Earle Dickson | |
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![]() Earle Dickson as a young man | |
Born | Grandview, Tennessee | October 10, 1892
Died | September 21, 1961 Kitchener, Canada | (aged 68)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Engineer |
Spouse | Josephine Knight |
Engineering career | |
Institutions | Johnson & Johnson |
Projects | BAND-AID adhesive bandages |
Earle Dickson (October 10, 1892—September 21, 1961) was an American inventor best known for inventing adhesive bandages in the US. 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 gauze placed on a wound with tape did not stay on her active fingers. In 1920, he placed squares of gauze in intervals on a roll of tape, held in place with crinoline.[2] James Wood Johnson, his boss, liked the idea, and put it into production. In 1924, Johnson & Johnson installed machines to mass-produce the once handmade bandages. Following the commercial success of his design, Dickson was promoted to vice president.