Robert William Hutson (June 20, 1919 – May 20, 2001) was an American entrepreneur, inventor, and dentist who is best known for inventing the Oral-B toothbrush.[1]
Biography
editRobert W. Hutson was born on June 20, 1919, in San Luis Obispo County, California.[2] Hutson was an only child. He grew up in the Watsonville, California area.[3]
Hutson studied dentistry at the University of California, San Francisco, and graduated in 1943.[4]
Robert Hutson served in the United States Navy during World War II. Afterwards, he set up a dental practice near the San Jose Hospital. By 1949, he discovered a new way to make a toothbrush that used hundreds of small filaments of nylon to be both strong and gentle on the gums.[5] Hutson was issued a design patent on October 24, 1950, for the design of the toothbrush[6] and subsequently gained a full patent in 1958.[7] Hutson sold the brush business in the 1960s.[5]
He died on May 20, 2001, a month before his 82nd birthday.[8][9]
References
edit- ^ "Toothbrush". National Museum of American History.
- ^ "Robert W Hutson, Born 06/20/1919 in California | CaliforniaBirthIndex.org". www.californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ Archives, L. A. Times (2001-05-30). "Robert W. Hutson; Dentist Designed Oral-B Toothbrush..." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ Dentistry, University of California, San Francisco School of (1987). University of California, San Francisco. School of Dentistry Yearbook. University of California, San Francisco. School of Dentistry.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Hall, Carl (2001-05-26). "Dr. Robert W. Hutson -- Oral B originator". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ^ US D160604S, Hutson, Robert W., "Toothbrush", published 1950-10-24
- ^ US 2845649, Hutson, Robert W., "Brush", published 1958-08-05
- ^ "Metroactive News & Issues | Metropolis". www.metrosiliconvalley.com.
- ^ https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-may-30-me-4231-story.html