Inventions By Women
The following is a partial list of the many ingenious inventions by women.
INVENTION | INVENTOR | YEAR |
---|---|---|
Alphabet blocks | Adeline D. T. Whitney | 1882 |
Apgar tests, which evaluate a baby’s health upon birth | Virginia Apgar | 1952 |
Chocolate-chip cookies | Ruth Wakefield | 1930 |
Circular saw | Tabitha Babbitt | 1812 |
Dishwasher | Josephine Cochran | 1872 |
Disposable diaper | Marion Donovan | 1950 |
Electric hot water heater | Ida Forbes | 1917 |
Elevated railway | Mary Walton | 1881 |
Engine muffler | El Dorado Jones | 1917 |
Fire escape | Anna Connelly | 1887 |
Globes | Ellen Fitz | 1875 |
Ironing board | Sarah Boone | 1892 |
Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests | Stephanie Kwolek | 1966 |
Life raft | Maria Beaseley | 1882 |
Liquid Paper®, a quick-drying liquid used to correct mistakes printed on paper | Bessie Nesmith | 1951 |
Locomotive chimney | Mary Walton | 1879 |
Medical syringe | Letitia Geer | 1899 |
Paper-bag-making machine | Margaret Knight | 1871 |
Rolling pin | Catherine Deiner | 1891 |
Rotary engine | Margaret Knight | 1904 |
Scotchgard™ fabric protector | Patsy O. Sherman | 1956 |
Snugli® baby carrier | Ann Moore | 1965 |
Street-cleaning machine | Florence Parpart | 1900 |
Submarine lamp and telescope | Sarah Mather | 1845 |
Windshield wiper | Mary Anderson | 1903 |
Mystery Inventors
We'll probably never know how many women inventors there were. That's because in the early years of the United States, a woman could not get a patent in her own name. A patent is considered a kind of property, and until the late 1800s laws forbade women in most states from owning property or entering into legal agreements in their own names. Instead, a woman's property would be in the name of her father or husband.
For example, many people believe that Sybilla Masters was the first American woman inventor. In 1712 she developed a new corn mill, but was denied a patent because she was a woman. Three years later the patent was filed successfully in her husband's name.