The fire escape was
invented by Anna Connelly in 1887.
4. The Life Raft
The lifesaving Life Raft was invented by Maria Beasely in 1882. (Maria also invented a machine that makes barrels.)
5. Residential Solar Heating
Solar heating for residential housing was invented by Dr. Maria Telkes in 1947. Dr. Telkes was a psychiatrist in addition to being a solar-power pioneer.
6. The Medical
Syringe
Letitia Mumford Geer, born in 1852, was an inventor who patented the one-hand operated syringe that is the basis for most modern medical syringes. The patent was granted in 1899.
7. The Modern Electric Refrigerator
In 1914, Florence Parpart invented the modern electric fridge. Parpart also received a patent for a much-improved street-cleaning machine in 1900.
8.
The Ice Cream Maker
The ice cream maker
was invented by a woman named Nancy Johnson in 1843. Her patented design
is still used today!
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. In fact, her notes were an essential key to helping Alan Turing’s work on the first modern computers in the 1940s.
10. Telecommunications
Technology
Shirley Ann Jackson is a physicist and president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the oldest technological research university in the U.S. Some of the Telecommunication Technology developed by Dr. Shirley Jackson includes the portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, fibre optic cables, and the technology behind caller ID and call waiting.
11. The
Dishwasher
Born in 1839, Josephine Cochran invented the first practical dishwasher and patented it in 1886. She formed the Garis-Cochran Dish-Washing Company to manufacture and market her machine to hotel owners.
12. Wireless Transmission Technology
Hedy Lamarr, a world-famous film star, invented a secret communications system during World War II for radio-controlling torpedoes. This technology also paved the way for everything from Wi-Fi to GPS.
13.
Closed-Circuit Television Security (CCTV)
Working as a nurse, Marie Van Brittan Brown’s hours were not standard and living in a high-crime area made her want to feel safe, so she invented the first home security system. The system enabled her to know who was at her home and to notify police right away if needed. The invention featured peepholes, a camera, monitors, a 2-way microphone, and an alarm button. She filed the patent with her husband Albert in 1966 and was granted the patent in 1969. This revolutionary invention is the progenitor of security systems homes and businesses still use today.
14. The Modern
Paper Bag
Margaret Knight invented a machine that makes square bottomed paper bags in 1871. She almost didn’t get credit when Charles Anan tried to steal her work claiming that it wasn’t possible for a woman to create this brilliant invention. (Margaret also invented a safety device for cotton mills when she was 12. That invention is still being used today.)
15. Central
Heating
Although Alice Parker’s invention in1919 of a gas powered central heater was never manufactured, her idea was the first that allowed for using natural gas to heat a home, inspiring the central heating systems used today.
16. Kevlar
Stephanie Kwolek was an organic chemist, best known for inventing Kevlar in 1965. This life-saving material is 5 times stronger than steel and used to make bulletproof vests.
17. Computer
Software
Dr. Grace Murray Hopper was a computer scientist who invented COBOL which is the first user-friendly business computer software system in the 1940’s. She was also a rear admiral in the U.S. navy and the first person to use the term “bug” in reference to a glitch in a computer system when she literally found a bug (moth) causing problems with her computer.
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