20th CENTURY: Women Inventors of Tools and Machines

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The Lady Edisons Machine Specialists
Beulah Louise Henry Mother Edison
Margaret Knight Paper Bag Queen
Madame C.J. Walker First female African-American
millionaire.
Mary Walton Reduced Train Pollution
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Mary Pennington The Refrigerated Train
Mary Anderson The Windshield Wiper
Hedy Lamarr Frequency Hopping
Ruth Handler Barbie
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20th CENTURYWomen Inventors of Tools and
Machines

• By Aisy Naidu
• Spring 2006
• EWS425H

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In the 20th Century, machines and mechanical
inventions patented by women grew at an
exponential rate.
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The Changing Role of Women

• During World War I the rapidly expanding war
  industries dipped heavily into the labor force of
  women.
• In 1918 nearly three million new women workers
  were employed in food, textile and war
  industries. Many taboos and restrictions thrown
  up to keep women out of large-scale productions
  industry were broken down.
• Women worked as streetcar conductors, radio
  operators, and in steel mills and logging camps
  during the war.
• Reference http//www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/un
  its/2002/3/02.03.09.x.html

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Chemists Versus Mechanics

• The most prolific women patentees tended to be
  chemists, and therefore they received more
  recognition.

Dr. Ruth Benerito- works for the Department
of Agriculture and has over 55 patents that deal
mainly with wash and wear fabrics
Dr. Giuliana Tesoro- a textile chemist who
worked with a private industry and had over 125
patents
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Obstacles Faced By Women Mechanics

• Professional
• Women were hired for consultancy on household
  machines but were not given the opportunity to be
  innovators within corporations
• Marketing/ Social Stigma
• Women with good inventions were often overlooked
  or not taken seriously by corporations because of
  their gender
• Submerged in Teams
• Provided valuable input in inventions but the
  credit often went to the team leader, typically
  males

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Machines That Made an Impact

• SEWING MACHINE

• DISHWASHER

• WASHING MACHINE

• TYPEWRITER

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Sewing Machine

• The Number of Womens Sewing-Machine Patents by
  1894

• Beulah Louise Henry (1887 - )
• Born in Memphis Tennessee
• Invented the first bobbin less sewing machine
  (1940)
• Such a prolific inventor that she was coined
  Lady Edison
• Created about 110 inventions and held 49 patents

150
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Sewing Machine Continued

• Dorothy Young Kirby (1909 - )
• Authored the Dot Young Sewing Guide
• Enabled sewer to give clothes perfectly straight
  seams and professional looking top-stitching
• Six mail-order catalogues which sold over 250,000
  copies
• Rosa Csudor-de Valerio (1894 - )
• Entertainer and Skating Champion from Romania
• Invented Ro Ri Ro(1975) at age 81
• A new embroidery technique and sewing attachment

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The Dishwasher

• Josephine Cochrane
• Invented the first automatic dishwasher in 1887
• She unveiled her invention at the 1893 World's
  Fair in Chicago, and won its highest award.
• She began manufacturing her invention, and it was
  used heavily in all major hotels.
• Her company has evolved today into the well known
  Kitchen-Aid.

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The Dishwasher Cont

• Anna Dunder
• Patented an early dishwasher in 1903
• Frances GABe
• Invented the Self-Cleaning house which included
  dishwashing cupboards (aesthetically pleasing)
• Alma T. McHargue
• Patented a dishwasher that included a drainer in
  1911

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The Washing Machine

• Jessie Whitney
• Cartwright (1897-1977)
• Director of Norges Home Institute
• Had at least four important inventions concerning
  washing machines, among them
• Ripplette (1954) a small agitator which would
  replace a large agitator of a washing machine for
  protecting delicate items
• Stop Cycle in dryers
• Delicate cycle
• Metal backed panels for washing machines which
  made them quieter and reduced shock

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The Washing Machine Cont

• Ethel R. Blake, Bertha Moe (along with husband)
• Patented washing machines in 1925
• Agatha K. Bremer
• Patented a washing machine in 1940
• Belle Tucker
• Invented lint trap for washing machine in 1970
• Frances GABe
• Created a combination closet and clothes-washer
  as part of her self-cleaning house

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The Typewriter

• No one person can be said to have invented the
  typewriter, but it may have been created as early
  as 1700s.

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The Typewriter Cont

• Lily Pavey
• Invented the Musikriter in 1961
• Musical typewriter for which this British
  inventor won many accolades
• Eventually manufactured and sold widely
• Lillian Malt
• Owner of Lillian Malt Training Services
• Invented the Maltron Keyboard in 1978
• Was designed to fit different finger lengths and
  had vowels spaced further apart as to reduce
  errors
• Evelyn Berezin
• Word Processing Pioneer
• Helped invent the Data Secretary which had far
  more capabilities than IBM.
• She made huge financial profit for selling her
  Redactron, the company that produced the Data
  Secretary

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The Typewriter Cont

• Sarah M. Hawley
• Patented a paper-feeding mechanism for
  typewriting machines (1907)
• Emma D. Mills
• Devised her own typewriter with several
  innovative mechanisms
• Martha F. Cooke
• Typewriter key-locking attachment (1940)
• Beulah Henry (at least 14 related patents)
• Supplemental Ribbon Attachment
• Duplicating Attachment
• Silent Typewriter
• Key operated machines

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Women Agriculture

• Of all agricultural patents granted to women
  between 1905-1921, about 45 of them were
  machines or mechanical devices.
• Most of these inventions were made by farm women,
  and not urban inventors or corporate workers.
• As Agriculture became more professionalized, the
  Takeover Theory comes into play, and women
  granted patents for farm machinery drastically
  reduced.
• Some Patentees in this Field
• Marie Huschka
• Patented the fowl-dressing appliance
• Dora E. Warfel
• Patented a poultry feeding appliance

