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• Famous women inventors through history
• Innovation through diversity
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Famous women inventors through history

One may wonder why the term 'History' is always used instead of 'Herstory'. So who are the women who so actively contribited brilliance to the world as we now know it?

Are women sufficiently involved in invention? How can women's creativity, analyisis and problem solving be put to better use?

Dishwasher - In 1886 Josephine Cochran proclaimed in disgust "If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself." And she did - Josephine Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher. She had expected the public to welcome the new invention, which she unveiled at the 1893, World Fair but only the hotels and large restaurants bought her ideas. It was not until the 1950's that dishwashers caught on with the general public.

Windshield Wiper - Even before Henry Ford started manufacturing his Model A, Mary Anderson was granted her first patent for a window cleaning device in November 1903. Her invention could clean snow, rain, or sleet from a windshield by using a handle inside the car. Her goal was to improve driver vision during stormy weather. In 1915 the Mary Anderson ‘windshield wiper’ became standard issue on all cars.

Brassiere - The first modern brassiere to receive a patent was one invented by New York socialite, Mary Phelps Jacob in 1913. At that time, the only socially acceptable undergarment was a corset stiffened with whale bones. The invention of the brassiere eventually led to the demise of the often masochistic corset.

Disposable Diapers - In 1950, Marion Donovan was a young mother in the post-war baby boom era. She came from a family of inventors and inherited the inventing 'gene'. Unhappy with leaky, cloth diapers that had to be washed, she first invented the 'Boater', a plastic covering for cloth diapers first made from a shower curtain. Later, using disposable absorbent material and combining it with her Boater design, Marion Donovan created the first convenient disposable diaper. Companies she presented it to told her that her product would be too expensive to produce so she went into business for herself. A few years later, she was able to sell her company for $1 million.

Scotchgard - Patsy Sherman was a 3M research chemist assigned to work on fluorochemical polymers. She was one of the very few female chemists to work for a major corporation when she was hired by 3M in 1952. Her work was an essential part of the introduction of 3M’s first stain repellent and soil release textile treatments which have grown into an entire family of products known as Scotchgard ® protectors.

Kevlar - Stephanie Kwolek’s research with high performance chemical compounds for the DuPont Company led to the development of a synthetic material called Kevlar which is five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Kevlar, patented by Kwolek in 1966, does not rust nor corrode and is extremely lightweight.

World's first Computer Programmer - Ada Lovelace wrote programs for Charles Babbage's machine before it was even built - that is, manipulating symbols according to rules for a machine. She also foresaw the capability of computers to go beyond mere calculating or number-crunching.

Whats your opinion?