On this day, July 28 in the year 1907, the inventor of non-breakable, heat-resistant and lightweight containers with airtight lids was born in New Hampshire, USA. His name was Earl Tupper, the founder of Tupperware Plastics Company.
Earl Tupper was born and grew up in a farming village. As a child, he went around the neighborhood to sell farm products. He studied at Bryant University in Rhode Island. After graduation, he started a landscaping business which went bankrupt. He then found a job at DuPont Chemical Company where he learned the intricacies of plastic manufacturing. In 1938, he set up Tupperware Plastic Containers to produced plastic cups, bowls, and containers using waste product from the oil refining process. He also produced gas masks which were highly in demand during World War II. In 1946, he invented the lightweight, non-breakable plastic containers with airtight lids.
After the war, sales of Tupperware skyrocketed using an innovative marketing technique called party-plan where his products were sold through home parties. In 1958, he sold the company to Rexall Corporation for more than $16 million. He remained as chairman of the company until 1973. He then bought an island in Costa Rica and became a naturalized citizen of that country.
At present, Tupperware Corporation has operation in many countries with revenues of more than $200 million and providing jobs to as many as 250,000 who act as salespersons or dealers. It holds an average of 75,000 parties a day worldwide.
Earl’s most famous philanthropic activity was his donation of 428 acres of land for a new campus of Bryant University.
Earl died in Costa Rica on October 5, 1983 at the age of 76. He was married with five children.
References
https://www.tupperware.com/about-us
http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/07/obituaries/earl-tupper-the-father-of-tupperware-dies.html
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2012-02-13-tupperwares-earl-tupper-and-the-power-of-perseverance/#.WXj7D4SGPIU