The Women Inventors
The 500 Greatest Women Inventors, Scientists, Pioneers - Their Discoveries, Innovations, Achievements, and Exploits
INTRODUCTION
(Followed by Notes & Addenda)
Although this directory is about women innovators it was not written for the feminist cause. Entries represent the female element in a much larger work on inventors, scientists, and pioneers, of both sexes. However, due to the availability of space compared with the main Directory, the opportunity has been taken to increase the detail in the entries. All women listed here are also in the general directory, but as shorter entries. It must also be made clear that selection for entry excludes artists, entertainers, personalities, politicians, royalty, rulers, celebrities, sports players, and literary personalities. Teachers/academics are not listed unless particularly creative, eminence alone is insufficient. Although some reformists listed may be known for suffragette/feminist activities, the reason for their inclusion involves some expertise or technological pioneering, as opposed to feminism alone.
Much has been written concerning sexual discrimination in the matter of work assignment/credit/acknowledgement. It is not intended to review such matters here, however there are some specific aspects that the authors are able to comment on. The following generalisations may be of interest to readers.
Probably the most blatant discrimination ever was the exclusion of Marie Curie, and later her daughter Irene Joliot-Curie, from election to membership of the French Academy of Sciences. Both were Nobel Prize winners, no doubt their husbands were elected immediately to membership.
It was 1962 before a woman gained membership of that Academy. Until recent times Britain, France and Germany were blatantly discriminatory. America has led the way in giving credit where due, regardless of sex, and has effectively made it impossible for the Old World to continue discrimination. World War 2 also played its part, since the men were otherwise engaged, women filled positions that had not previously been available to them.
Even now, when the man in the street is asked to name a famous woman scientist their answer is invariably Marie Curie (often the only one they can think of). And yet with 2 Nobel prizes she could not get into their Academy, how many members of the Academy had 2 Nobels anyway? None!. It is possible there was greater resistance due to her not being of French origin.
But, there are clear reasons why the New World approached things differently. Readers who have lived in the USA will appreciate the following explanation of the US position. Higher education of women in Europe has been co-educational. In such a system a woman student usually tended to adopt less competitive attitudes/roles in relation to male students/colleagues. This attitude was then continued throughout her entire career. Now it is much less so, although co-education is still almost the only avenue to higher education in Europe.
One consequence of this has been that assignment of projects to research students/workers was invariably conducted by a senior male staff-member. It appears that women were assigned the less competitive projects, thus leaving the race for scientific glory to men. However, as later comments make clear, it is not that simplistic.
Considering higher education of women in the USA, there were co-educational facilities at undergraduate level. This was in part a consequence of the larger number of people getting a full education. The difficulty for women before World War Two was in getting on the faculty after getting a degree, or gaining entry into graduate/medical school and then moving upwards. For at least a century there have been colleges in the USA which were exclusively for women. These large, private and prestigious, colleges were in fact higher education institutions that would have been called universities if open to men too. But the Ph.D was the only doctorate available, one could not get an M.D. or D.Sc. degree there in the early years. Naturally, faculty were usually women and assignment of projects was straightforward. Moreover, for a brilliant student, there were teaching prospects within the system, getting into graduate school was a matter of finance, not discrimination. Some of these colleges developed impressive teaching and research facilities for Natural History, Chemistry, Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics. This resulted in many award-winning women scientists emerging from these colleges (some women stayed their entire career at their Alma Mater).
Throughout this work there is a preponderance of American women in the notable scientists category. The names of certain colleges crop up continually. At one time they were referred to as the 'Seven Sisters', the oldest and well-established ones. They are mainly in the East, the more well known ones include Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Smith, Radcliffe, Wellesley, Barnard, and Wells. Such institutions are a credit to the American system, and allowed many top women academics and researchers to function without the type of career difficulties encountered by women outside this system.
