Hallock, Robert L.

Robert Lay Hallock was born in 1898, in Columbus, Ohio. In 1913, Hallock developed his first invention, a bread-slicing board. He sold this product to F.W. Woolworth stores across the United States. Following graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hallock devoted his life to inventing products. Over the course of his life, Hallock invented approximately thirty products. Perhaps his most famous invention was the disposable vacuum cleaner bag. Previous to Hallock's invention, consumers would have to empty their vacuums by hand, usually creating a mess. The disposable vacuum cleaner bag allowed users to discard the bag, leaving all of the dust trapped inside. Besides his work with vacuum cleaner bags, Hallock also became famous for the Gripnail—a nail that could be driven through steel as if the steel was wood. Hallock died on September 2, 1986, in Needham, Massachusetts.