††A bronze vessel almost identical to a modern kettle in shape, with a decorated spout, is known from Mesopotamia in 3500 to 2000 BC. It was, however, probably used for filtering rather than for boiling water. Early kettles would have been made of iron and by the 19th century copper was a common material. Such kettles were heated directly over a fire or stove. The copper version required frequent cleaning as it tarnished each time it was used. The first electric kettle was developed in Chicago in 1891, by the Carpenter Electric Company of the United States. It took twelve minutes to heat the water because the element was in a separate compartment, and not immersed in the water as it is in modern kettles.
