Earl Silas Tupper was born on July 28, 1907, in Berlin, New Hampshire, and would go on to build one of the most recognizable names in food storage. After studying at Bryant College, Tupper worked several jobs before joining the DuPont Chemical Company during the Great Depression. There, he developed a method for turning polyethylene slag, a waste product of the oil refining process, into lightweight food storage containers featuring airtight lids. The lid design was reportedly inspired by the lid of a paint can.
In 1938, Tupper founded the Tupperware Plastics Company. The business took a major turn when Brownie Wise, a saleswoman who sold more Tupperware through home parties than the company moved through stores, was hired by Tupper to run the sales division. Wise insisted that the products be sold exclusively through the party plan model, in which women invited friends and neighbors to what was part social gathering and part sales pitch. Wise became highly successful and rose to celebrity status, making history as the first woman to appear on the cover of Business Week magazine.
However, her working relationship with Earl Tupper was reportedly volatile, and the two eventually reached a point where their differences could not be reconciled. In January 1958, Tupper forced Wise out of the company. Soon after her departure, every reference to her was removed from company literature. Wise owned no stock in the company and left with a severance package of $30,000.
Later that same year, Tupper sold the Tupperware Company to Dart Industries for $16 million. In the years that followed, he divorced his wife, gave up his U. S. citizenship in a move aimed at avoiding taxes, and purchased an island off the coast of Costa Rica.
Tupper died in Costa Rica on October 5, 1983, at the age of 76. Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, he was not buried in a giant airtight container.