#Mixer August 11

by Coach4aday · August 11, 2026

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August 2026 several of us are going to take on the 30-Day Plugged in Coach4aday Challenge. Each day, we will feature an item from home or office that requires being plugged into a source of electricity to operate. We will reflect on how it makes life easier. For Day 11 it is the MIXER.

Ralph Collier might not be a household name, but his invention had a significant impact on American kitchens. In 1856, he developed the handheld rotary eggbeater, making it much easier to mix ingredients by hand.

It would be another 70 years before electric mixers became common in American homes. One consistent theme we are discovering through the Plugged In Challenge is that the slow rollout of electricity to rural America delayed the adoption of many new electrical devices.

Day 11-Electric Mixer

The electric mixer development happened in stages:

1856: Ralph Collier patented an early hand-operated rotary egg beater in the United States.
1885: Rufus Eastman patented what is often considered one of the first mechanical mixers.
1908: Herbert Johnston, an engineer for the Hobart Manufacturing Company, developed the first commercially successful electric stand mixer after watching a baker struggle to mix dough by hand.
1919: Hobart introduced the KitchenAid stand mixer for home use. It was initially expensive and marketed as a premium household appliance.
1930s–1950s: Electric hand mixers became increasingly common and affordable for American households.