Earle Dickson

Earle Dickson
Born	October 10, 1892(1892-10-10) Grandview, Tennessee
Died	September 21, 1961(1961-09-21) (aged 68) Kitchener, Ontario
Nationality	American
Spouse	Josephine Knight
Work
Institution memberships	Johnson & Johnson
Significant projects	BAND-AID adhesive bandages

Earle Dickson (October 10, 1892—September 21, 1961) was an American inventor best known for creating Band-Aid^® brand adhesive bandages. He lived in Highland Park, New Jersey for a large portion of his life.

Dickson was a cotton buyer at the Johnson & Johnson company.^[1] His wife, Josephine Knight, often cut herself while doing housework and cooking.^[2] Dickson found that the gauze stuck to a wound with tape didn't stay on her active fingers. In 1920, he took the gauze and placed it in the center of the tape and covered it with crinoline to keep it sterile and safe.^[2] James Wood Johnson, his boss, liked his idea especially because without any fuss, it could be put together in 30 seconds, and so he decided to put it into production. In 1924, Johnson & Johnson installed machines to mass-produce Dickson's one-time homemade bandages. Following the commercial success of his design, Dickson was promoted to Vice President of the company.

Notes

^ Antonelli, Paola (2005) Humble masterpieces: everyday marvels of design HarperCollins, New York, page 175, ISBN 0-06-083831-0
^ ^a ^b Staff (1964) "The Story Behind Band-Aid Brand" Changing Times; The Kiplinger Magazine December 1964: p. 32

External links

The story as told by Johnson & Johnson
Inventor of the Week – Earle Dickson from the Lemuelson-MIT Program

Persondata
Name	Dickson, Earle
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 10, 1892
Place of birth	Grandview, Tennessee
Date of death	September 21, 1961
Place of death	Kitchener, Ontario