Anthony Bajada Explained

Anthony Bajada
Birth Name:Anthony Dominic Bajada
Birth Date:22 September 1902
Birth Place:Hamrun, Malta, British Empire
Death Place:Menlo Park, California, United States
Nationality:American, British
Known For:Inventor of the stay-tab for beverage cans
Children:
  • Evelyn Elizabeth
  • George Anthony
Relatives:
Module:
Embed:yes
Allegiance:British Empire
Branch:British Army
Branch Label:Branch
Battles:World War I

Anthony Dominic Bajada (September 22, 1902 – July 20, 2000) was a British–American[4] [5] inventor known for creating and patenting the stay-tab press-to-open lid mechanism for drink cans.[6]

Early life and career

Anthony Bajada was born on September 22, 1902, in Hamrun, Malta,[7] a colony of the British Empire[8] to Sevario[9] and Carmela[10] Bajada.

After serving in the British Army in World War I,[11] at 17 years old he moved to the United States, traveling aboard the White Star Line's RMS Olympic[12] on the Southampton to New York City route by way of Cherbourg, France. He arrived in New York City exactly one week before his 18th birthday in 1920, where he boarded the transcontinental railroad bound for San Francisco.

He married Elizabeth Waldvogal (b. 1905, d. 2001) in 1925 in San Francisco[13] and had two children, Evelyn (b. 1928, d. 2010)[14] and George (b. 1935). He moved to Palo Alto in 1961 and to Menlo Park in 1968.

Early in his career he worked as a machinist, making tools and dies[15] until he later became a property investor in 1948.[16]

Invention of the opening mechanism on drink cans

In 1956, Anthony filed for a patent titled "Lid closure for can containers," which described a mechanism for opening canned containers with a "press-it" type closure that pushed inwardly into the can to permit the contents to be poured. The patent was granted in 1958.

Prior to Bajada’s invention, it was necessary to either use a separate opening device such as a can opener or to use a pull tab mechanism.[17] The use of a detached can-opener proved cumbersome, as without the tool the can could not be opened and the pull tab design was dangerous as the detached tab could be ingested and was not easy to see in an x-ray.[18]

One of the novel aspects of Bajada's design is that the can's opening mechanism is self-contained on the can's lid, eliminating the need to use any additional devices to open the can.[19]

At the time, Bajada marveled that "the advantages of his invention would become apparent" upon seeing the design; a statement that proved true. Within two months of Bajada's patent expiry, inventor Ermal C. Fraze and the Reynolds Metals Company filed patents on designs for a “pull tab" mechanism for soda cans.[20] [21] Subsequently, during volume manufacturing, companies such as Crown Cork & Seal Company,[22] BHP[23] [24] and United States Steel Corporation[25] began making lid mechanisms based on Bajada’s design.

Later years and death

Anthony Bajada remained a resident of Menlo Park until his death on July 20, 2000.[26] He was survived by his wife, his two children, his 6 grandchildren, and his 15 great-grandchildren[27] (including Jake Chasan).[28] [29]

See also

Notes and References

  1. [Fred Chasan]
  2. [Roslyn Chasan]
  3. News: July 18, 2013. Haute to Trot, Opening Day. 26. Rancho Santa Fe Review. 2022-02-19. Mark Chasan is brother of Jeff Chasan, who is married to Cynthia Chasan (née Bajada), who is the granddaughter of Anthony Bajada.
  4. Web site: Petition for Naturalization . 2023-02-04 . . No. 52781 . en-US.
  5. Web site: Declaration of Intention . 2023-02-04 . . No. 98907 . en-US.
  6. Book: Office, United States Patent . Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office . 1958 . U.S. Department of Commerce. . en.
  7. U.S. Census. 1940. San Francisco, CA. Sheet 4A. 9. 2023-02-02.
  8. Web site: Malta – Countries – Office of the Historian . 2023-02-02 . history.state.gov.
  9. Web site: March 31, 1914 . Arriving Passenger and Crew List in New York of S.S. Kaiser Franz Joesph I . 2023-02-04 . . 98 . en-US.
  10. Web site: July 28, 1916 . Arriving Passenger and Crew List in Massachusetts of S.S. Cretic . 2023-02-04 . . 8 . en-US.
  11. Web site: Maltese contributions to Allied war efforts in 1916 . 2023-02-02 . Times of Malta . en-gb.
  12. Web site: September 15, 1920 . Arriving Passenger and Crew List in New York of R.M.S. Olympic . 2023-02-04 . . C.10 . en-US.
  13. Web site: January 21, 2001 . Elizabeth Julia Bajada . 2023-02-02 . . en-US.
  14. Web site: May 16, 2010 . Evelyn McCarthy Obituary (2010) – Scottsdale, Az, CA – San Francisco Chronicle . 2023-02-02 . San Francisco Chronicle.
  15. Web site: August 2, 2000 . Anthony Dominic Bajada . 2023-02-02 . The Almanac (Menlo Park).
  16. Web site: September 16, 1975 . Bajadas celebrate 50th anniversary . 2023-02-04 . . 12 . en.
  17. Web site: Vanderbilt . Tom . September 24, 2012 . The Brilliant Redesign of the Soda Can Tab . 2023-02-02 . Slate Magazine . en.
  18. Burrington . J. D. . June 14, 1976 . Aluminum "pop tops". A hazard to child health . JAMA . 235 . 24 . 2614–2617 . 10.1001/jama.1976.03260500030022 . 0098-7484 . 946866.
  19. 2842295. Lid closure for can containers. US. 1958-07-08. Anthony. Bajada.
  20. 4030631. Easy-open ecology end. US. 1977-06-21. Ermal C. Fraze. Brown. Omar L..
  21. D244915S. End closure for a container. US. design. 1977-07-05. Reynolds Metals Company. Cudzik. Daniel F..
  22. 4024980. Easy opening can end having a closure plug. US. 1977-05-24. Crown Cork & Seal Company. Kneusel. Raymond H. P.. Potts. Vinson S..
  23. 3759206. Push-in easy-opening closures. US. 1973-09-18. BHP. Dalli. Allen George. Debenham. Michael. Schackleford. Ralph Edward.
  24. RE28910E. Push-in easy-opening closures. US. 1976-07-20. BHP. Dalli. Allen George. Debenham. Michael. Schackleford. Ralph Edward.
  25. As cited by the United States Patent & Trademark Office examiner in the patents of Crown Cork & Seal, BHP, and United States Steel Corporation.
  26. Web site: Arizona Republic 24 Jul 2000, page Page 14 . 2023-02-02 . . en.
  27. Web site: July 25, 2000 . Anthony Bajada . 2023-02-04 . . 17 . en.
  28. Web site: January 21, 2001 . Elizabeth Bajada . 2023-02-02 . SFGATE . en-US. Jake is noted as "Jacob" in this article.
  29. Web site: July 8, 2012 . Mildred Wallace-Smith . 2023-02-02 . Press Democrat. Cynthia Chasan, granddaughter of Anthony Bajada, is married to Jeffery Chasan, parents of Jake Chasan.

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