Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
YATES, Thomas
YATES, Thomas. (Franklin Co., PA, Mar. 13, 1820 – November 8, 1882) Yates learned the trades of tinner and coppersmith. In July of 1846 he settled in Dubuque. He engaged in tinware, a trade he continued until 1855.
In 1860 Thomas patented the first coffee maker using an internal vacuum design that circulated the heat to evenly percolate the liquid. He used this design again in 1867 to design an improvement to the kitchen heater/stove that allowed air to circulate internally if when the item was used solely as a heater, but provided an internal plate that could be removed to allow for stove cooking on the same apparatus.
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Source:
Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 904-905
Linwood Legacies History. Online: http://www.linwoodlegacies.org/thomas-yates.html
Patent US28803 - Coffee-pot - Google Patents. Online: https://www.google.com/search?q=Thomas+Yates+%28dubuque%29&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb
Patent US65524 - yates - Google Patents. Online: http://www.google.com/patents/US65524