6.1.2: Female Inventors of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

Major Female Inventors and Their Work

Josephine Cochrane
  • invented a mechanical dishwasher since servants often broke or chipped dishes during washing.
  • product was patented in 1886 and Cochrane began selling her invention to local hotels
    • even though many women didn’t leave the house alone, she ventured into them and marketed her product on her own
CJ Walker
  • the first self-made female millionaire in the US after she developed hair products specifically for black hair (ethnically black, not black in color)
  • she did this because she noticed that many black women faced scalp diseases and hair loss due to the chemicals in their hair products
  • created a school to train other black women to treat hair, creating many new jobs for them
Mary Anderson
  • invented windshield wipers after traveling to New York City in 1902 and discovering that she had to roll down trolley windows in order to see through them
  • created the first effective model, a small rubber blade used to wipe rain from the windshield, which was first mass-produced by Cadillac
Melitta Bentz
  • invented the coffee filter after being frustrated by how often she found her coffee over- brewed or with grounds left in it
  • began by experimenting with paper from her son’s schoolbooks, and eventually began selling hundreds, then thousands each year
  • later started her own “Melitta Aid” fund for her workers
Maria Beasley
  • spearheaded significant improvements to the life raft because she noted some huge flaws in the current design
  • her new designs could easily be folded and unfolded, compact for storage but ready for use
  • also had several other, less consequential inventions such as foot warmers and barrel-making machines
Jeanne Villepreux-Power
  • was extremely interested in marine biology after pursuing environmental studies on the island of Sicily
  • invented the aquarium to be able to observe ocean animals within controlled environments
  • went on to become the first ever female member of scientific academies such as the Catania Accademia