William Addis (entrepreneur)

For other people named William Addis, see William Addis (disambiguation).

William Addis
Born1734
Clerkenwell
Died1808 (aged 73–74)
Occupationentrepreneur

William Addis (1734–1808) was an English entrepreneur believed to have produced the first mass-produced toothbrush in 1780.[1][2]

Addis was born in 1734 in England, most likely in Clerkenwell,[note 1] London.[3][4]

In 1770, Addis was imprisoned in Newgate prison for causing a riot in Spitalfields. According to legend, while imprisoned, he observed the use of a broom to sweep the floor and decided that the prevalent method used to clean teeth at the time – crushed shell or soot – with a cloth was ineffective. To that end, he saved a small animal bone left over from the meal he had eaten the previous night, into which he drilled small holes. He then obtained some boar bristles from one of his guards, which he tied in tufts that he then passed through the holes in the bone, and which he finally sealed with glue.[3][5][6]

After his release, he started a business to manufacture the toothbrushes he had built, and he soon became very rich. He died in 1808, and left the business to his eldest son, also called William, and it stayed in family ownership until 1996.[7] Under the name Wisdom Toothbrushes, the company now manufactures 70 million toothbrushes per year in the UK.[8]

By 1840, toothbrushes were being mass-produced in England, France, Germany, and Japan.[9]

Hertford Museum holds approximately 5000 toothbrushes that make up part of the Addis Collection. The Addis factory on Ware Road was a major employer in the town until 1996. Since the closure of the factory, Hertford Museum has received photographs and documents relating to the archive, and collected oral histories from former employees.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Most online sources refer to "Clerkenwald", but no such place exists; references to Clerkenwald appear only in text about Addis; and his early history is in East London.

References

  1. ^ "Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?". Everyday Mysteries. The Library of Congress. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  2. ^ Tadinada, Aditya (15 June 2015). "The Evolution of A Tooth Brush: From Antiquity to Present- A Mini-Review". Journal of Dental Health, Oral Disorders & Therapy. 2 (4). doi:10.15406/jdhodt.2015.02.00055.
  3. ^ a b Rendell, Mike (29 May 2012). "William Addis, and the story of the modern toothbrush". Georgian Gentleman. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. ^ McCauley, H. Berton (March 1946). "Toothbrushes, Toothbrush Materials and Design". The Journal of the American Dental Association. 33 (5): 283–293. doi:10.14219/jada.archive.1946.0263.
  5. ^ Nix, Elizabeth (22 August 2012). "Who invented the toothbrush?". History.com. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  6. ^ Kennedy, Pagan (15 February 2013). "Who Made That Toothbrush? (Published 2013)". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  7. ^ "History of ADDIS". Archived from the original on 23 January 2013.
  8. ^ "New jobs joy in toothbrushes". Cambridge News. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 21 September 2002.
  9. ^ "The History of the Toothbrush". Wisdom Toothbrushes. Archived from the original on 30 June 2012.
  10. ^ "Addis Archive". Hertford Museum. Retrieved 21 August 2025.


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