Earl H. Richardson was born in Wisconsin in 1871. He later moved to California where he went to work for the Ontario Electric Company in Ontario, California. Richardson invented the Hotpoint iron, and in 1906, he started his own manufacturing company called the Pacific Electric Heating Co., headquartered in Ontario. His company designed, manufactured and sold various electric appliances including irons, ovens, toasters, heating units for washing machines, and vacuum cleaners. Richardson was the first to make an iron that shut-off automatically when it became too hot. In 1918, his company merged with the Heating Device Section of General Electric Company to form the Edison Electric Appliance Co. In 1927, General Electric Company bought all of Richardson's facilities in Ontario and renamed it the General Electric Company, Ontario Factory. Richardson died in 1934.
From the description of Historical manuscript dealing with a southern California enterprise and its founder Earl H. Richardson, 1945. (Huntington Library, Art Collections & Botanical Gardens). WorldCat record id: 122585009
