GRAHAM, Bette, née Nesmith, American secretary, 1924-1980. Bette was typing with a machine that had ink that was not easy to erase, the typed sheets were messy after her attempts to make corrections (she worked in a bank). So in 1951, and at home, she created a white tempera-based paint that was satisfactory for making typing corrections. Other typists bought it from her, by 1956 she had a regular part-time business. Initially she called it Mistake-Out, but after the sales volume reached thousands per month the name was changed to Liquid-Paper. Inevitably she lost her regular job, but by retirement her company was selling 25 million bottles a year. In 1979 she sold out to Gillette Corporation for $47.5 million (plus royalties). So Bette solved the problem and made a fortune.