King Camp Gillette was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 businessman popularly known as the inventor of the safety razor

Safety razor

A safety razor is a razor that protects the skin from all but the very edge of the blade. These razors reduce the possibility of serious injury, which makes them more forgiving than a straight razor.-Cartridges introduced:...

, although several models were in existence prior to Gillette's design. Gillette's innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel.

Gillette is widely credited with inventing the so-called razor and blades business model, where razors are sold cheaply to increase the market for blades, but in fact he only adopted this model after his competitors did.
Born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Fond du Lac is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The name is French for bottom of the lake, for it is located at the bottom of Lake Winnebago. The population was 42,203 at the 2000 census...

 and raised in Chicago, Illinois.