Ronald Howes - the creator of the easy bake oven

Ronald Howes, the inventor of the EZ bake oven, and other toys, grew up in Anderson Ohio. Howes' mother died when he was born. He was raised by his German grandmother and her American husband in Over-The-Rhine, a historic neighborhood in Cincinnati Howes' family ran a series of small grocery stores in the city during the Great Depression Howes taught himself to read before kindergarten

He left Walnut High School during World War ll in order to enlist in the United States Navy He served in the South pacific during the war before returning to Cincinnati.He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Cincinnati where he had already earned some credits while in high school.

Howes came up with the idea for the Easy-Bake Oven when he noticed that street vendors kept their food hot by using heat-lamps. In addition to his creation of the Easy-Bake Oven, Howes also was involved in the creation of or refinement to a number of other Kenner toy products, including the spirograph, Give-a-Show Projector, and Close-and-Play Record Player. Howes died on February 16, 2010, at the age of 83.