Oven gas stove included the AGA cooker invented in 1922 by Gustaf Dalén. The first electric ovens were invented in the very late 19th century, however, like many electrical inventions destined for commercial use, mass ownership of electrical ovens could not be a reality until better and more efficient use of electricity was available. More recently, ovens have become slightly more high-tech in terms of cooking strategy. The microwave as a cooking tool was discovered by Percy Spencer in 1946, and with the help from engineers, the microwave oven was patented. The microwave oven uses microwave radiation to excite the molecules
Percy Weston son, Spencer Vaughan Percy (1883–1973), became a brigadier with the 17th Battalion Royal Fusiliers in the First World War; in 1943, he survived the sinking of the by the Italian submarine , off the West African coast. He married Henrietta Valerie Compton-Smith (1890–1980), whose brother Geoffrey Lee Compton-Smith (born 1889) was executed by the Irish Republican Army in April 1921. The youngest of the four sons, Howard Vernon Percy (1884–1965), also served with the Royal Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. A daughter, Beatrice Dorothy (1881–1970), married John Alexander Duncan (1878–1943). He was also a Royal Navy officer, reaching