Cracked BuckeyeCracked Buckeye

Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1879

Ivory soap

Ivory soap was created in 1879 by chemist James Norris Gamble (son of co-founder James Gamble) and named by Harley Procter; the 'It Floats' slogan dates to 1891 and '99 and 44/100% pure' to 1895. P&G ended the floating bar in 2013.

At a glance

Year
1879
By
James Norris Gamble, Harley Procter
Company
Procter & Gamble
Place
Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County

The story

Before 1879, a family often bought soap that was harsh, and some of the best white soaps cost more than ordinary families wanted to pay. Procter and Gamble, the Cincinnati firm founded in 1837, wanted a pure white soap at a low price.

Ivory was created in 1879 by James Norris Gamble, a chemist and the son of the co-founder. The name came from Harley Procter, who found the phrase in Psalm 45: garments that smell of myrrh and aloes out of the ivory palaces.

The story that the soap floated by accident when a worker left the mixer running is called apocryphal by Wikipedia, which says company records show chemist James Gamble engineered the flotation on purpose by whipping air into the bar. The slogan It Floats appeared in 1891, and 99 and 44/100 percent pure was in use by 1895, based on independent laboratory tests against castile soaps.

The research and plant site in St. Bernard, near Cincinnati, was named Ivorydale. P&G stopped making the floating bar in 2013. By 2001 all Ivory products were under one percent of P&G's worldwide sales.

Timeline

  • 1837: William Procter and James Gamble start their Cincinnati company. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1879: Ivory soap is created by James Norris Gamble. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1891: The slogan 'It Floats' is introduced. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1895: '99 and 44/100% Pure' is in use. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 2013: P&G stops making the floating version. source
  • 2001: All Ivory products are under 1 percent of P&G worldwide sales. source

What it changed

  • The 99 and 44/100 percent pure claim came from independent laboratory analysis.
  • The plant site in St. Bernard gave Ivorydale its name.

Why it matters

Founding product of modern branding.

Worth knowing

Earlier accounts credited James Gamble and a 1879 launch with the purity slogan, but that credit was wrong.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.