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Women Architecture

• As the population grew and houses became smaller,
  the need for space efficient furniture increased
  it is about this time that women began patenting
  house furniture building and construction, and
  mechanical devices.
• Some Patentees in this Field
• Alice Parker
• Invented the heating furnace
• Lillian Gilbreth
• Designed appliances and whole kitchens for the
  handicapped veterans of World War I
• Frances GABe
• Self-Cleaning House
• Alice Austin
• Built in furniture and roll-away beds

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Women Art

• Women have played a significant role in
  mechanical devices used in the Arts not limited
  to the areas of photography, artist devices, and
  sculpting devices.
• Some Devices Patented by Women
• Adjustable artists desk and easel
• Drawing Table
• Etching Apparatus
• Reproducing Outlines of a Form
• Camera
• Automatic controller for camera shutters

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Women Commercial and Retail Trade

• Some Patentees in this Field
• Edith L Boyer
• Patented the Labeling Machine in 1907
• Alice M. Argles
• Inventor from England who patented a coin-freed
  mechanism for good-delivery machine in 1901
• Florence Anderson
• Patented the Coinbox which was heavily used in
  parking meters n 1952
• Barbara Brown
• Printing mechanism for cash registers in 1979

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Women Education

• Society enforced the caretaker role upon women
  and teaching children was one of the few jobs
  that was considered acceptable for them in the
  20th Century.
• Some Devices Patented by Women
• Means of teaching the Alphabet
• Appliance for teaching reading
• Means of aiding the teaching of spelling
• Inflatable globe for geography teaching

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Women Electrics

• Women have held an extensive role in the
  advancement of technology in the field of
  Electrics. The following is a less than
  exhaustive list of some of the key players.
• Some Patentees in this Field
• Delma E. Lee
• Patented the electric switch in 1910
• Angelica E. Post
• Invented the Dry Cell battery in 1906
• Hertha Ayrton
• First woman member of the Institution of
  Electrical Engineers Invented the Pulsemeter and
  Carbon Arc Light for Movie Projection
• Maude Adams
• Improved capability for showing full color film
  in daylight
• Edith Clarke
• Patented a calculator (1925), electric power
  transmission (1927), and electric circuit (1944)
• Jessie Pope
• Invented the thermostatically controlled curling
  iron (1946)

CONTINUED Chien-Shiung Wu Well known physicist
who improved instruments to detect radiation Hedy
Lamarr Frequency hopping, a secret communication
system used in cell phone industry today Harriet
Stern Invented the portable hair dryer in
1962 Mary Spaeth Tunable dye laser used in
check-out technology today Mabel MacFerran
Rockwell Only woman involved in design for Hoover
Dam Dr. Beatrice Hicks Co-Founder and first
president of Society of Women Engineers Dr. Alla
Masevich Invented the first satellite tracking
technology
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Women Health/Medical

• Some Patentees in this Field
• Dr. Jessie Wright
• Rocking bed for patients needing help with
  breathing
• Dr. Anne Chamney
• Oxygen tent
• Doreen Kennedy-Way
• Battery Operated Go Cart for Spina Bifida
  children
• Julia Butcher
• Invalid Exercising bed

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Women the Labor Saving and Domestic Field
Some Patentees in this Field Ethel A.
Cooper Folding ironing board Corinne Dufour May
have invented a portable vacuum cleaner around
1910 Dorothy Rodgers At least 7 household
inventions among them the Jonny Mop in 1946 for
cleaning toilet bowls Leonara Hafen Invented a
cleaning brush for small crevices and a rug
shampooer with less spattering Buelah Louise
Henry Can Opener in 1956
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Women in Manufacturing/Industrial
Some Patentees in this Field Catherine
Evans Pioneered the tufting technique which led
to the manufacturing of chenille, a fabric used
in bedspreads (around 1905) Alida
Marcoux Patented eight looms or loom mechanisms
between 1902-1908 Lydia B. Koch Held over 19
patents related to the manufacturing of paper
bottles Hazel Hook Wolz Invented the bobby pin
used by millions today for pinning hair Wei
Feng-ying Had over 400 technical innovations to
her credit
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Women The Office
Some Patentees in this Field Marie
Heilbron Patented a letter opener machine that
was useful for stores with heavy mail volume. It
opened 400 letters per minute as opposed to 30 by
hand. Verena Holmes Patented a safety paper
cutter in Britain Emily Duncan Patented two
banking related calculators
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Women Theatre

• Acting in theatre and stage production was an
  acceptable career choice for women, and they
  readily began going about ways to enhance their
  work environment through developing technologies.
• Patentee in this Field
• Raye Coplan
• Invented the Marionette, which simplified the
  operation of puppets
• Devices Patented by Women
• Device for producing stage rain
• Fire illusion device

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Women Toys
This is an extensive field, and the list could go
on and on but the following are just a few of
the women who made mechanical toys for
children. Some Patentees in this Field Beulah
Henry Eating toy animal in 1953 Movable lip for
toy figures in 1951 A toy cow that gives milk
in 1951 Helen L. Borza Windmill Toy Ruth
Handler Barbie (doll with movable arms and legs)
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Women Transportation
Women have invented significant and advanced
technologies in the areas of transportation, and
improved upon models already in place. Some
Patentees in this Field Jean Aimes Invented the
first commercial child seat in1962 Lillian
Todd Uncovered a glider-type aircraft in
1906 Vera C. Hodges Introduced the starter for
engines in 1935
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The End

• Questions/Comments???