King C Gillette was not only an inventor, but a true contributor to pop culture as we see it today. What started as a mere idea for a safety razor blade that could be thrown away when it grew dull in 1895, grew into a veritable personal hygiene empire over the course of several decades, and continues to produce disposable razors for men and women, even today. Gillette was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1855. His parents were both creative types: his mother wrote a cookbook that stayed in print for nearly 100 years, and his father was a sometime inventor himself. In 1859, the family moved to Chicago, where they lived until the great fire destroyed their hardware business. Af