Statistics on American colleges and universities suggest that there are 70-80 women's colleges, catering for 80,000 students. Considering the high academic standards expected from these institutions, and low dropout rates, it may be that 15,000 young ladies graduate from them each year with degrees. Private colleges account for almost 40% of these students, Roman Catholic seminaries/colleges contain similar numbers. There are other sectarian colleges, catering for 10% of these students (generally smaller colleges). The other 10% are students at a State University for Women, in Texas. Recently, enrolment there was about 10,000. However, the curriculum at TWU is more general than most and subjects such as Domestic Science, Nutrition, Hygiene, etc, are featured more than they would be in private or church colleges.
However, the statistics are somewhat misleading since there are a number of women's colleges, referred to as 'coordinates', that have become associated with regular universities and have the same curricula. The most conspicuous examples are Barnard (Columbia), Radcliffe (Harvard, and Sophie Newcombe (Tulane). There is a tendency for these to have separate undergraduate programmes, but with the women graduate students attending the mixed graduate classes. Listings of these 'coordinate' women's colleges are not always shown separately, so estimates on women students at private colleges are bound to be too low.
Countries in Europe do not have such women's universities, and a number of countries have less women graduates from their co-educational facilities than America has from the women's colleges alone. Unlike many of their coed counterparts, these women students are not at college to find a husband. Typically these graduates meet their future husbands when in graduate study or during postdoctoral work. A serious well-educated workforce.
Some of the notable women scientists have made comments on the apparently less-competitive nature of women. One enlightening viewpoint was that men certainly offer minor projects to women in the team, and keep potential breakthrough projects for men. But, it was also stated that when given a choice of project, a woman scientist almost invariably opted for one that she saw as having the greatest sociological benefit for society, as opposed to the highly competitive 'go for glory' project. So there has been discrimination in project distribution in the past, but giving women a proper choice might not have altered distribution of these projects quite as much as we might presume.
The primary interest here is invention, using the broadest possible meaning of the word. There is a tendency on the part of inventors to preclude professional research workers from entitlement to be called inventors/innovators. In fact many professional scientists are specialists in new methods development, whether methods of diagnosis/assay, or whatever. These works are not 'discoveries' in the ordinary academic sense and many researchers hold patents anyway. The distinction is often minimal, getting paid now or later may be the difference.
Many of the research scientists listed have both discoveries and inventions to their credit. Thus the title of Inventors, Scientists and Pioneers, Many women listed fit all 3 titles.
Some authors have gone to excessive lengths to attempt an analysis of the ratio of patent applications from women as opposed to men. In our opinion this is meaningless, since any given application from either sex may be a load of rubbish. What is a fact is that women have been members of inventors societies in the USA/UK in reasonable numbers since about 1900. Present membership figures suggest about 10% would be the upper limit for female membership. But in young inventor/engineering competitions nowadays the ratio is close to 50%.
However, there seems to be no argument about the fact that when products for women, the home, children and the family, are invented by an individual then it is quite likely the inventor is a woman. Most products are invented by big companies rather than individuals, of course. Men originally concentrated on industry and technology. This is now changing rapidly, since a woman who does technical work in industry all day is likely to go home and have innovative ideas about almost anything.
In relation to this, feminist writers on inventions have made much of the published lists of patents by women in the USA from 1688 to 1892. Many concerned highly mechanical matters such as braking systems for railway trains, automotive devices, etc. On reflection, it is extremely improbable that working prototypes existed for these 'inventions', since women did not normally have access to rolling stock to experiment with. Although some of these patents may have had merit, there is little evidence they were taken up under licence. There were more than 4,000 patents granted to women during that period, many industrial and mechanical in nature, but many were undoubtedly just ideas or concepts at the drawing-board stage. Many women with inventive minds would not have had access to money for filing patent applications or making prototypes in those days. Conversely, there is no way of knowing how many of the enormously greater number of applications by men in the same period, even with working prototypes, were the result of a woman's innovative talent indirectly in some respect.
There is little real purpose in trying to make sense of this phase of industrial revolution from that perspective. What is now clear is that given appropriate education and training, plus access to facilities and materials, modern women are quite capable of developing any type of device, regardless of how mechanical/electronic or high-technology the subject may be. Inventors of either sex find financing their inventions quite difficult, this aspect never seems to change.
