Edmund Abel

Life & Legacy

Edmund Angel Abel, Jr. (May 12, 1921 – April 21, 2014) was an American engineer and inventor who designed and patented the heating element for Mr. Coffee, one of the first automatic drip coffee makers to be introduced to the American consumer market. Mr. Coffee, which was first sold in 1972, soon became the dominant coffeemaker in the United States, reaching sales of approximately $150 million by the late 1970s. Abel's invention, the heating element, brewed a milder coffee than traditional methods, largely replaced the percolator in American homes. Home Furnishings News listed Mr. Coffee as one of the most important household consumer products introduced in the previous seventy-five years in a list published in 2002. Prior to his work on the coffeemaker, he held patents in film developing and aviation. Despite his role in the invention of the Mr. Coffee machine, Abel did not drink coffee.