We Enjoy Many of Creature Comforts Because of a Woman

There are many things we use in our everyday life and we never even stop to think of the brilliant mind who thought of them. It might surprise you to find out they were invented by women.

Before sharing my list of female inventors I want to make this statement:

I don’t promote that women can do anything better than men. It’s not about that. We are not in competition. It’s about human beings who have talents and gifts that can be used for the good of all humanity. Whether they are men or women they should be allowed to do good things with their abilities. There is absolutely no reason to stop people from doing good just because of their gender. That’s just plain stupid!

(1) Grace Hopper (1906–1992), computer programming pioneer. Her colleagues insisted that computers could only do more arithmetic. She invented the first compiler in 1952, which basically was a way for computers to “talk”. She also co-invented the COBOL computer language. She came up with the term “bugs” to describe software failures or errors. She was so admired and respected people nicknamed her “Amazing Grace”.

(2) Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871) invented the aquarium!

(3) Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913) is the lady who thought of the mechanical dishwasher. Her invention was patented in 1886.

(4) Margaret “Mattie” E. Knight (1838–1914) invented the ordinary brown paper bag. Actually, she invented the machine which folded and glued paper to create a flat-bottomed paper bag. We have been using paper bags for over 150 years.

(5) Maria Beasley (1847–1904?) designed a life raft that could be folded for storage but unfolded quickly in an emergency.

(6) Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999) worked with her husband who was an electrician and created a wireless security system with peepholes and a movable camera that connected to a monitor in their bedroom. Their invention laid the foundation for today’s home security systems.

(7) Mary Anderson (1866–1953) invented windshield wipers. Would you believe it? Car manufacturers had to be convinced of its value. Cadillac was the first car manufacturer to include a windshield wiper on all of its vehicles.

(8) Mary Sherman Morgan (1921–2004) was the only female engineer and the technical lead on a team of 900 engineers tasked with designing a better rocket fuel. Since much of her work was classified, not many know about her contributions, including her own children.

(9) Melitta Bentz (1873–1950) invented the filters used in coffee makers.

(10) Patricia Bath (b. 1942) invented the Laserphaco Probe, a medical device that uses a laser to dissolve cataracts in the eye, then irrigates and cleans the eye to make inserting a replacement lens quick and easy. It is used worldwide as a fast and painless method to prevent blindness.

(11) Ruth Graves Wakefield (1903–1977) invented the chips that go into the cookie dough to make chocolate chip cookies. Yeah! That wonderful cookie that we all take for granted.

(12) Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014) was working on inventing an alternative for steel radial tires but it didn’t work out. However, she took a failed experiment and turned it into bulletproof body armor used by police officers.

(13) Virginia Apgar (1909–1974) was an American doctor who was determined to protect the health of newborn babies. Her Apgar Score became the standard for assessing the health of babies. They were checked for Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration. As a result, babies in need of urgent medical care were easily identified.

REFERENCE: Handcock, Katherine. “Sisters in Innovation: 20 Women Inventors You Should Know.” A Mighty Girl, 15 Feb. 2021. (NOTE: A Mighty Girl is a website founded in 2012 and its mission is to encourage young girls to be strong and confident and feel free to pursue endeavors in various fields, by providing them with examples of women who did not allow their gender to stop them from accomplishing great things.)

Last, but Not Least

(14) Hedy Lamarr (1914 - 2000), glamorous Hollywood actress and ingenious inventor! During World War II, she co-invented a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes that used frequency hopping technology to prevent the enemy from jamming signals. This technology later became the foundation for modern Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS systems.

• Roos, Dave. “How Hollywood Star Hedy Lamarr Invented the Tech Behind Wi-Fi.” HISTORY, 5 Mar. 2024, https://www.history.com/news/hedy-lamarr-inventor-frequency-hopping-wifi.

• Contributors to Wikimedia projects. “Hedy Lamarr.” Wikipedia, 25 Dec. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr.

Thanks for reading.

(NOTE: Content previously published: Medium.)