A Brief History
On May 5, 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman granted a US patent. She had invented a process for weaving straw with silk and thread. Over the years women have showed ingenuity and we would like to tell you about 10 of them. Honorary Mention: Eve, The Headache, Day 6. Not only did she invent how to get one, but how to give one as well!)
Digging Deeper
10. Mellitta Bentz, Paper Coffee Filter (1908).
Ever notice the name brand Mellitta on coffee filters in the store? Now you know where it came from.
9. Marie (Sklodowska) Curie, Radium and Polonium (1901).
Madame Curie as she is commonly known was Polish, born in Warsaw, and married an equally brilliant French physicist (Pierre). She invented the method for isolating the first known radioactive elements, radium and polonium but chose not to patent the process so the world could have it. She twice won the Nobel Prize (for Physics and for Chemistry).
8. Josephine Cochran, Dishwasher (1886).
Please take note that here at HistoryandHeadlines.com we do not laugh at jokes like, “What do you do when your dishwasher doesn’t work? A. Buy her flowers, B. Yell louder, C. Threaten to get a new one.”
7. Heddy Lamar, Spread Spectrum Radio (1941).
Not just a beautiful Hollywood actress, this genius came up with a way to make frequency hopping radio transmissions and receptions for secure radio communication.
6. Mary Anderson, Windshield Wiper Blade (1903).
She was born in 1866, before cars even existed.
5. Ruth Benerito, Permanent Press Clothing (1950’s).
She invented permanent press clothing so men could look good, too. She held 55 patents and died at age 97 in 2013.
4. Ida Rosenthal, Modern Brassiere (1925).
Not only the regular Maidenform bra, but also full figured and nursing models. She also invented the cup size system.
3. Bette Nesmith Graham, Liquid Paper (1956).
Yes, the mother of Monkee’s member, Michael Nesmith. In the days before computers and auto correct typewriters, people made a royal mess of papers by using rubber erasers. Liquid Paper (originally Mistake Out) made a huge advance in the quality of life for people who typed. Note: It could also be used as white touch up paint or to vandalize other workers stuff.
2. Charlotte Odlum Smith, Editor and Advocate.
Born in 1840, Charlotte founded multiple magazines (Inland Monthly, Working Woman, and Woman Inventor) and worked her entire life to see that women got the encouragement and recognition they deserved. She also founded a labor union of clerks called The Women’s Nation Industrial League. Smith even saw to it that the Patent Office issue a list of all women holding patents in 1883. Never one to profit from her work, she also helped many individual women and died penniless herself.
1. Mary Kies, Straw and Silk (1809).
Mary gets the top spot for being the first American woman to rise above the patriarchic constraints placed on women in the US. Good for her, and maybe some girl somewhere will grow up to invent “No Hangover Beer!”
Question for students (and subscribers): Please give us your nominations for women and their inventions (Hint: There are a lot!) you think should have been on the list in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Braun, Sandra. Incredible Women Inventors (Women’s Hall of Fame Series). Second Story Press, 2007.
Sweet, Melissa and Catherine Thimmesh. Girls Think of Everything: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2002.
The featured image in this article is a photograph of Pierre and Marie Curie in the laboratory, demonstrating the experimental apparatus used to detect the ionsation of air, and hence the radioactivity, of samples of purified ore which enabled their discovery of radium. The copyright of this image has expired in the European Union because it was published more than 70 years ago without a public claim of authorship (anonymous or pseudonymous), and no subsequent claim of authorship was made in the 70 years following its first publication.
You can also watch a video version of this article on YouTube!
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2061 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=2061">129 Comments
So, “liquid paper” is today’s “white out”? That stuff is incredibly useful. Also, I thought it was very commendable that Charlotte Smith did so much for women, yet was very poor at the time of her death. She poured so much into helping others. Not many people would do the same today without concern for themselves.
I am shocked to find that a woman created windshield wipers! Not because I do not think a woman is capable, but because I didn’t expect men to so readily agree to the use of a woman’s creation. I wish female inventors were more readily known, or made known, in education today.
I found that Bette Graham was very unique in her invention. She reduced having to start over so many times on the new typewriters by her new “mistake out” which is commonly known as white out in our generation.
I did not know that many of these things were invented by women! All of these inventions are used so much in today’s society. I don’t know how we would drive cars today without any windshield wipers.
Marie Curie and her work always interest me. I was unaware that she won two Nobel Prizes.
