The History of Toasters

In 1893, Alan MacMasters created the first electric toaster in Scotland. The device was called the “Eclipse Toaster” and was manufactured by the Crompton Company. In 1909, the device was reinvented in the United States by Frank Shailor, and shortly thereafter, General Electric introduced the toaster for home use. Early toasters only toasted one side of bread at a time and had to be monitored and manually shut off when the toast appeared done. Then the timed pop-up toaster was invented in 1919 by Charles Strite. After sliced bread was popularized by Wonder Bread in the 1930s, the modern pop-up toaster became a fixture in American kitchens. In fact, the toaster is the most common household appliance today!