King Camp Gillette
King Camp Gillette (January 5, 1855 - July 9, 1932) developed and patented the safety razor. He is incorrectly known as it's original inventor, though his particular innovation for disposable safety razors (patent US775134) beat out competitors.
Biography
Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and raised in Chicago, Illinois, King Camp Gillette's family was devastated by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
While working as a traveling salesman to support his family in the 1890s, Gillette hit upon an idea. Earlier razor blades needed continuous sharpening, becoming worn out quickly and making them expensive. He realized that a profit could be made by selling a safety razor at a reduced price and then making a profit margin on the inexpensive disposable blades. He developed a blade made out of very thin sheet-steel. Once the blade became dull, it was discarded and replaced by a new one, using the same holder. This has been called the Razor and blades business model, or a "loss leader".
To ultilize his idea, Gillette founded the American Safety Razor Company on September 28, 1901. The company's name was changed in July 1902 to Gillette Safety Razor Company. Gillette obtained a trademark registration (0056921) for his portrait and signature on the packaging. Production began in 1903 when he sold a total of 51 razors and 168 blades. The followng year, 90,884 razors and 123,648 blades were sold, thanks in part to his low prices, automated manufacturing techniques and good advertising. By 1908 they had established manufacturing facilities in the United States, Canada, England, France and Germany. Razor sales reached 450,000 units and blade sales exceeded 70 million units in 1915.
Gillete died in Los Angeles, California, and is buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. The Gillette Company continues to thrive and sells products under a variety of brand names including Gillette, Braun, Oral-B, and Duracell.
Improved and developed
Various safety razors were developed in the mid-1800s but still used a forged blade. The Kampfe Brothers developed in the mid-1870s a type of razor along these lines. Gillette improved these earlier designs of the safety razor and also introduced his true innovation of inexpensive, high profit-margin stamped steel blades (along with his unique business model). The Encyclopædia Britannica, among others, has Razor, The Gillette Company, List of corporate leaders
