The brand is Sunbeam. And it traces its beginnings to the 1890's, when John Stewart and Thomas Clark started out making mechanical horse-clippers in Chicago. By the turn of the century, they had a solid business making horse-clippers, sheep-shearing machines, industrial furnaces and flexible shafts for grinders and drills. But because the Chicago Flexible Shaft Company was exposed to agriculture's seasonal ups and downs, they were inspired to add a year-round product category - home appliances. Their first was an electric iron, introduced in 1910. A decade later, in 1921, they began branding their home products with the name "Sunbeam." By 1946, they adopted Sunbeam as the company name. Sunbeam went on to innovate, producing the world's first electric frying pan in 1953, the first women's electric razor in 1955, and the first portable hair dryer in 1956. Today Sunbeam remains a major appliance brand.