Certainly a great many of the entries in this book indisputably prove the inventive capacity of women in general. One theory claims that women only invent nice things, improvements to lifestyle and convenience. The same theory claims that all the horrible destructive inventions relating to warfare are the products of men. This is generally true, but as will be seen the ladies are quite capable of innovation in these areas (when necessary), but mainly worked on defensive systems.
Frequently the business of girls playing with dolls, as opposed to the boys playing with meccano and machines, is quoted. Even though it is difficult to refute such factors, there are some aspects of this that bear attention. A major difference between men and women is that 'if it works don't fix it' is a woman's attitude, whereas men won't leave a machine alone until its performance is superior, the equipment no longer recognisable, or the whole contraption totally inoperable. A woman will fix something that isn't performing well, and if successful in repairing it she will then give no further thought to the matter.
Totally different attitudes, so deeply ingrained that people take them for granted. It may have nothing to do with ability to play with/fix meccano and mechanical toys, The female attitude maybe doesn't see the need to do these things. Is there a need? This fundamental difference in attitude may explain why so many historians, invariably male, who write on invention/discovery consider that women have not participated in 'definitive technology' (until recently). Therefore they have discredited inventions/discoveries by women, as not worthy of inclusion.
Such historians do have a lot to answer for, since extremely clever and innovative women automatically acquire very notable scientists/innovators/reformers/pioneers as husbands, and vice-versa! The unfortunate result is that historians, being most resistant to separate listings for the husband and wife (regardless of how celebrated they may be individually), omit listing the wife or merely list her as a member of the family. The result is that many truly great women are not evident in National Biography Dictionaries, because historians are more impressed with the 'Who's Who' status rather than listing the individuals who demonstrated great insight and skills. The net result is that many men, and virtually all women, fall outside the historian's area of interest. Consequently, such National Biographical Dictionaries are useless for researching notable women.
Not fully appreciated is the fact that women are most reluctant (compared to men) to accept being described as an 'inventor'. They are more sensitive to the image of inventors being eccentric and slightly unacceptable socially. There is truth in the 'takeover' theory, whereby men get inventions away from women who think of something new. But conversely, women seem as though they can't get rid of an inventive idea fast enough. This may be the reason for many products developed by women being sold off for next to nothing and their names never being mentioned again in relation to the products.
In the scientific aspect particularly, there have been many women who developed certain skills in order to help husbands in their work. In some cases, where illustrations were necessary, the work would not have been published without use of their wives complimentary talents. Many noted scientists of their day were not competent writers or illustrators, sometimes not even good at the boring task of routinely recording results.
However, at this stage it is quite impossible to try and assess the relative contribution of the woman in these studies and publications. Obviously, it was considerable and happened more frequently than we might guess. But there is no purpose in speculation, unless for purely feminist purposes outside the scope of this work.
Within the past 20 years many notable women researchers have passed away, in these lists there are constant references to 'the FIRST woman to achieve this....to get such a degree....to get on the faculty.....to be the President of a Society, etc. It must be that the percentage of such entries will decline from here on, as there are not many things left that a woman has not now achieved. Future authors will find new entries easier to write without such material in them. In any event, the success of this group of women is phenomenal, viewed retrospectively.
There are certain awards for women that occur frequently in the entries, one is the Garvan Medal which is awarded annually to the woman chemist who has distinguished herself and the role of women in chemistry particularly in that year. The other annual award needing comment is the Annie Jump Cannon annual award for a woman astronomer performing exceptionally well. The Garvan Medal is awarded by the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Annie Cannon prize is awarded by the American Astronomical Society. All recipients of both awards are listed here.
There has been continual debate in recent years, as to whether these awards being strictly for women is reverse discrimination or not. A couple of the awards/prizes have been declined on these grounds. However, prevailing opinion is that the awards do draw attention to the valuable role played by women in these fields, and that there are other awards available to the men.
The emphasis for women inventors is on those with products known to have reached the marketplace. However, researching inventions by women is generally harder than for men, since women have traditionally been shy of publicity. There are many products known to have been invented by women, but where basic information is incomplete. Listing such incomplete entries does not help anyone. Typically, it is necessary to know the surname, forename and maiden name of the woman, her nationality at birth and which country she was living in at the time of the invention/discovery. It is also often unclear as to whether an occupation was being followed, one cannot assume all were housewives, or even married at the time. Finally, unless one can put a date on the event or know her year of death the information becomes insignificant.
