Joseph Dixon (inventor)

His fascination with new technologies led to many innovations such as a mirror for a camera that was the forerunner of the viewfinder, a patented double-crank steam engine, and a method of printing banknotes to thwart counterfeiters.

Among his associates were such American inventors as Robert Fulton, Samuel Morse, and Alexander Graham Bell, and politician/business partner Orestes Cleveland.

Dixon discovered the merits of graphite as a stove polish and an additive in lubricants, foundry facings, brake linings, oil-less bearings, and non-corrosive paints.

But the American Civil War created a demand for a dry, clean, portable writing instrument and led to the mass production of pencils.

The Joseph Dixon Crucible Company continued to prosper throughout the 20th century by growing through a series of mergers and acquisitions.