Some 150 years ago, women didn’t have the right to vote and couldn’t get an education on an equal basis with men. However, their research talent still made its way and revealed amazing discoveries to the world.
Chemists, biologists, philosophers, sociologists, mathematicians – we collected the stories of the most famous women inventors. But first, you should take a look at Ukrainian girls. Who knows, maybe one of them is a future inventor.
1. Ruth Wakefield
In the process of making another batch of cookies, Ruth added a few pieces of chocolate to the dough for the sake of the experiment. The result surpassed all expectations: the cookies gained incredible popularity, and the corporate recipe was included in all cookbooks. Later, Wakefield entered into an agreement with Nestle, allowing them to print the recipe of their cookies on the wrapper in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate!
2. Hedy Lamarr
She was born in Vienna. And Hedy emigrated to Hollywood to become a famous actress. She succeeded, but during World War II, together with her friend, she developed a system that allows torpedoes to be remotely controlled via radio. The reception and transmission of data were first carried out using a random code that constantly changed the radio channel, preventing the enemy from intercepting the information.
3. Margaret Eloise Knight
Paper bags today are one of the most commonly used items. But few people know that Margaret Knight invented the machine for their manufacture. People tried to steal her idea and use it on their own behalf; therefore, she had to sue several times. In total, Knight patented 87 inventions.
4. Mary Anderson
She was born in Green County, Alabama, but in the winter of 1902, she visited New York and watched as sleet impaired visibility on the road and impeded safe movement. In her notebook, Mary immediately drew a simple diagram of a brush cleaner on the outside of the windshield, which was set in motion by a lever mechanism. The following year, she patented her invention, but it gained popularity only a few years later.
5. Yvonne Brill
She is a Canadian-American inventor, who is the first woman in the world to ever conduct research in the field of rocketry. The woman is known for the invention of the propulsion system, allowing satellites to remain in orbit. Her system was an important component for the first meteorological satellite-observer that conducted research on Mars and the Moon.
6. Marjorie Joyner
She opened a beauty salon and thought about creating a device with which African-American women can straighten hair. As a result, a device called “a permanent waving machine” was born, and Joyner became the first African-American woman in history who received a patent for an invention.
7. Stephanie Kwolek
Here she is – the woman who invented the bulletproof vest! Stephanie Kwolek was born in the family of Polish immigrants in Pennsylvania. Working at DuPont, she came up with a light but incredibly durable synthetic fiber that was supposed to be used to make car tires. This fabric began to be used as the main material for the manufacture of more than 200 different items, including body armor, gloves, protective building materials and much more.
8. Ida Rosenthal
Ida Rosenthal was born in the town of Rakov near Minsk and, when the girl was sixteen years old, she moved to Warsaw. In 1922, she and her husband founded the Maidenform company, in which she began to develop bras of various shapes and created a modern size chart. Later, for the first time, Ida invented a length-adjustable buckle and special inserts into bras, which makes the breast visually bigger.
