Who invented and patented the American form of charcoal briquette?

The American form of charcoal briquette was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer (1862-1946) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1897. Subsequently, the new product was mass produced by the Zwoyer Fuel Company.

By the end of WWI in 1918, the Zwoyer Fuel Company had begun construction of charcoal briquettes plants around the United States. One of the earliest plants was started in Buffalo, New York.

However, it was the automobile entrepreneur Henry Ford (1863-1947) with some help from Thomas Edison (1847-1931) who put the charcoal briquettes to practical use in 1920. His briquettes were constructed from the wood debris and sawdust in his atutomobile factories.

It would appear that Ford actually stole Zwoyer’s invention, but Zwoyer didn’t, take legal action. So while some accounts of the history of charcoal briquettes point to Ford as the inventor, the patent records show it was Zwoyer’s invention.

Today there are several types of charcoal briquettes, with varying material and fuel ingredients used in the compacted briquettes.