Not all inventions/innovations concern a material product, some exploits intended as a one-off actually created a trend/fashion. And not all had a happy outcome or desirable end-product. The exploit of 63 year-old Annie Edson in going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, did not bring her fame and fortune. What it did do is generate a dozen or so 'me too' attempts at the same, with a generally disastrous outcome. The end result was legislation from the USA and Canada making it illegal, and safety devices being erected to prevent any more attempts. The safety measures have been very successful.
The heroism of Hannah Reitsch, test-pilot for the Luftwaffe in the last war, in being the first (and last) to test a rocket- assisted fighter plane during World War 2, was remarkable. After crashing and being near death she managed to stay conscious long enough to report that the plane was far too dangerous. Months later she recovered and was horrified to learn that her final report had not been passed on, the rocket-plane was in full production.
A few literary fiction works indirectly achieved innovation. Mary Shelley (and Bram Stoker) has a lot to answer for, now that on TV (not existent at their time of writing) every single night there is a movie on Frankenstein (and/or Dracula).
Neologisms are also a form of invention, new styles such as the bikini and mini (skirt) that introduce fresh jargon into the English language are also listed. The inventors were not usually aware that their choice of word to best describe their creation was likely to become standard jargon for the next century.
One interesting aspect of notable women scientists is that so many of them carry on researching and publishing until death. Retirement apparently doesn't slow them up very much. However, this might be a factor more specific to faculty in women's colleges, than in general academic research facilities.
There are also inventors who achieve fame for their products, but do not patent the process (or put it into the public domain). Prime examples would be Madame Tussaud, who kept the secret wax processes known only to her family. Marie Biheron created life-like anatomical models but never revealed technical know-how.
In America, women are evident in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and many other Halls of Fame. So there are far more ways that girl students hear about women scientists. In Engineering, there is the American National Academy of Engineering. Membership is the highest honour for an American engineer. Since Lillian Gilbreth gained election in 1965, followed by Grace Hopper in 1966, there have been a couple of women elected every year. Most are in Industry, only a few are in academic circles, others are in government departments, and the rest in US Defence Department activities.
It is unfortunate that there are not similar academies and halls of fame in the UK, if there were then the successful women scientists/engineers and technologists would be more known to the general public (role models might not be necessary).
The entries in this work focus particularly on the innovation involved and only mention the most significant awards/ranks held, as an indication of the stature attained. Entries are not intended for biographic/who's-who/bibliographic use, there are many excellent books on women that fulfil this purpose already, particularly for scientists.
It is hoped that the standard format and entry content will prove more useful to innovation historians/researchers than previous publications on the subject. Both of the editors are professionally involved in innovation technology matters as a career, and so recognise the need for standardisation of entry style and information content. The design for information input is more organised than any previous publications on the subject, and is identical in this work on women and the general book. However, the information selected is not merely significant, it is highly interesting and informative for any general reader.
There are well over 500 entries detailed in the main section of this first edition. Comments on information details are invited. The editors will be pleased to correspond with readers, and will appreciate any suggestions for new entries (providing there is hard data concerning the innovation, discovery, or exploit). Information about significant events in the last few years is the most valuable. In addition, relevant up to date obituary details are requested, particularly from other countries. Where the reader knows of a recent death that has obviously not yet come to the notice of the editors, please notify them. This work will undoubtedly provide a useful source of reference for researchers, it will above all provide stimulating reading for the public at large.
Derek Myhill and Peter Knight
Editors Note: Peter, Derek an I worked together for many years and together founded both the Intellectual Property Development Confederation and Inventors World Magazine. Sadly both Peter and Derek met untimely deaths - Derek from a road traffic accident and Peter from cancer. In 2013, through illness, I too had a brush with mortality (Perhaps we're in the wrong business!). Happily, I'm still here to bring to you this important work. Sadly, the larger opus alluded to in this introduction is lost.
by Peter Knight & Derek Myhill
Editors Note: Sadly, Peter and Derek are no longer with us to edit and improve this directory. However I, and Inventricity, would be delighted to take on this mantle. Please feel free to contact us with your comments and suggestions.
