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| Early Women Inventors in America |
"A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are for. Sail out to sea and do new things." -- Grace Hopper, inventor of the computer language COBOL, the first userfriendly business software program.
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| Sybilla Masters: First American Woman Inventor |
In early Colonial America, women had trouble adjusting to life because of the rugged undeveloped land. This led some to devise ways to improve their survival. In 1712, Sybilla Masters created a new way to make hominy meal from corn. Her mill used hammers instead of grinding wheels. Four years later, she patented a fabric made from palmetto and straw to make hats.
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| Mary Kies: First American Female Patent Holder |
The Patent Act of 1790 opened the door for any male or female to patent an invention in America. In 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman to independently receive a U.S. patent for her method of weaving straw with silk.
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| Marjorie Joyner: 1st African-American Female Patent Holder |
Marjorie Joyner's strong belief in pride led to an invention that helped women feel better about themselves. It bothered Marjorie, a cosmetologist in Chicago, that the day after having their hair done, most women looked like "an accident going someplace to happen." Her domeshaped device applied electrical current to hair, allowing a hairdo to stay set for days. In 1926, she received a patent for her invention.
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| Beulah Henry: Prolific Inventor of the 1920's |
Beulah Henry is responsible for 110 inventions and 49 patents in the fields of business, childcare and the home. She patented her first invention, a vacuum ice freezer, at age 25. Other inventions include a bobbinless sewing machine, continuously attached envelopes for mass mailings, and a form of "photocopying" that made four copies of a document without using carbon paper. Her biggest success was an umbrella with changeable snap-on covers. She was told it would never catch on, but sold the rights for $50,000 -- quite a large sum for her day.
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| Mary Anderson: Inventor of the Windshield Wiper |
Alabama belle Mary Anderson took a trip to New York City in 1903, and was amazed that the motorman of the streetcar she was touring in kept getting out to wipe off the snow and ice that collected on the windshield. Mary made a quick drawing in her sketchbook. The following year, she patented a device that allowed drivers to manipulate a lever from the inside to activate a swinging arm that mechanically swept off ice and snow. While she never sold her invention, it caught on and by 1913 windshield wipers became standard equipment on American cars.
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| Information from www.inventorsmuseum.com. |
