Alfred L. Cralle

Alfred L. Cralle (September 4, 1866 – May 6, 1919) was an African-American businessman and inventor of the "Ice Cream Mold and Disher".

Alfred L. Cralle

Cralle was born in Florida Wesley Chapel in 1866 just after the end of the American Civil War (1861–1865).[1][2] He attended local schools and worked with his father in the carpentry trade as a young man, becoming interested in mechanics. He was sent to Washington, D.C. where he attended Wayland Seminary,[1] one of a number of schools founded by the American Baptist Home Mission Society to help educate African-Americans after the Civil War.

Ice Cream Mold and Disher

He then settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he first served as a porter in a drug store and at a hotel.[1] Alfred noticed that servers at the hotel had trouble with ice cream sticking to serving spoons, and he developed an ice cream scoop.[3]

On 10 June 1896, Alfred applied for a patent on his invention. He was awarded patent 576,395 on 2 February 1897.[4] The patented "Ice Cream Mold and Disher," was an ice cream scoop with a built-in scraper to allow for one-handed operation.[5][6] Alfred's functional design is reflected in modern ice cream scoops.[7]

He later become a general manager for the Afro-American Financial, Accumulating, Merchandise and Business association.[1]

Cralle died from tuberculosis on May 6, 1919, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[8]

References
  1. "Afro-American Notes". The Pittsburgh Press. February 14, 1897. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. "The Gifts of African American Innovation". Desmond Tutu Foundation USA. February 12, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. "| The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  4. "United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) : nombre de brevets délivrés à certains quelques opérateurs de télécommunications". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  5. "History of Ices & Ice Cream". What's Cooking America. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  6. "A. L. Cralle Ice Cream Mold and Disher Patent Number 576395". U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  7. Stradley, Linda (2015-05-14). "Ice Cream History, Whats Cooking America". What's Cooking America. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  8. "Death certificate #52299, Alfred L. Cralle". Pennsylvania Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. via Ancestry.com.
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