Notes & Addenda
INFORMATION PRESENTATION STYLE/DETAILS
(a) DATES. d- means date of death, when work referred to took place over a lifetime. c- means approximate year of publication/invention, or death if dates of activity are uncertain.
(b) NOBEL PRIZES. Entries list Chemistry (C), Physics (P), and Medicine or Physiology (M). If not stated, presume award is in the scientists usual profession, unless an abbreviation indicates an award in a different discipline. This happens mainly with physical chemists who may get chemical or physical prizes. Year of Nobel award is often much later after discovery, Nobel may be for entire contribution to a field rather than one particular discovery. Nowadays the trend is to recognise several contributors to a selected field in a year, even if not collaborators in projects.
(c) INVENTORS HALL OF FAME/USA. Holders of significant and successful patents may get elected to this status by a Council of Patent-Law experts and US Government Patent Officers, Time lag between invention/patent and honour can be long, often not during patentee's lifetime. (HOF).
(d) CO-INVENTORS/RESEARCHERS. Individual listings here do not take into account their collaborators, however the other scientists concerned may be listed separately anyway.
(e) FORENAMES. The one given is considered the most known.
(f) SURNAMES/MAIDEN NAMES. Typically, in the case of research scientists, marriage is to someone met during graduate school. So the married name tends to be used by the woman professionally. However, sometimes the maiden name is used as well as the married name. Where it is necessary to show the other name it immediately follows the forename inthe entry. Inspection can often explain any confusion.
(g) NATIONALITY. Many Europeans performed later research in the UK and USA, and it may not be known if they became naturalised. Polish/France, for example, would imply Polish birth and worked in France in later life, known mainly for French works. Nationality remarks are only guidelines.
(h) ABBREVIATIONS. World Wars 1 and 2 (time of much invention) are WW1 and WW2, The Inventors Hall of Fame/USA is (HOF), scientific units are often named after an inventor (nah) means named after him/her. expt(s) means experiment(s).dept means department, U means University (usually as U of). American Chemical Society is ACS, American Association for the Advancement of Science is AAAS, Fellow of the Royal Society is FRS, The National Academy of Sciences of the USA is NAS. New York/New York City are abbreviated as NY/NYC. Some frequently occurring universities are referred to by their common abbreviated letters, UC is University of California, UCLA is Los Angeles campus of UC. Oxford, Cambridge, and London are UK universities, terms used alone.
GENERAL: Titles such as Doctor are omitted, virtually every professional scientist listed is at least Ph.D level so there is little to be gained by use of the word. Many entries mention Professor rank, this means FULL Professor, Chair(woman) of the faculty dept, or Emeritus rank where a retired Professor of eminence is kept on the faculty, without any specific duties. Junior professorial ranks are omitted, unless indirectly significant (as in discrimination).
SUCCESSFUL AND PROLIFIC WOMEN INVENTORS
Hypatia
Helen Free
Beulah Henry
Sonia de Leon
Ruth Benerito
Maureen Hiron
Allene Jeanes
Evelyn Berezin
Helen Blanchard
Gertrude Elion
Edith Flanigen
Mandy Haberman
Anna Keichline
Ellen Richards
Maria the Jewess
Margaret Knight
Giuliana Tesoro
Toshiko Kokonoe
Katherine Blodgett
Jeannette Grasselli
Magdalena Villaruz
Dorothy Nightingale
WOMEN IN THE US NATIONAL HALL OF
INVENTORS FAME
Gertrude Elion (1991), Rachel Brown (1994), Elizabeth Lee Hazen (1994), Stephanie Kwolek (1995), Helen Free (2000), Patsy Sherman (2001), Edith Flanigen (2004)
WOMEN INVENTORS IN THE US NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING
Lillian Gilbreth (first woman, 1965), Edith Flanigen, Grace Hopper
NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS WITH YEAR AND SUBJECT
Marie Curie, 1903, Physics
Marie Curie, 1911, Chemistry
Irene Joliot-Curie, 1935, Chemistry
Gerty Cori, 1947, Medicine
Maria Goeppert-Mayer, 1963, Physics
Rosalyn Yalow, 1977, Medicine
Gertrude Elion, 1988, Medicine
Christiane Nusslein-Volhard, 1995, Medicine
NOMINATED FOR A NOBEL PRIZE. Gladys Dick was nominated for the 1925 Nobel in Medicine, but no prize was awarded in that category.
