Downer P. Dykes (1927-2014) was an industrial designer for the Maytag Corporation from 1953 until approximately 1960. He spent the majority of his career as a professor of industrial design at Kansas University from around 1960 to 1988, and he was chairman and head of the industrial design department.

Dykes was born in Eufala, Alabama, to Annelula Cannon Dykes (1893-1987) and Reuben Owen Dykes (1879-1945). He served in the Army between April 1945 and December 1946. Dykes received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn, Alabama, in 1950. After graduation, Dykes went on to work in the refrigerator cabinet division of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, Missouri. In April 1953, he was hired at Maytag as an industrial stylist in research and development in Newton, Iowa.

He married Margie Zera Godwin Dykes (1926-2006) in 1948; the couple had one son. He retired to Florida, where he died.

The Maytag Corporation manufactures home appliances. It is most well known for its washing machines, but also produces dryers, dishwashers, cooktops, refrigerators, and ranges.

The company was founded in 1893 by F.L. (Frederick Louis) Maytag I (1857–1937), his two brothers-in-law, and George W. Parsons (1849-?). The company was originally named Parsons Band-Cutter & Self Feeder Company and produced threshing machines, band-cutters, and self-feeder attachments. F.L. Maytag became the sole proprietor of the company and renamed it Maytag Company.

Home appliances were developed to supplement sales during seasonal downturns in farm equipment sales. In 1905, Maytag's first washing machine, the "Pastime," was produced, which had a wooden tub and relied upon pulleys and a hand crank to operate. The Maytag washing machine evolved over time to become motorized and have a porcelain, aluminum, or steel tub.

F.L. Maytag stepped down in 1920 and his son, L.B. Maytag (1888–1967), began serving as company president. The company became the Maytag Washing Machine Company in 1925. E.H. (Elmer Henry) Maytag (1883–1940), another son of F.L. Maytag, served as president from 1926 until his death in 1940. That same year, Frederick Louis Maytag II (1911–1962), E.H. Maytag’s son, became Maytag's head at the age of twenty-nine.

During World War II, Maytag ceased production of washing machines and contributed to the war effort by manufacturing components for military airplanes. When the war ended, washing machine manufacturing resumed, and Maytag began selling ranges and refrigerators.

In 1944, Maytag began seeking a manufacturer of gas ranges that Maytag would distribute. In September 1945, Maytag purchased a large share of the Globe American Corp, a stove and range manufacturing company. Globe American Corp manufactured the Maytag Dutch Oven at its plant in Kokomo, Indiana.

Upon the death of F.L. Maytag II in 1962, George M. Umbreit (1901-1972) became chairman of the board and chief executive officer, and E.G. Higdon (1909-1988) was named president. In 1972, Daniel J. Krumm (1926-1993) succeeded E.G. Higdon as Maytag president and treasurer, and two years later he was named chief executive officer. On December 22, 2005, Maytag stockholders agreed to sell Maytag to Whirlpool Corporation, ending Maytag's 112-year history as an independent company.