Mary Jones DeLeon
Personal Information
Born: 1838
Died: 1914
Country of Birth: might be Ireland
Nationality: Irish/American
Ethnicity: Black
Education
Unknown
"“The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of an apparatus for heating food by dry heat and steam at one time, and which apparatus may also be used for cooking, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth. … At the same time as the dry heat from the lamp is used, the steam arising from the Water in the reservoir relieves the dryness of the heat and prevents the articles of food on the plates E from becoming scorched or otherwise injured. By placing the lamp B on its seat in the reservoir, and substituting a solid plate for the plate D, this apparatus may also be used for cooking, if so desired. The whole apparatus is covered by a lid." ipwatchdog.com); "
— Mary Jones DeLeon
Professional Life
Field of Study: Food services; Inventor
Institution/Corporation: None found
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: received patent in 1873 for a “cooking apparatus” a device that would become the precursor to the modern steam table commonly seen in food buffets today;
her invention featured several compartments, each with its own heating element, allowing different dishes to be kept at different temperatures & it used dry heat & steam to keep food warm
was living in Baltimore when she applied for her patent
little is known about her personal life but she might have been born in Ireland & immigrated to Toronto as a child before eventually settling in Baltimore