JOHN HARRY STEDMAN
DIED OCTOBER 29, 1922
ALICE SHERWOOD WELLS STEDMAN
DIED OCTOBER 7, 1906

There are many objects found in our homes that we take for granted. Each one was created by an inventor. Some of these objects were created by inventors who became famous, such as Ben Franklin, who invented bifocals, swim fins, the lightning rod, and “ouch” the urinary catheter! Or Thomas Edison who held an astonishing 1,093 patents which included what has been described as his favorite invention—the phonograph. His was the first recorded voice signing “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

But less iconic items but no less useful are items like the lowly safety pin invented in 1849 by Walter Hunt. Or Gideon Sundback’s invention in 1914 of “Hookless No. 2”, which we now refer to as the zipper.

One item that has become ubiquitous in elementary classroom art projects is the pipe cleaner also known as the chenille stem or furry wire as the name suggests, to clean out the residue and yuck in smoking pipes. The pipe cleaner was invented by John Harry Stedman and Charles Angel in Rochester, New York in the early 1900s. This simple and mundane invention made Stedman rich. He later sold his rights to the BJ Long Company which still holds the rights to the invention.

Stedman and his wife, Alice, are buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, New York. Their gray granite rectangular four-sided hip tomb is embellished with pectoral crosses which flank the inscription.