Female Ingenuity
Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff
A partial list of the many ingenious inventions by women.
Invention | Inventor | Year |
---|---|---|
Antifungal antibiotic (Nystatin) | Rachel Fuller Brown and Elizabeth Lee Hazen | 1957 |
Barbi Doll | Ruth Handler | 1959 |
Brassiere | Mary Phelps Jacob | 1913 |
Battery container | Nancy Perkins | 1986 |
Beehive | Thiphena Hornbrook | 1861 |
Cabinet Bed | Sarah Goode | 1885 |
Canister vacuum | Nancy Perkins | 1987 |
Car heater | Margaret Wilcox | 1893 |
Circular saw | Tabitha Babbit | 1812 |
COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) | Grace Hopper | 1959 |
Computer program | Augusta Ada Byron | 1842 |
Cooking stove | Elizabeth Hawk | 1867 |
CPR Mannequin | Dianne Croteau, et al | 1989 |
Dam and reservoir construction | Harriet Strong | 1887 |
Direct and return mailing envelope | Beulah Henry | 1962 |
Dishwasher | Josephine Cochran | 1872 |
Disposable cell phone | Randi Altschul | 1999 |
Drinking fountain device | Laurene O'Donnell | 1985 |
Electric hot water heater | Ida Forbes | 1917 |
Elevated railway | Mary Walton | 1881 |
Engine muffler | El Dorado Jones | 1917 |
Feedback control for data processing | Erna Hoover | 1971 |
Fire escape | Anna Connelly | 1887 |
Fireplace damper actuator | Virgie Ammons | 1975 |
Geobond | Patricia Billings | 1997 |
Globes | Ellen Fitz | 1875 |
"Gong and signal chair" | Miriam Benjamin | 1888 |
Grain storage bin | Lizzie Dickelman | 1920 |
Hair products for African Americans | Madame C.J. Walker | 1908 |
Improved animal handling systems in meat plants | Dr. Temple Grandin | 1989 |
Improved locomotive wheels | Mary Jane Montgomery | 1864 |
Improvement in dredging machines | Emily Tassey | 1876 |
Improvement in stone pavements | Emily Gross | 1877 |
Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests | Stephanie Kwolek | 1966 |
Life raft | Maria Beaseley | 1882 |
Liquid Paper correction fluid | Bette Nesmith Graham | 1956 |
Locomotive chimney | Mary Walton | 1879 |
Medical syringe | Letitia Geer | 1899 |
Mop-wringer pail | Eliza Wood | 1889 |
Newborn Scoring System (Apgar Score) | Dr. Virginia Apgar | 1949 |
Non-reflective glass | Katherine Blodgett | 1938 |
Oil burner | Amanda Jones | 1880 |
Optical analysis systems | Dr. Ellen Ochoa | 1987 |
Permanent wave for the hair | Marjorie Joyner | 1928 |
Portable screen summer house | Nettie Rood | 1882 |
Process for isolating human stem cells | Ann Tsukamoto, et al | 1991 |
Refrigerator | Florence Parpart | 1914 |
Rolling pin | Catherine Deiner | 1891 |
Rotary engine | Margaret Knight | 1902 |
Safety device for elevators | Harriet Tracy | 1892 |
Signal generator | Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson | 1966 |
Spread spectrum | Hedy Lamarr | 1941 |
Street cleaning machine | Florence Parpart | 1900 |
Submarine lamp and telescope | Sara Mather | 1845 |
Suspenders | Laura Cooney | 1896 |
Washing machine | Margaret Colvin | 1871 |
Windshield wiper | Mary Anderson | 1903 |
Zigzag sewing machine | Helen Blanchard | 1873 |
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