Nationality American Education Yale University Role Inventor | Name Earle Dickson Spouse(s) Josephine Knight | |
 | ||
Born October 10, 1892 ( 1892-10-10 ) Grandview, Tennessee Significant projects BAND-AID
adhesive bandages Died September 21, 1961, Kitchener, Canada | ||
Institution memberships Johnson & Johnson | ||
The Truly Bloody History: A Band-Aid Love Story
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. His wife, Josephine Knight, often cut herself while doing housework and cooking. Dickson found the gauze stuck to 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. 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.
