After writing my blog post on changing attitudes towards women after the first world war, I was determined to find more before and after the time who do not get the recognition they should for their work! It led me into a very long spiral of meticulous internet searching, youtube video watching and book reading, as to no surprise there are actually very few accurate resources out there. Now, make yourself some tea and find a cosy place to sit as I have compiled my research and present to you...
HERSTORY
A collection of female engineers and designers throughout history who have been forgotten... until now!
Margaret Knight
The Flat Bottom Paper Bag, 1867
In 1867, Knight relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts and secured a job at the Columbia Paper Bag Company. During her time there, she observed that the machine-made paper bags they produced were flimsy, narrow, and incapable of standing upright on their own. These envelope-style bags were particularly unsuitable for carrying bulky items like groceries and hardware. Francis Wolle had secured patents for machines that produced these envelope-style bags in 1852, 1855, and 1858. However, the flat-bottomed paper bags that were more durable and versatile were only made by hand, which was a costly process.
After constructing a wooden prototype of her invention, Knight realised that she needed a model to secure a patent. She enlisted the help of a machinist named Charles Annan, who visited the machine shop where her model was being built. Unfortunately, Annan stole Knight's design and patented it before she could. When Knight attempted to obtain a patent for her work, she was dismayed to discover Annan's patent and filed a lawsuit for patent interference in the autumn of 1870. Annan's defence was that Knight couldn't possibly comprehend the machine's mechanical complexities.
Knight mounted a strong defence, producing extensive evidence in the form of meticulously crafted blueprints, journals, and models, as well as numerous witnesses who testified to her efforts to create drawings and models dating back to 1867. Despite the high cost of $100 per day (equivalent to $2,143 in 2021) for the 16-day legal proceedings, Knight was ultimately victorious in her patent interference lawsuit. She was granted her patent in 1871.
As a result of her invention of the paper bag machine, Knight was honoured by Queen Victoria of England in 1871.
Mary Anderson
Windsheild Wipers, 1903
While riding in a trolley car, Anderson noticed the driver struggling to see past the falling sleet due to the vehicle's poorly designed multi-pane windshield system. Although the car's front window was intended to provide better visibility in inclement weather, it proved ineffective. To clear their line of sight, the driver had to either open the window, lean out of the car, or stop the vehicle to manually wipe the windshield clean with their hands. Anderson, an entrepreneur without an engineering background, recognized the problem and saw an opportunity. She envisioned a windshield wiper blade that the trolley driver could control from inside the car.
She hired a designer to create a hand-operated device that would effectively clear a windshield. She then worked with a local company to develop a functional prototype. In 1903, Anderson applied for a patent, and after receiving approval, was granted a 17-year patent for her windshield wiper. She filed her patent application on June 18, 1903, and on November 10, 1903, the United States Patent Office awarded her patent number 743,801 for her Window Cleaning device.
Anderson’s simple mechanism and basic design have remained much the same, but unlike today’s windscreen wipers, Anderson’s could be removed when not needed
The automobile manufacturing industry experienced explosive growth by 1913, with windshield wipers becoming a common feature in vehicles. In 1922, Cadillac became the first car manufacturer to make standard equipment. Unfortunately, Anderson never profited from her invention, as her patent expired in 1920.
In 1917, Charlotte Bridgewood obtained a patent for the "electric storm windshield cleaner," which was the first automatic wiper system that utilised rollers rather than blades. However, like Anderson, Bridgewood did not profit from her invention. Anderson's great-great niece, Sara-Scott Wingo, believes that Anderson's invention never gained traction because she was an independent woman. According to Wingo, in an interview with NPR News, "She didn't have a father. She didn't have a husband. And the world was kind of run by men back then."
Josephine Cochran
The Dishwasher, 1886
Joel Houghton created a hand-cranked dish soaker in 1850. In the 1860s, L. A. Alexander attempted to improve upon Houghton's design with a geared mechanism that enabled the user to rotate racked dishes through a tub of water. Neither of these devices proved to be particularly effective. After a dinner party where some of Cochran's heirloom dishes were chipped during handwashing, she sought out a better alternative to this task. Additionally, she desired to relieve tired housewives of the burden of washing dishes after a meal.
