Women’s Inventions Throughout History

Women are an undeniable part of American history. While we have been taught mostly of mens’ inventions, we have not heard of as many innovations created by women. Not only an essential part, but also an inventive part of history. Women have had many inventions that they have shared with the world, but in this article let’s focus on a few favorites.

There’s a good chance you’ve either used a computer before or are reading this on a computer. For that wonderful invention, we have to thank Grace Hopper. Hopper had many achievements including earning a masters and PHD from Yale, creating one of the first computer languages, and designing one of the first modern computers in 1944. Hopper also co-invented an entirely new coding language called COBOL, which was the first universal computer language to be used by business and government. Grace Hopper has many more achievements beyond these few, and continued to do great things up until her death in 1992. Thanks to her contributions to early computers, we have our technology that aids us today in classrooms and across campus. Another famous inventor in a similar vein is Ada Lovelace, who created the first computer algorithm, and could be considered the world’s first computer programmer. 

An important piece of the modern household, the electric refrigerator, was invented by a woman. Florence Parpart invented the electric refrigerator in 1914. Not much is known about Parpart unfortunately, but she was from Hoboken, NJ. Parpart also invented an improved version of the street cleaner. Continuing in a similar technological fashion, Marie Van Brittan Brown invented multiple things as well, including CCTV, the first home security system, and in addition the two way microphone. She created the security system after facing significant security risks throughout her neighborhood. She was born and raised in NYC in the neighborhood of Jamaica. Marie and her husband Albert applied for a patent for the invention in 1966, which was later approved in 1969. The invention won an award from the National Scientist Committee, and earned an interview with The New York Times that same year. This black queen did it all. In addition to being an inventor, she also worked as a nurse. The CCTV system paved the way for the home security systems that we use today. 

Everyone who has ever ridden in a car knows the importance of windshield wipers. Mary Anderson invented one of the most important parts of a car after being stuck in traffic in New York City in 1902. The story goes that Anderson found herself in a street car in the middle of winter. The streetcar had to be frequently stopped to be cleaned causing many delays. This gave her an idea. With her creation, she applied for a patent in 1903, which she won. However, difficulty arose in marketing the product to car manufacturers where she was repeatedly turned down. Despite this set back, she went on to live for another 50 years, and got to see a time where windshield wipers would become more commonplace in 1913. Unfortunately, Anderson herself never gained any profit for the invention. 

There are many other inventions that couldn’t be squeezed into a single article, but as always, I encourage learning about women’s history not just this month, but every month.