A Very Special Birthday
2009 is a very special year for Aga. 300 years ago at their foundry in Coalbrookdale, Abraham Darby first smelted iron ore with coke to make cast-iron cooking pots.
This innovation triggered the entire Industrial Revolution, and is the reason why this picturesque part of Shropshire is globally acknowledged to be the birthplace of industry. The production of cooking pots progressed to solid fuel fires and cast-iron ranges, a tradition that continued after the Second World War with the introduction of the famous Aga and Rayburn cookers. To this day, these legendary appliances are made only at Coalbrookdale for both home and export markets.
Where did It All Start?
The Aga Cooker may seem a very British product, but it was actually invented by a Swedish scientist named Gustaf Dalen. Gustaf was the fourth of five children, and even though a school teacher once commented 'Gustaf is no use for anything', he went on to become Sweden's most important Nobel prize winner.Amongst other inventions, Dalen invented the ingenious Sun valve, an apparatus that automatically switches lighthouse beacons on during darkness and off again at dawn. In 1909 Dalen ascended to Managing Director of Svenska Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator (AGA for short) but only three years later, the inventor was seriously injured during an experiment and tragically lost his sight.
Through the support of his family and colleagues, Gustaf recovered and remained the president of AGA for a further 25 years. Gustaf and his four children created the cooker we know and love today - the first low energy, coke fuelled Aga Cooker (named after his company) was born in 1929.
