Inventor of the Pencil Sharpener

Originally knives were used to sharpen pencils, until French mathematician Bernard Lassimone applied for a patent on the pencil sharpener in 1828. Nearly two decades later, another Frenchman, Therry des Estwaux, invented the first manual pencil sharpener. John Lee Love of Fall River, Massachusetts designed the Love Pencil Sharpener in 1897. The history of the pencil sharpener starts with Love's design, which was originally intended for use by artists. Love patented the design for his pencil sharpeners on November 23, 1897. He started a revolution that would lead to the invention of mechanical pencil sharpeners and electric pencil sharpeners. In the 1940s Hammacher Schlemmer offered electric pencil sharpeners designed by Raymond Loewy. AC Gilbert's electric motor made the modern plug-in and battery-powered pencil sharpeners possible.