To clarify, I meant that I didn’t expect men in that day and age to agree. I do not believe that men are always hesitant to a woman’s opinion, especially in the present age.
I didnt know about who invented any of these things but they are used all over the world. very nice to learn.
It was nice to learn who made these usefully things. It was very interesting.
I didn’t know who invented any of these things, but in was interesting to learn that women invented all of these invetions.
It was very interesting to learn who invented these inventions, because I had no clue who had invented them before reading this.
I never knew most of these names until just now. The only one I did was Marie Curie. She and her husband, Pierre, are discussed in Chemistry classes for their discoveries. It’s sad that most of the inventors we learn about are male, even though some of these inventions were life changing and very helpful in society.
I only recognized Marie Curie’s name. I did not know these things invented by women since inventors tended to be males during those times.
I never realized that some of these inventions were invented by women.
Many people today do not talk about women inventors. It was nice to learn about the all the useful things that we have now, invented from women. The one person who stood out to me was Bette Graham. Her invention was the mistake out for the typewriters which is similar to now of days with white out.
I could say something about a woman inventing a dishwasher, but I wont. Not to offend anyone! But these women were all very accomplished.
I’ve never heard of a lot of these women. They were all very creative and bright.
My favorite invention from this list was windshield wipers. These are very common and many people probably don’t realize that they were invented by a woman.
Women in society are just as important as men are.
Women have always been important to our society. I think its saw we repressed them for so long
Its really awesome to see how much women have contributed to society since for a good portion of our country, women had hardly any rights and were treated terribly.
Both men and women have come up with very important inventions that we use today, like the light bulb and windshield wiper blade
it was good to learn that some of these inventions came from women. just to show that they need to value women just as much as men
It’s pretty remarkable that these women were able to invent so many long lasting technologies considering they probably were not given the same resources as many men back then.
Considering the time frame in which women were living, these women were innovative and showed how women could offer more to society. These inventions may appear trivial or not important, but without such inventions (ex; windshield wipers, dishwasher, white out), society would not have advanced to such a degree that it is today.
It’s nice to see that women have made such a remarkable mark in inventing innovative technologies that have lasted a life time. We must give credit to women just as much as men for there efforts to make peoples lives easier.
I have never heard of many of these women but they were very smart and should be just as credited as many of the men scientists we know about
Wow, I never knew how much of an impact that females had on inventing so many of the tools we still use to today like the dishwasher and coffee filter! It’s amazing that we seem to not give these women as much credit as they deserve on inventions that have made our lives easier.
Its amazing to see what an impact these women had on our every day lives. The coffee filter and dishwasher are both heavily used items. We would still be doing things differently had it not been for these women.
It’s awesome seeing how these amazing women have impacted our lives.
It was interesting that a majority of these inventions benefitted the lives of these women at the time. For example, the modern bra, the permanent press, and dishwasher were all tools that a women would use everyday. It was also neat to learn that a woman invented windshield wiper blades too.
The fact that Mary Anderson invented something for a piece of equipment that hadn’t been invented yet is quite remarkable!
its remarkable when women can face all these challenges at that time and can invent
I find it really cool how so many women made such amazing products that have changed our world for the better.
These products that women made now are far more advanced but it also immensely helped create a base of work.
The dishwasher and windshield wipers are forsake my favorite products.
I think its funny that women invented the dishwasher and permanent press clothing because they were the ones doing laundry back then.
I think its sweet that girls were inventing stuff to make it easier on them back then.
Mary Kies is the only name I recognized, considering she was the first woman granted a US patent. What a success!
I have always been interested in learning about the major accomplishments that women made back when they were seen as so inferior to men. I never knew that all of these things that we still use today were invented by women.
it is interesting learning about how creative women had to be back then for protect themselves and their families.
Marie Curie is easily my favorite for her advancements in physics and chemistry! She not only became the first woman to get a nobel prize, but she didn’t even patent her work so the whole world could use her scientific advancement!
its amazing how many women had the drive to invent, even if the field was dominated by men.
I think my favorite was Mary Anderson and the windshield wiper blade in 1903. I think this because she was born before cars were even invented, then invented something used for cars that we all still use today pretty commonly.
I wonder how well the first windshield wipers actually worked.
I did not know before this article that some of these inventions were created by women. It was cool to learn the history of them and see how they influenced us today
Women play such a key role in our society, why is it that it took so long for us to realize this. Geez
I find it crazy that women have played such a big role in history but yet they are not in the history books that often.
