Charles Rood Keeran (April 16, 1883 - June 9, 1948) was an Illinois inventor and businessman.
Biography
He was born on April 16, 1883, on a farm near
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
. Having an inventive father, William Lee Keeran, C.R. Keeran grew up with a creative spirit. After achieving a master's degree in engineering, he soon began patenting his ideas (circa 1906) which continued throughout his lifetime:
Keeran's 2-piece vacuum seal for Mason jars, which became the standard for home-canning, was immediately popular. However, he sold off his company, White Crown Fruit Jar, in order to finance his favorite invention: the Eversharp
mechanical pencil
A mechanical pencil, also clutch pencil, is a pencil with a replaceable and mechanically extendable solid pigment core called a "lead" . The lead, often made of graphite, is not bonded to the outer casing, and can be mechanically extended as its ...
. Around 1914, Keeran invented the basic mechanism for the
Eversharp
Eversharp is an American brand of writing implements founded by Charles Rood Keeran in 1913 and marketed by Keeran & Co., based in Chicago. Keeran commercialised ''Eversharp'' mechanical pencils (manufactured by two companies, Heath and Wahl), the ...
, thought up the "Eversharp" trademark (inspired by the Winchester Rifle logo), and set up a company to make and sell Eversharp pencils. He relocated to
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...
, and entered into a business alliance with the
Wahl Adding Machine Company in Chicago. Wahl officers obtained a majority share in the
Eversharp Pencil Company and, in 1917, forced Keeran out of the company.
In 1919, Keeran registered the "
Autopoint" trademark. In 1921, Keeran joined three businessmen in the Realite Pencil Company. Keeran brought the Autopoint name with him. Within a few years the company was renamed, the
Autopoint Company.
Keeran felt that his invention and suggestions during his association with Wahl were the basis of their prosperity. For years, he fought a battle to get just compensation from the Wahl Company. He got no satisfaction.
He died on June 9, 1948, in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
Patents
* New and useful Improvements in Detachable Spouts
* New and useful Improvements in Switch and Detector-Bar Throwing Mechanism
* Certain New and useful Improvements in Weapons
* Certain New and useful Improvements in Receptacle-Closures and #1130611, #1167306, #1180929, #1207560, and #1226532
* New and useful Improvements in Lead-Pencils and #1151016, and #1153115
Further reading
* Frary, C.A. "What We Have Learned Marketing Eversharp." Printers' Ink. 116(6):3+. August 11, 1921.
External links
Charles Keeran, a Mechanical Pencil Pioneer- Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL newspaper)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeran, Charles R.
1883 births
1948 deaths
20th-century American inventors