In 1856, Ralph Collier patented the first mixer with rotating parts in Baltimore, Maryland. E.P. Griffith followed with his whisk patent in England in 1857. In 1859, J.F. and E.P. Monroe patented a hand-turned rotary egg beater in the US, later acquired by the Dover Stamping Company. Their design, known as the “Dover beater,” became iconic.
In 1885, Rufus Eastman invented the first mixer with an electric motor in America. The Hobart Manufacturing Company, known for commercial mixers, introduced a pivotal model in 1914. The KitchenAid by Hobart and Sunbeam Mixmaster (from 1910) were among the earliest electric mixer brands in the US.
In 1908, Herbert Johnston of Hobart invented an electric standing mixer inspired by a baker’s dough-mixing technique. By 1915, his 20-gallon mixer became standard in large bakeries. In 1919, Hobart launched the Kitchen Aid Food Preparer for home use.
These innovations revolutionized baking and cooking, popularizing electric mixers domestically by the 1920s.
