Notable people · Inventor · Business
Michael J. Owens
West Virginia-born glassblower who rose to supervisor at Libbey's Toledo plant and invented an automatic glass-bottle machine, patented in 1904. With Libbey he formed the Owens Bottle Machine Company (1903). He died in Toledo.
At a glance
- Born
- 1859-01-01
- Died
- 1923-12-27
- Known as
- Inventor, Business
- Organizations
- Owens Bottle Machine Company, Libbey Glass
Life story
Michael Owens was born in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, to Irish immigrant parents. He left school at 10 to work at a Wheeling glass factory.
He came to Toledo in 1888 and worked for Edward Libbey, then moved to Findlay, Ohio, in 1891, where his mold-opening device and anti-stick paste cut bulb costs sharply.
His automatic bottle machines replaced hand blowing, making about 240 bottles a minute and cutting labor cost by around 80 percent. The Owens Bottle Machine Company was set up in 1903 and later became Owens-Illinois (1929).
He won the Elliott Cresson Medal in 1915 and died in Toledo at 64 in 1923.
Timeline
- 1859-01-01: Born in Point Pleasant, West Virginia (Point Pleasant, WV) source
- 1888: Moves to Toledo and joins Libbey's glass works (Toledo, OH) source
- 1890: Marries Mary McKelvey (OH) source
- 1891: Moves to Findlay plant (Findlay, OH) source
- 1903: Owens Bottle Machine Company established (Toledo, OH) source
- 1915: Receives Elliott Cresson Medal (Philadelphia, PA) source
- 1923-12-27: Dies in Toledo (Toledo, OH) source
What Michael is known for
- Automatic glass-shaping machine, US 766,768 (granted 1904-08-02, assigned to Toledo Glass Company)
- Earlier glass patents including US 534,840 (1895)
- Formed Owens Bottle Machine Company with Libbey, 1903
- US 766,768 glass-shaping machine, 1904 (record)
- Owens Bottle Machine Company, 1903
- Owens-Illinois Glass Company (merger, 1929)
Inventions and firsts
Honors and things named for them
- Elliott Cresson Medal, 1915
Family
- first wife: Mary E. McKelvey
- second wife: Mollie Owens
- partner: Edward Drummond Libbey
Ohio places
Where Michael J. Owens was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Worked: Toledo, Lucas County ZIP 43604 · Toledo · Lucas County
Myths and corrections
- Wikipedia lists five glass-machine patents from 1896 to 1901; the 1904 patent often cited for his bottle machine is a separate one.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Michael Joseph Owens (Wikipedia, pointer) born Point Pleasant WV 1859-01-01, died Toledo 1923-12-27, patent 534,840, 1903 company
- US766768A Glass-shaping machine (Google Patents) Owens glass-shaping machine granted 1904-08-02