Earl Richardson

Earl Richardson, the founder of Hotpoint. Richardson started the Pacific Electric Heating Company, which manufactured a variety of heating devices, including grills and irons. With the success of his "hotpoint" iron, Richardson changed the name of the company to Hotpoint. GE purchased Hotpoint and Hughes Electric in 1918 and merged the two companies together to form the Edison Electric Appliance Company, a GE subsidiary. By 1922, the Hughes name disappeared from the ranges, and Hotpoint became the dominant brand name of the company.