Following the death of her husband in 1883, Cochran was put in a very difficult position. She had to independently develop, patent, find customers, and sell her product, without much representation or assistance from the men in her life. This was a challenging task for any woman during that time, regardless of their background or social status. Despite these obstacles, Cochrane persevered in the following years, working tirelessly to bring her innovation to the market with limited financial resources, and technical knowledge in helping her develop the mechanics of her pressurised dishwashing machine.
After filing her first patent application in 1885, Cochrane got to work developing a prototype of her dishwasher in the shed behind her house in Shelbyville, Illinois. Despite facing difficulties as a woman in a male-dominated industry, she was determined to bring her vision to life. To help her in constructing the dishwasher, Cochrane enlisted the help of mechanic George Butters, who later became an employee at the first dishwasher factory. Cochrane measured the dishes and built wire compartments, each specially designed to fit either plates, cups, or saucers, which were placed inside a wheel that lay flat inside a copper boiler. A motor turned the wheel while hot soapy water squirted up from the bottom of the boiler and rained down on the dishes. This innovative use of water pressure instead of scrubbers to clean the dishes inside the machine was groundbreaking. Cochrane received a patent for her invention in December 1886.
In 2006 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Ada Lovelace
The First Computer Programmer, mid-1800's
In 1840, Babbage presented a seminar at the University of Turin on his Analytical Engine. Luigi Menabrea, an Italian engineer and future Prime Minister of Italy, transcribed Babbage's lecture into French, which was later published in the Bibliothèque Universelle de Genève in October 1842. Charles Wheatstone, a friend of Babbage, asked Ada Lovelace to translate Menabrea's paper into English. Ada spent almost a year working on the translation and added extensive notes, which were published in the September 1843 edition of Taylor's Scientific Memoirs under the initialism AAL.
Ada Lovelace's notes were labelled alphabetically from A to G. In note G, she presented an algorithm for the Analytical Engine to compute Bernoulli numbers. This is considered to be the first published algorithm specifically designed for a computer, making Ada Lovelace widely recognised as the first computer programmer. Unfortunately, the Analytical Engine was never completed, so her program was never tested.
More than a century after her death, Ada Lovelace's notes were republished as an appendix to B. V. Bowden's Faster than Thought: A Symposium on Digital Computing Machines in 1953. The engine is now recognised as an early model for a computer, and Ada Lovelace's notes are considered to be a description of a computer and its software.
Helen Lamar
Inventor of Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Communication, 1940's
Hedy was an Austrian-born Austro-Hungarian-American film actress and inventor. She was often heard saying that improving things comes naturally to her. Her mechanism of switching from entertainer to entertained is through inventing. Her mind was always teeming with infinite possibilities.
Her interest in invention was influenced by her father, who used to take her on walks and explain the mechanics of various machines, such as the printing press and streetcars. This exposure to technology at a young age had a significant impact on Lamarr's thinking and approach to problem-solving. Even as a five-year-old, she was already taking apart and reassembling her music box to gain a better understanding of its inner workings.
Howard Hughes, a notable aviation businessman who had a romantic relationship with Hedy Lamarr, was impressed by her ingenuity and intellect. He was one of the few who recognised and valued her talents, and so he enlisted her help in his aviation projects. Hughes introduced her to his team of scientists, and Lamarr contributed to the improvement of his aeroplanes. She worked tirelessly and wherever she could find inspiration, whether it be in her movie set trailer, her home laboratory, or Hughes' aviation lab. Her goal was to create an aeroplane wing design that was both cost-effective and faster for Hughes. After observing and analyzing the movements of the fastest birds and fish, she eventually presented Hughes with her swept wing design.
At a dinner party in 1940, Hedy Lamarr met composer George Antheil, and the two quickly became friends. During their conversation, Lamarr expressed her distress over the sinking of the SS City of Benares. The ship was on its way from England to Canada when it was hit by an enemy torpedo, resulting in the death of 77 out of the 90 people onboard.
Shortly thereafter, they collaborated to create a wireless communication system that would prevent enemies from interfering with the signal that controlled the Allies' torpedoes. Lamarr came up with the idea of frequency hopping, while Antheil drew on his expertise with Ballet Mécanique and sixteen-player pianos to develop a method for synchronising the rapidly changing radio frequencies envisioned by Lamarr. Together, they designed a device that utilized a mechanism similar to piano player rolls to coordinate the progression between 88 frequencies. Their joint invention, known as frequency hopping, caused radio waves from the transmitter and receiver to simultaneously switch to a new frequency.