The role women played was huge. Even life today would not be the same without them.
Us women play such a big part in life today its crazy to think back then we were viewed as so much “less” than men
I am so glad mellitta Bentz invented the paper coffee filter.
Madame Curie is my idol! so inspiring seeing women accomplish so much in science
It really surprised me how many women invented simple things that I windshield wipers.
I was not aware that these inventions were developed by women. The only female inventor I was familiar with was Marie Curie. Many of these inventions attribute to todays conveniences.
It is hard to believe that Mary Anderson created the windshield wipers before cars ever existed. Charlotte Odlum Smith seems a feminist as she tried to gain recognition for women and even founded a labor union.
Outstanding, smart women. They saw a problem and then created something to make it better. What would we do without our coffee.
I would of never of guessed a woman would be the first one to separate the first radioactive molecules in the time period
I did not realize how that a woman created many of these inventions such as the permanent press and liquid paper. It’s great to see so many women making inventions during a time where they did not play much of a role in the work force.
As a student who has had to take a lot of science classes I always like learning about Marie Curie. What I learned new from this article was that she did not patent her process. I think that is a sign of a true love for science and wanting to expand what we know.
As I read the comments, I see that many people are surprised to learned how much women have been involved with various inventions and I do not see why this is a surprise. Sure, we may not learn much about it but obviously women had to of helped in SOME inventions
This information is very interesting. It makes sense that these inventions were developed by women because they are the ones directly involved with clothing, bras, washing dishes etc. I was impressed with Ruth Benerito’s accomplishments and education it was not very common in those days.
The old saying that “necessity is the mother of invention” is certainly proven here. I love that inventions by women are so broad in their areas of use!
I really enjoy reading about all of these great things that women have invented! Some of these even involved scientific inventions and discoveries which is awesome since scientific fields are generally male dominated.
I love science. I am a toxicology and biology double major with a minor in chemistry. Because of this, I was specifically interested in reading and watching the video about Marie (Sklodowska) Curie. I have learned a little bit about her before in my previous years of science classes. I find it amazing that she invented the method for isolating the first known radioactive elements, radium and polonium. One other interesting fact I know about her is that she actually died of cancer from being exposed to the same radioactive elements that she learned how to isolate.
I had no idea that so many inventions we’re invented by women. It was interesting to find out that so many products we still use today were invented by women.
I agree with Kala. I had no idea these things were invented by women, especially the windshield wipers and the dishwasher.
I love women’s empowerment, and having this article of inventions that were created by women is great! I had no idea that so many things were invented by women.
I was most impressed by Heddy Lamar who invented the Spread Spectrum Radio that provided a way to make frequency hopping radio transmissions and receptions for secure radio communication. She was a Hollywood actress, but was also very intelligent.
I really enjoyed reading this article about successful women. I was most impressed by Mary Anderson and her invention of the windshield wipers. I would have guessed a woman inventing something to do with a car.
I really enjoyed the article about these ten successful women. One thing that really popped out at me was that Marie Curie developed the method of isolating the first two radioactive elements but did not patent them. To me, this shows humility and honesty in Curie’s character.
I found this article very intriguing. Women can truly do amazing things and have such incredible minds. I was very impressed that Josephine Cochran created the dishwasher. This is something that I feel every household and cafeteria depend so highly on. What a lifesaver!
In the old days, people thought that gentlemen had a higher social status than ladies. The gender discrimination thinking is totally wrong. No matter males or females, everyone is equal. Sometimes, women can show others that they have a better talent than men in some fields. We should always respect women ever and ever.
I heard about Marie Curie when I was a child because I had science class in kinder garden. I knew about her as well as Issac Newton at that time. She was a great woman, she offered her whole life on research and made a great step of human science history.
I didn’t know any of these inventions were made by women. It was interesting to learn about inventions that women made.
I did not know about some of these women and their amazing inventions. I did know about Marie Curie. I only ever discussed her in a chemistry class at one point. It is amazing to learn about great inventions that are also made by women, not just men.
I think it is very interesting that so many inventions were from women.
As a woman, I appreciate that these inventions were made by women.
I never heard of or learned about Mary Kies before.
There are some very important items on this list. The one that made me say wow to was the windshield wiper. It is not that I was shocked, but proud to see that that woman had that impact.
I was under the impression that bras have been around since the 1800’s or even earlier. I did not realize that it was not until the 1920’s that they had been invented and designed.
