Marvin Stone

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For the basketball player, see Marvin Stone (basketball).

Marvin Stone
Marvin Stone Photo.png
Stone during the Civil War
Born
Marvin Chester Stone

(1842-04-04)4 April 1842
Portage County, Ohio, U.S.
Died17 May 1899(1899-05-17) (aged 57)
Columbia Road, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Burial placeGreen Mount Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationInventor
Spouse(s)Jane "Jennie" Platt

Marvin Chester Stone ((1842-04-04)4 April 1842 – (1899-05-17)17 May 1899)[1] was an American inventor. He is best known for inventing the modern drinking straw.

Early life[]

Stone was born in Portage County, Ohio in 1842. The son of an inventor, Stone made many useful articles in his boyhood. He was a graduate of Oberlin College, although his course of study was interrupted by his service in the Civil War.[2] During the Civil War, Stone served in the 7th Ohio Regiment.[3] He was injured in the Battle of Lookout Mountain, and sent to Washington D.C. on special duty with the Veteran Reserve Corps.[3]

After college, Stone began a theological course, but abandoned it to go to Washington, D.C. where he was employed as a newspaper correspondent for several years.[2]

Career[]

1895 advertisement for Stone's paper straws

Stone began his career as an inventor by creating a machine to make paper cigarette holders. Stone secured a contract with the W. Duke Sons & Co. and opened a factory in Washington, D.C.[4] to produce cigarette holders for the company's Cameo brand of cigarettes.[5]

Later, Stone developed the modern drinking straw.[2] Prior to Stone's invention, people used natural rye grass straws, which imparted an undesirable grassy flavor in beverages.[6] To combat the problem, Stone made the first drinking straw prototypes by spiraling a strip of paper around a pencil and gluing it at the ends.[7] Next he experimented with paraffin wax-coated manila paper, so that the straw would not get soggy when used. Stone's straws were 8 ½ inches long[8] and had a diameter just wide enough to prevent things like fruit pips from getting lodged in the tube.[9]

Stone received the patent of the "artificial straw" on January 3, 1888. It was made out of paper.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15] By 1890, Stone's factory was producing more drinking straws than cigarette holders.[7]

Stone invented a number of other items during his career, including a kind of fountain pen[3] and an umbrella.[16]

Personal life[]

Stone was married to Jane "Jennie" Platt.

Later life and death[]

Stone used the newfound wealth from his straw business for a variety of philanthropic causes.[9] He furnished lodging for his female employees, including a large library, music room, meeting room, and dancing floor.[2] In addition, he and several others built two blocks of tenement houses for African American residents of Washington, D.C.[9]

Stone died in his home in Columbia Road, Washington, D.C., on (1899-05-17)17 May 1899 after a long illness.[2] He was survived by his wife, Jane "Jennie" Platt.[15] Stone is buried at Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.[17]

References[]

  1. ^ Wilson, Lawrence (1907). Itinerary of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1864: With Roster, Portraits and Biographies. New York and Washington: Neale Publishing Company. pp. 440–441.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Obituary, Marvin Chester Stone". Home Furnishing Review, Volume 15. 1899: 323. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. ^ a b c "Death of Marvin C. Stone". Evening Star. Washington, D.C. 18 May 1899. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Untitled Article". Washington, D.C.: National Republican. 11 September 1886. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  5. ^ "A Cigarette Holder Factory". The Weekly Sentinel (Winston-Salem, N.C.). 21 October 1886. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. ^ Thompson, Derek (22 November 2011). "The Amazing History and the Strange Invention of the Bendy Straw". The Atlantic.
  7. ^ a b Broda-Bahm, Chris. "The Straight Truth About the Flexible Drinking Straw". Smithsonian Museum of American History, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  8. ^ Madrigal, Alexis (21 June 2018). "Disposable America". The Atlantic.
  9. ^ a b c d Bisset, Colin (30 September 2013). "How the drinking straw created a fairer America". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  10. ^ "1888 Heavy-Duty Paper Drinking Straws (Pack of 24)".
  11. ^ "History – StoneStraw".
  12. ^ "A History of Paper Straws".
  13. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/suck-on-this-the-drinking-straw-was-invented-in-washington/2018/11/03/f6050bae-deb8-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html
  14. ^ "A Brief History of the Straw".
  15. ^ a b "What Once Was Washington DC, Center of Manufacturing". TheInTowner. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Patents Issued". Washington, D.C.: Evening Star. 1 January 1884. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  17. ^ "Marvin Chester Stone". Find a Grave. Retrieved 8 August 2018. Memorial ID 35496022.
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