Who invented the dishwasher?

Joel Houghton received a patent for the first dishwasher, which had a wooden hand-operated wheel designed to splash water to clean dishes; however, Josephine Cochrane invented the first workable dishwashing machine, which was mechanical and hand-operated. Introduced at the 1893 World’s Fair, dishwashers did not become popular until the 1950s.

The company founded by Cochrane later became KitchenAid. William Howard Livens introduced the first modern dishwasher in England in 1924. Its design included wire racks, a rotating sprayer and a front-loading door. Heating elements added to the machines in 1940 dried the contents. Dishwashers initially sold as portable or standalone units.