Chicago Inventions

Chris L. Rutt and Charles G. Underwood

Inventors of Aunt Jemima

Chris L. Rutt was a newspaper writer who wrote for a newspaper in St. Joseph, Missouri (51).  In 1889, Rutt thought of the idea for the Ready-Made Pancake Mix and began working on it in the same year (52).  In less than a year, he and Charles G. Underwood produced the first pancake mix that was ever made (53).  

Rutt came up with the name “Aunt Jemima” while he was listening to a vaudeville team that was singing a song called “Aunt Jemima" (54).  This name not only inspired the product's label, but it also influenced the popularity of the product.