Dixon, Joseph (1799-1869), an American inventor and manufacturer, founded a factory to make lead pencils and stove polish from graphite at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1827. In 1832, he patented a process of using colored inks to prevent counterfeiting. Dixon also patented and introduced graphite crucibles for making pottery and steel. He was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on Jan. 18, 1799, and died on June 15, 1869.
