Some of the greatest inventions by women are covered in this article. These innovations have had a major impact on the world, ever since they began to be used commercially.
Not so long ago, women were considered to be good for managing household duties. However, Mary Dixon Kies in 1809 changed the way they were portrayed in a progressive male dominated society. She became the first woman in the US to receive a patent for inventing a process that weaved straw with silk and thread. This invention boosted the nation’s hat industry, during an era when hats were in vogue. By 1840, about 20 women inventors followed suit, and earned patents for their inventions related to tools, cooking stoves, fire places, and apparel. However, women soon mastered other complicated fields, and came up with some useful contributions.
Great Inventions by Women
Women like Sally Fox had an intelligent mind to come up with something innovative. She designed the process to produce naturally colored cotton, which not only helped her build a USD 10 million dollar business, but was also found to be environment friendly. Margaret Knight thought of a device that could automatically stop a machine if a mill worker got caught in it. She conceived this idea when she was only 12 years old, and went on to invent a machine that helped to make the flat-bottom paper bags that are used even today.
| Invention by Women | Women Inventors | Year |
| Circular Saw | Tabitha Babbit | 1812 |
| Submarine lamp and telescope | Sarah Mather | 1845 |
| Cooking Stove | Elizabeth Hawk | 1867 |
| Paper-bag-making machine | Margaret Knight | 1871 |
| Night Signals’ or flares that helped ships communicate messages at night. | Martha J. Coston | 1871 |
| Dishwasher | Josephine Cochran | 1872 |
| Globes | Ellen Fitz | 1875 |
| Locomotive Chimney | Mary Walton | 1879 |
| Alphabet blocks | Adeline D. T. Whitney | 1882 |
| Life Raft | Maria Beaseley | 1882 |
| Folding cabinet bed | Sarah E. Goode | 1885 |
| Fire Escape | Anna Connelly | 1887 |
| Rolling pin | Catherine Deiner | 1891 |
| Ironing board | Sarah Boone | 1892 |
| Car Heater | Margaret Wilcox | 1893 |
| Medical syringe | Letitia Geer | 1899 |
| Street-cleaning machine | Florence Parpart | 1900 |
| Dandruff shampoo | Josie Wanous Stuart | 1903 |
| Windshield Wiper | Mary Anderson | 1903 |
| Rotary engine | Margaret Knight | 1904 |
| Refrigerator | Florence Parpart | 1914 |
| Engine muffler | El Dorado Jones | 1917 |
| Electric Hot Water Heater | Ida Forbes | 1917 |
| Microelectrode | Ida Henrietta Hyde | 1930 |
| Chocolate chips and chocolate chip cookies | Ruth Graves Wakefield | 1930 |
| Micro-thin barium stearate film invention that can make glass completely non-reflective and “invisible”. | Kathering J. Blodgett | 1938 |
| Girdle made of latex for women | Ruth Kapinas | 1938 |
| Disposable Diaper | Marion Donovan | 1946 |
| Liquid Paper®, quick drying liquid to correct printed material | Bessie Nesmith | 1951 |
| Apgar tests, which evaluate a baby’s health upon birth | Virginia Apgar | 1952 |
| 6-marcaptopurine | Gertrude Belle Elion | 1953 |
| Scotchgard™ fabric protector | Patsy O. Sherman | 1956 |
| Barbie doll | Ruth Handler | 1959 |
| Satellite-propulsion system that satellites stay in orbit for longer periods | Yvonne Brill | 1960 |
| Direct and Return Mailing Envelope | Beulah Henry | 1962 |
| Snugli® baby carrier | Ann Moore | 1965 |
| Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests | Stephanie Kwolek | 1966 |
| Pansy-ette Bath Aid that is sponge bathing pillow which is used to help support a baby in the tub | Pansy Ellen Essman | 1969 |
| Cytanovich Reading System for dyslexics, and children with learning disabilites | Kay Cytanovich | 1977 |
| Apnea Detection Device, an alarm that helps detect when an infant stops breathing | Mary Horn | 1984 |
| Drinking Fountain Device | Laurene O’Donnell | 1985 |
| Blissymbol Printer | Rachel Zimmerman | mid-1980s |
| Battery Container | Nancy Perkins | 1986 |
| Wristies | K.K. Gregory | 1997 |
| Geobond | Patricia Billings | 1997 |
| Disposable Cell Phone | Randi Altschul | 1999 |
Dr. Giuliana Tesoro is known to have obtained over 125 patents. She earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from Yale University. She came up with a process that prevented static accumulation of synthetic fibers, flame resistant fiber designs, etc. Dr. Mary Grace Hooper was a B.A in mathematics and physics. She designed the famous computer language – COBOL. Dr. Temple Grandin got a Ph.D. in animal science, and designed livestock handling facilities. She also invented the objective scoring system that helped in assessment of handling of pigs and cattle at meat plants. Babara Askins won the National Inventor of the Year Award by the IPO Education Foundation in 1974. She is known to have invented a new film developing method.