I would have never thought that wiper blades were invented separate from the car. It is interesting that such a crucial part of driving would be invented after the car.
It makes sense that some of the most practical inventions listed above were those made by women 🙂 But in all seriousness, this was a very interesting read, as it puts the revolution of technology and products used in our day-to-day lives into perspective.
I thing is intersting story
Interesting but not surprising that women invented these items. You can always count on a women to make everyone’s lives easier, just like these inventions. I never knew that women invented these and it nice to see in 1809 a woman was awarded a patent.
Heddy Lamar was an amazing actress, did not know about her invention! Madame Curie is the most fascinating to me. In 1934 for a woman to be a scientist, establish the theory of radioactivity, and be awarded for it was quite a feat! Unfortunately, she would die from the ill effects of being exposed to all that radioactive material.
Some brilliant and tenacious women listed here. It makes me wonder how many more brilliant women were just brushed aside throughout history for simply being a woman…
I wonder why Madame Curie did not want to share her discovery of radioactive isolation. She could have helped the medical field and earned money. I wonder if it was a situation where she didn’t want people to know the secret or if she thought it would be a danger to people who weren’t as smart as her.
Oh My!!! I feel like ashamed not knowing who half these women are. I feel like a lot of the women would have been recognized more if they would have shared their ideas.
I was most intrigued with Heddy Lamar’s invention of the Spread Spectrum Radio because having a secure way to communicate is very important even today!
All of these women are great inventors and have contributed to society in their own time as well as ours. I think the most beneficial invention on this list is the windshield wipers. Driving in the rain today would be close to impossible without them.
It blows my mind that the windshield wiper was invented before the car! It must have taken a lot of bravery to be taken seriously as a woman in a male dominated industry at the time! My favorite of all of these inventions was the coffee filter for obvious reasons.
Kacey,
I agree the coffee filter is my top choice. I would have a lot of people hate me if I didn’t have my coffee.
All these women invented some great things that we obviously use today. Being a coffee drinker I would have to say that the invention of the coffee filter by Mellitta Bentz and the dishwasher by Josephine Cochran were amazing to learn. Especially seeing that all these inventions were made during a time of men being more dominate then women.
Wow, what an interesting read. I had no idea that these great things were invented by women. These women were incredible inventors. Think about where we would be without windshield wiper blades, paper coffee filters and liquid paper.
It’s awesome to see these women invent things that most likely a lot of people wold think that men would create these things. Women have a great name in the things that they have done during times where women weren’t encouraged to do these types of activities.
I was very impress with this article because it gave me information about products that I have uses. I did not know how many products that are use today were invented by women. I also like the fact that it explain why women invented the products and why. Most of this products are still around and thank god for the women that invented them, especially Liquid Paper I use that a lot.
These women paved the way for future generations and presented a great example of leadership during a time of turmoil for women.
I found the invention of the windshield wiper blade by Mary Anderson to be the most impressive invention. Most of us think that windshield wiper blades came with the invention of the car. I found it interesting that not only was it a separate invention but one that wasn’t even created by Ford or any other car company for that matter.
I never think about the people that develop inventions. I am grateful for Bette Nesmith Graham. I probably use her invention of liquid paper on average two times a day. Keep up the good work woman; your ideas make my life an easier.
All the inventions by women listed in this article are amazing. However, Patsie O’Connell Sherman helped invent Scotch guard. If it weren’t for this stuff, my kids would have destroyed my furniture!
I agree with that scotch guard is a great thing.
out of all of the women listed I had only heard of Marie Curie. I wish that we heard of these ladies more often, without their inventions the world would be a much different place.
Sarah,
You know I have to agree, it would be nice to hear more about woman like this. Now we have to figure out why more woman are not stepping up now. Maybe they are but we don’t hear about them either.
A lot of these woman had great ideas and inventions. I have to say the on I like is Mellitta Bentz maker of the coffee filter. I have to have a good cup of coffee in the morning and if I had to drink it with grounds in it I would not be a happy person . So I like this invention.
I find it amazing that all of these inventions by women, are still being used in every day life. A lot of these inventions are taken for granted without us realizing it, but I applause these women for having the guts to come with these ideas at a time when it wasn’t popular for women to think such things.
I never really thought about who invented these particular items or many others for that matter. The one item that I find very interesting that a female invented it the windshield wiper by Mary Anderson. Not to sound stereo typical but I would have guessed a male invented this item. I would have also thought that the windshield wiper would have come with the invention of that car.
