862-1947

American inventor of the domestic electric washing machine. In 1910 he patented a washing machine powered by a small electric motor and equipped with a self-reversing gearbox to ensure that the clothes were not compacted into a solid mass. Named the "Thor" by the Hurley Machine Company of Chicago, this was the forerunner of the modern washing machine.

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