3D Model of Dishwasher By PerspectX (Browse This Publisher's Products) (View Profile)

The first reports of a mechanical dishwashing device are of an 1850 patent by Joel Houghton of a hand-powered device.

Modern dishwashers are descended from the 1886 invention of Josephine Cochrane, also hand-powered, which she unveiled at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Cochrane was quite wealthy and was the granddaughter of John Fitch, the inventor of the steamboat. She never washed dishes herself and only invented the dishwasher as her servants were chipping her fine china.

Models installed with permanent plumbing arrived in the 1920s. In 1924, William Howard Livens invented a smalldishwasher suitable for use in a domestic setting. It had all the features of a modern dishwasher, including a front door for loading, a wire rack to hold crockery and a rotating sprayer. Electric drying elements were added in 1940.

Adoption was greatest at first in commercial environments, but by the 1970s dishwashers had become commonplace in domestic residences in the US.(wiki)