In recognition of their significant contributions to society in the fields of arts, sciences, business, and invention, Hedy Lamarr and George Antheil were honoured with the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award in 1997. These awards celebrate the lifetime achievements of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional creativity and innovation.
Furthermore, in 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, a prestigious honour that acknowledges their groundbreaking work in wireless communication technology.
Marjorie Joyner
The Permanent Wave Machine, 1928
Marjorie Joyner, who worked for Madame Walker's business empire, created a revolutionary permanent wave machine in 1928 that transformed the hairstyling industry. This device allowed women to curl or "perm" their hair for an extended period, enabling longer-lasting wavy hairstyles. The wave machine quickly gained popularity among women, and Joyner became a prominent figure in Madame Walker's business.
Marjorie Joyner drew inspiration for her invention from an unlikely source: a pot roast. She had been using paper pins to speed up cooking times in the kitchen, and this led her to experiment with paper rods for hairstyling purposes. Joyner soon developed a table that could be used to curl or straighten hair by wrapping it around the rods positioned above the person's head and then using heat to set the hair. With this innovative method, women could enjoy long-lasting hairstyles that would stay intact for several days.
Mary Beatrice Kenner
Inventor
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner was a prolific inventor who made many contributions throughout her lifetime. Her first patent, in 1957, was for a sanitary belt that was a significant improvement over the cloth and rag-based menstrual products used by most women at the time. Kenner originally invented the sanitary belt in the 1920s, but could not afford to patent it at the time. Over the years, she continued to refine and improve the design, eventually adding a moisture-proof pocket to prevent leaks.
Unfortunately, when the Sonn-Nap-Pack Company learned that Kenner was African-American, they lost interest in her invention. Despite this setback, Kenner continued to innovate and went on to patent an attachment for a walker or wheelchair, a toilet paper holder for the visually impaired and those with arthritis, and a mounted back washer and massager.
Although she never received any formal recognition for her work, Kenner's contributions helped pave the way for subsequent innovations. She still holds the record for the greatest number of patents awarded to a Black woman by the U.S. government. Her sanitary belt invention led to the evolution of menstrual products into the sanitary pad, which is still in use today with continuous improvements to comfort and leakage protection. Kenner is considered a forgotten inventor who played a pivotal role in revolutionising menstrual products.
Florence Parpart
The Street Sweeper and Refridgerator
Parpart is credited with inventing a street sweeper that aimed to automate the process of cleaning city streets. She filed two patents for this invention in 1899 and 1901, with Hiram D. Layman listed as a co-inventor despite him being only an investor. The sweeper was designed to reduce the manual labour involved in street sweeping and gather dirt efficiently from the street surface. The machine had an onboard elevator to deliver the dirt to a storage receptacle, which could then discharge it into carts. The design also included a covered mechanism to reduce dirt and dust in the air during operation.
Parpart also invented an electrical refrigeration system that circulated water throughout the fridge to maintain its cold temperature. This innovation paved the way for the modern refrigerators we have today, providing improved food storage efficiency for those with access to electricity. Her prototype forever changed the face of food safety and security.
Rachel Zimmerman Brachman
The Blisssymbol Printer, 1984
At the age of 12, Rachel Zimmerman invented the Blissymbol printer in 1984. The device used a unique software program to translate Blissymbols into written language on a computer, making it easier for people with disabilities to communicate with others. She integrated a touch-sensitive Atari tablet into a Blissymbol touchpad and added a printer to allow people to print out what they wrote. This eliminated the need for an assistant to translate the symbols, and the system could now be used in different languages. The Blissymbol printer has voice output and is still in use in Canada, Sweden, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
Her invention, the "Blissymbol Printer," was designed to assist those with severe physical disabilities, particularly cerebral palsy, in communicating more easily. The device operates by using a touchpad to select various symbols, which are then converted into written English or French by the Blissymbol Printer. Rachel Zimmerman initially created the device as a science fair project, which went on to win the silver medal at the 1985 Canada-Wide Science Fair. Her invention was also showcased at the World Exhibition of Achievement of Young Inventors and earned her the YTV Achievement Award for Innovation.
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