By Rhonda Ramsey,
P.O.V. Contributing Writer
Lately, I have been working
on channeling my thoughts and being more positive. I have been searching
quotes, working on what I think about myself and working toward a new me. I
have been very inspired by strong powerful female role models.
Recently, I somehow
found myself browsing female inventors and learned (or re-learned what I had
forgotten) some things that I think you will enjoy.
Did you know that by the
20th century, only 10 percent of all patents were awarded to female inventors?
According to one of my
favorite websites:
“When you compile a list
of the most famous inventions of the past few centuries, few women will show up
as the creators of those items. It's not that women lack ingenuity or a
creative spirit, though; it's just that women have faced many hurdles in receiving
credit for their ideas. Take the case of Sybilla Masters, a woman who lived in
the American colonies. After observing Native American women, she came up with
a new way to turn corn into cornmeal. She went to England to obtain a patent for
her work, but laws at the time stipulated that women couldn't own property,
which included intellectual property like a patent. Such property was
considered to be owned by the woman's father or husband. In 1715, a patent for
Sybilla Masters' product was issued, but the name on the document is that of
her husband, Thomas.”
After reading something
like this, I could not wait to share a few of many inspirational women, and
their wonderful inventions!
1) Sylbilla Masters
Masters was the first
American female inventor in recorded history, but no doubt women have been
inventing since the dawn of time without the deserved recognition. Sybilla
Masters carried a patent application to England in 1712. She'd invented a new
corn mill, but the patent had to be filed in her husband's name because she was
a woman.
2) Mary Dixon Kies
Mary Dixon Kies was an
early 19th-century American who was the first recipient of a patent granted to
a woman by the United States Patent and Trade mark Office, on May 5, 1809,
which was for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
3) Ann Moore
Ann Moore invented the
Snugli baby carrier.
4) Mary Anderson
Mary Anderson invented
the windshield wiper. Anderson was issued a patent for the wipers in 1905.
5) Patricia Bath
Patricia Bath was the first
African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
6) Bessie Blount
Blount invented a device to
help disabled people eat with less difficulty.
7) Rachel Fuller Brown
Rachel Brown co-invented
Nystatin, the world's first useful antifungal antibiotic.
In 1886, Josephine Cochran
invented the first practical dishwasher.
9) Dianne Croteau
Dianne Croteau invented
Actar 911, the CPR mannequin.
10) Marjorie Stewart Joyner
Joyner invented a permanent
wave machine that would allow a hairdo to stay set for days.
Anyone ever used liquid
paper or Whiteout? Did you know the inventor was a woman named Bette Nesmith?
Last but not least, number 11:
Bette Nesmith Graham was a
secretary who used her own kitchen blender to mix up her first batch of liquid
paper.
Do you have any brilliant
female inventors to add to our list?
Sources:
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