George Washington (inventor) facts for kids

An early advertisement for G Washington's Coffee from 1914.

George Constant Louis Washington (born May 20, 1871 – died March 29, 1946) was an American inventor and businessman. He was born in Belgium. He is famous for inventing an early way to make instant coffee. He also started the G. Washington Coffee Company to make it in large amounts.

George Washington moved from Belgium to New York in 1897. He tried different jobs before he found a way to make instant coffee. This happened while he was in Central America around 1906 or 1907. He started selling his coffee in 1909. In 1910, he created a company to make it.

His company was based in New York and New Jersey. It grew very successful and became a key supplier for the military during World War I. The company's coffee was advertised in newspapers and on the radio. George Washington became very rich from his company's success. He lived in a large house in Brooklyn and later moved to a country estate in New Jersey in 1927.

In 1943, his company was sold to American Home Products. George Washington passed away shortly after, in 1946. Even though the coffee brand stopped being sold by 1961, his name is still used today for G. Washington's Seasoning & Broth.

Early Life and Family

This is a record from the 1900 United States Federal Census.

George Washington was born in Kortrijk, Belgium, on May 20, 1871. His father, Jean Guillaume Washington, was from England. His mother, Marie Louise Tant, was from Belgium. Because of the laws at the time, George was considered a British citizen. He became an American citizen in May 1918.

He had at least six brothers and sisters. They also moved to different parts of the United States and Central America. Some stories say he was related to U.S. President George Washington, but this is not clear.

George studied chemistry at the University of Bonn in Germany. In December 1895, he married Angeline Céline Virginie Van Nieuwenhuyse, also from Belgium. She was known as "Lina." They arrived in the United States in 1896 or 1897.

The Washington family settled near New York City. They had three children: Louisa (born 1897), Irene (born 1898), and George Jr. (born 1899).

After moving to New York, George Washington started a company that made gas mantles for kerosene lamps. This business was in Jersey City. He stopped this business when electric light bulbs became popular. For a short time, he also owned a camera company. By 1900, at age 29, he was listed as an inventor. He lived in Brooklyn with his family and servants.

Around 1906 or 1907, George Washington tried ranching cattle in Guatemala. While there, he started working on his instant coffee idea. He returned to New York City after about a year. Then, he focused on making coffee. His father stayed in Guatemala and died there in 1912.

Personal Life and Interests

After his coffee business started in 1910, George Washington lived in a large house in Brooklyn. He also owned a country home in Bellport, New York. This estate had a very big concrete swimming pool for its time. He tried to sell this property a couple of times, but it didn't work out. He owned it until 1943.

When his company moved to New Jersey in 1927, he also moved. He bought a large estate called "Franklin Farms" in Mendham.

George Washington loved exotic animals and gardening. He kept many different animals on his properties. At Bellport, people said he often had a bird or monkey on his shoulder. He had rare birds, deer, sheep, goats, and antelope there. At his larger estate in Mendham, he had hundreds of animals, including deer, llamas, and zebras.

He was also an active member of the Lotos Club, a social club in New York City.

Invention and Business Success

This advertisement from 1922 said instant coffee was "pure."

After World War I, the coffee was advertised with the slogan, Went to War! Home Again.

George Washington held more than 20 patents for his inventions. These included inventions for lamps, cameras, and food processing. He was not the very first person to invent instant coffee. Others, like David Strang and Satori Kato, had worked on it before. But George Washington's invention was the first to be made and sold on a very large scale.

Some say he got the idea while in Guatemala. He might have seen dried coffee powder on the edge of a coffee pot. Another doctor in Guatemala, Federico Lehnhoff Wyld, also developed an instant coffee process around the same time. Since Wyld was Washington's doctor, some wonder if their discoveries were connected.

Washington's instant coffee was first sold as "Red E Coffee" in 1909. This name was a play on "ready coffee." The G. Washington Coffee Refining Company started in 1910. His first factory was in Brooklyn. Later, in 1927, the company moved its operations to a new plant in Morris Plains, New Jersey.

The company's advertisements often said the coffee was easy to make, modern, and pure. They even claimed it was better for digestion and wouldn't keep you awake like regular coffee. After World War I, the fact that the American military used his coffee became a big selling point.

The company also sponsored radio shows. From 1930 to 1935, they sponsored The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The show would start with Dr. Watson talking about making a cup of G. Washington coffee.

However, early instant coffee was sometimes thought to taste bad. Many people saw it as just a new idea, not a high-quality product.

George Washington also had some tax issues with the government. This was about how money was shared between him and his company. In 1927, a court ruled against his family in a tax dispute.

His son, George Washington, Jr., worked as the company's treasurer for a while. He was also an inventor, just like his father. He patented a process for photoengraving that was used in newspapers.

Coffee for Soldiers

George Washington's unique instant coffee was very important during World War I. Soldiers needed a quick energy boost, and coffee provided caffeine. The head of the U.S. War Department's coffee section thought it also helped soldiers recover from mustard gas.

The Canadian army used it from 1914. When the American army joined the war in 1917, all the coffee production shifted to meet their needs. Other smaller companies also started making instant coffee to keep up with the huge demand from the Army.

Soldiers liked the instant coffee and even gave it a nickname: "a cup of George." They often drank it cold because they wanted the caffeine boost more than the flavor.

A soldier wrote in a 1918 letter from the trenches:

I am very happy despite the rats, the rain, the mud, the draughts [sic], the roar of the cannon and the scream of shells. It takes only a minute to light my little oil heater and make some George Washington Coffee  ... Every night I offer up a special petition to the health and well-being of Mr. Washington.

During World War I, American emergency food kits included a small packet of double-strength instant coffee for each soldier. It was also used in other military rations. In World War II, the U.S. military again used Washington's coffee. But by then, other major instant coffee brands, like Nescafé, were also available.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1943, American Home Products bought the G. Washington Coffee Refining Company. George Washington then retired. The company was mostly owned by his family. They sold it for shares of American Home Products stock, worth about $1.7 million.

In his last years, George Washington sold his "Franklin Farms" property. He lived in another home in Mendham, New Jersey.

He passed away on March 29, 1946, in Mendham, New Jersey, at age 74. This was three years after his company was sold.

The G. Washington coffee brand was stopped by 1961. His New Jersey factory was sold to Tenco, a part of The Coca-Cola Company. The only part of the brand that still exists today is G. Washington's Seasoning & Broth. This product was first developed in 1938. It was sold by American Home Products in 2000 and is now run by Homestat Farm, Ltd.

Patents

• U.S. Patent 576,523 
• U.S. Patent 576,524 
• U.S. Patent 584,569 
• U.S. Patent 589,051 
• U.S. Patent 593,257 
• U.S. Patent 607,974 
• U.S. Patent 619,059 
• U.S. Patent 706,504 
• U.S. Patent 706,505 
• U.S. Patent 730,498 
• U.S. Patent 745,698 
• U.S. Patent 760,670 
• U.S. Patent 760,671 
• U.S. Patent 760,672 
• U.S. Patent 770,135 
• U.S. Patent 770,836 
• U.S. Patent 777,871 
• U.S. Patent 778,518 
• U.S. Patent 781,317 
• U.S. Patent 1,504,459 
• U.S. Patent 1,512,730 
• U.S. Patent 1,512,731 
• U.S. Patent 1,631,298 
• U.S. Patent 1,631,299 
• U.S. Patent 1,631,302 
• U.S. Patent 1,631,303 

See also

In Spanish: George Washington (inventor) para niños