Edward Kirk Warren
| Edward Kirk Warren | |
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| Born | April 7, 1847 Ludlow, Vermont |
| Died | January 16, 1919 Evanston, Illinois |
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Edward Kirk Warren (April 7, 1847 – January 16, 1919) was an American industrialist and inventor who developed featherbone, a popular alternative to whalebone in corsetry. He is the namesake of Warren Dunes State Park and Warren Woods State Park in Michigan, both of which he developed.
Warren was born on April 7, 1847 in Ludlow, Vermont to Waters and Caroline Warren. Warren was descended eight generations from an early American family; Joseph Warren came to the country from England in 1635. His great-grandfather fought in the American Revolution at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The son of a Congregationalist minister, Edward Kirk Warren was educated in public schools. In 1858, the family moved to Three Oaks, Michigan.
Upon reaching adulthood, Warren took a job working in a sawmill. On January 24, 1864, he started working for Henry Chamberlain, who owned a local dry goods store. He was married on November 3, 1867, to Sarah E. Stevens. In 1868, Warren opened a dry goods store with James L. McKie as McKie & Warren. The store was very successful, and the partnership purchased the interests of their chief competitor, Henry Chamberlain, in 1879. Sarah died in 1879. Edward remarried on February 17, 1880, to Mary Louise Chamberlain, the daughter of Henry Chamberlain.
While overseeing the store, Warren learned that his female clientele were unsatisfied with their whalebone corsets, which became brittle and stiff over time. During a trip to Chicago, Illinois, Warren visited a feather duster manufacturer and observed that the company discarded certain turkey wing feathers. These feathers were unsuitable for use in feather dusters, but were strong and pliable. By removing the plumage from these feathers, Warren was able to identify a substitute for whalebone. Warren experimented with developing a corset for a year before perfecting a design. A patent for "featherbone" was approved on October 3, 1883.
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