Who invented "Jell-O"?

Pearle Bixby Wait invented the Jell-O dessert brand. In 1897, the carpenter and cough-syrup manufacturer created a powdered gelatin dessert by combining granulated gelatin and sugar with fruit flavorings, then trademarked the name Jell-O in Le Roy, New York.

Wait and his wife, May, initially offered strawberry, raspberry, orange, and lemon flavors. The product was convenient because consumers could dissolve the powder in hot water and chill it into a firm, colorful dessert. Gelatin desserts existed before Jell-O, and powdered gelatin had been patented in the United States in 1845, so Wait did not invent gelatin itself.

In 1899, Wait sold Jell-O to Orator Francis Woodward, whose Genesee Pure Food Company marketed it aggressively and turned it into a national brand. That history explains a frequent mix-up: Wait is credited with creating and naming Jell-O, while Woodward is remembered for making it commercially successful. Jell-O later became a registered trademark and expanded into puddings and pie fillings.