Many great inventions by women throughout history, one of the most interesting to me is not on this list. Stephanie Kwolek in 1966 invented Kevlar which is used in bullet proof vests, helmets and other things.
Love that Hedy Lamarr was brains before beauty.
It does not surprise me at all that women invented bras and dish washing machines. Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies, which just happen to be my favorite!!!
The one I found surprising was about Liquid Paper. What was even more surprising? My wife actually knew the name of the woman who invented Liquid Paper and her lineage.
I was really impressed with all the brilliant contributions made by these female inventors. Their work and their imagination is truly inspirational. I was particularly impressed with Ruth Benerito. I think holding 55 patents was a remarkable accomplishment. I also believe some leaders in the business world today should take a look at the life and accomplishments of Charlotte Odlum’s. She was never one to profit from her work and she impacted the lives of countless women. Today, it seems like the majority of people just want to get rich and really don’t care how they contribute to society. These women are an example for future generations to follow.
I found it interesting that most all of these inventions came from one person having a need, and they found a way to serve this need. If it weren’t for them being problem solvers, that would not have made the impact they have made today. I am constantly telling my children, I am more than happy to help with whatever problem you have, but try to come to me with a solution in mind initially. You never know what you might come up with!
It is always impressive to see and read accomplishments of women. I did not know a women was responsible for the windshield wiper.
I found this article very interesting on behalf of some of the inventions I never really thought to have had female inventors, not to be stereotypical. I also found it interesting that most of these inventions were invented on what one needed at that time. Even though many could have used it they made it for themselves and then they expanded their inventions upon others.
I loved reading about the amazing and innovative women who provided so many of the things we use today!
The dishwasher!
I really want to research Marie Curie. It’s a shame that I have never heard of her.
I have only heard of a couple of these women. It’s a shame I didn’t learn this in the earlier years of school. It must have been difficult to compete with men. Knowing they were meant to be a “homemaker”.
I found this article intriguing. It is especially interesting to read about these amazing women during the political landscape of our country. It reiterates the importance of women on history. I enjoyed reading about Bette Nesmith Graham and the Liquid Paper. This appealed to me because it was invented in 1956 when many women held jobs requiring a type writer. Her invention showed that she could think outside the box to make the job easier for everyone.
God bless Mellitta Bentz! I’m a coffee addict! I had no idea that a woman created the coffee filter, but it makes my coffee taste that much better knowing a woman is to credit for something I use every day to make my wonderful coffee!!
It is amazing to know such things were invented by women! The coffee filter, bra,and more deeply, radio frequency! I always wondered about the coffee filter as I am a die hard coffee drinker. I thought a man invented the bra so its nice to know otherwise. Women seem to have always had an important role in the world from early time until now.
Where would I personally be without the coffee filter?! I was filled with excitement to know that a woman invented the coffee filter! Also, I was pretty sure it was a man who invented the bra, I guess I was completely wrong! Finally, who could not know Madam Curie?!
These are fantastic stories. Many if not all I was not aware of. I could go without most but not the dishwasher! I really need to step it up in life.
I like how Madame Curie was great by inventing the idea of radioactive elements, radium and polonium, but not patent of the process, she was wining the Nobel Prize which was showing she had a famous work from her own.
The spread spectrum radio is pretty cool. Never heard of most of these women.
Madame Curie was great female by inventing the method for isolating first known radioactive elements, radium and polonium for world to own it. She was wining twice for Nobel prize made her became famous.
Charlotte was kind enough that never got profit from her work, she helped many women in the past, finally her achievement made her had a famous reputation.
Marie Curie’s discoveries have been supremely important to the advancement of modern science and medicine. It is sad that her work ultimately led to her death, as she was killed at an early age from an illness that resulted from her carrying around radioactive samples. Her death certainly wasn’t in vain.
It’s interesting how the majority of the women listed all invented something that made women’s lives better during their lifetimes. I am grateful for the bra, however!
I enjoyed seeing some of the inventions inspired by women. Since women were limited to “homemaker” tasks, their inventions were brought about to increase efficiency and were often very useful . I am very grateful to Ida Rosenthal for inventing the bra!
Thank you woman who invented the bra, because corsets sound awful to wear.
I liked reading and learning about the women inventors in U.S. history and I think it is important that they are known and recognized today! I have noticed the Mellitta on coffee filters at several stores before and I am glad that I finally have the history behind it!