Meet the featured Inventors.

The women selected to frame this website are female inventors who created practical inventions and who, in some cases, paved the way for future innovators. Below is a snippet of information for each of these inspirations.

			Mary Anderson February 19, 1866 - June 27, 1953 Mary was a real estate developer and rancher who invented the windshield wiper. Her patent sketch is the background image for this site.
			Maria Beasley 1836 - 1913 Maria was naturally mechanically inclined and patented 15 inventions between 1878 and 1898. She invented the life raft, but her most successful inventions were focused on barrel-making machines.
			Sarah Boone 1832 - 1904 Sarah was an African American dressmaker who invented the modern ironing board. She was one of the first African American women to be awarded a patent.
			Marie Van Brittan Brown October 30, 1922 - February 2, 1999 Marie was a nurse who invented the first home video security system, along with her husband Albert Brown.
			Josephine Cochrane March 8, 1839 - August 3, 1913 Josephine invented the first automatic water jet dishwasher, and then went on to found the Garis-Cochrane Manufacturing Company and showcase the washers at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
			Bette Nesmith Graham March 23, 1924 - May 12, 1980 Bette was a typist and commercial artist who invented Liquid Paper. She orignally called it Mistake Out, and the product was based on white, water-based tempera paint.
			Beulah Louise Henry September 28, 1887 - February 1, 1973 Beulah was a prolific inventor who received 49 patents. She was the quintessential PractiGal, dedicated to developing products that improved the quality of life for women of her time. If an engineer told her it couldn't be done, she would make her own prototypes to prove them wrong.
			Nancy Johnson December 28, 1794 - April 22, 1890 Nancy lived in a time when women's identities were relinqished to their husbands upon marriage, and they were not allowed control of their own finances nor were they allowed to sign legal agreements. In spite of this, she filed and was awarded a patent for the first hand cranked ice cream machine.
			Mary Kies March 21, 1752 - 1837 Mary is credited for being the first female inventor to be awarded a patent. In 1809, she received her patent for a new technique of weaving straw with silk and thread to make hats. This was borne of necessity due to trade embargoes the United States placed on France and Great Britain during the Napoleonic Wars.
			Margaret Wilcox 1838 - March 30, 1912 Margaret was a mechanical engineer who was adept at creating practical solutions for problems of her time. She is most known for inventing the car heater, which was patented in 1893.