NOBEL PRIZE – RELATED WORK. Rosalind Franklin did the original x-ray diffraction sudies of DNA, which led Watson and Crick to their Nobel for its structure. Jocelyn Bell Burnell was the actual discoverer of pulsars but she was at the start of her career. Her senior colleagues Hewish and Ryle got the prize, this has been a matter of some controversy. Chien-Shiung Wu made the original discovery of non-conservation of parity. Dao Li and Chen Ning Yang later got their Nobel Prize for confirming her results.
ORGANISATION ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE TEXT
The Garvan Medal is awarded by the American Chemical Society annually to the woman chemist who has done most to advance the science. Many of the awardees are referred to in the text.
Organisations:
BFIY – British Female Inventor of the Year (competition annually/UK)
IPI – Institute of Patentees & Inventors (UK)
CIPA – Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (UK)
WIPO – World Intellectual Property Office
HOF – Inventors Hall of Fame (USA)
NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)
NAS – National Academy of Science (USA)
AAAS – American Association for the Advancement of Science
ACS – American Chemical Society
Honours:
FRS – Fellow of the Royal Society (UK)
Academic Institutions:
NY – New York NYC – New York City
NYU – New York University
UC – University of California
UCLA – Los Angeles campus
UCSF –San Francisco campus
UC-Berkeley, Berkeley campus
UC-Davis, Davis campus
USC – University of Southern California (not part of UC)
MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
U. – University (of)
Other abbreviations:
WW1 – World War One WW2 – World War Two
US Private Women’s Colleges mentioned in the text:
Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mt Holyoke, Simmons, Vassar, Wellesley.
NEOLOGISMS:
A neologism is a new word usually describing a unique new product or situation. Often it may be a brand name, for example the word Hoover related to a particular make of vacuum cleaner but nowadays one might say I have to do the hoovering. So the term has become generic, it is in everyday use as a traditional word in the English language. Neologisms may be newly coined words made up to describe something new, or they may be new meanings becoming associated with old words. Typically they catch on fast and often surprise the inventor of the word or phrase by the widespread usage of the neologism.
Birth Control – term first used in 1916 by Margaret Sanger (founder of the American birth Control League). Bloomer – associated with Amelia Bloomer’s attempt to force this dress style on ladies exercising in public (now implies an idea or comment that has no chance at all, a slip up). Debug – first use to mean rid a computer of a virus, by Grace Hopper (first programmer to encounter a virus artefact and successfully eliminate it). Frankenstein – creation of Mary Shelley and now universally used (in parallel with Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Hot-Pants – short shorts introduced by Mary Quant. Jumping Genes – the term used by Barbara McClintock to describe her discovery that genes do not occupy the same position on the chromosome from one generation to another. Kewpie Doll – slang reference to the Cupid Doll illustrations of Rose O’Neill. The Landlord’s Game – the original and well known name for the board game ‘Monopoly’, used by Elizabeth Magie (who considered landlord’s wanted to own everything). Little Black Dress – Gabrielle Chanel’s description of something every woman’s wardrobe should have, now used universally. Miniskirt – above the knee skirt design from Mary Quant. Pie Chart – term used to describe the medical statistical tool first used by Florence Nightingale to analyse casualties in the Crimean War. Share-Ware – a new concept of software written for sharing in business usage, an economical innovation by Sandra Kurtzig. Wax Dummy – for displaying clothing, by French fashion designer Madame Paquin in 1900.
PROPRIETARY NAMES MENTIONED IN THE TEXT
The following names/terms are believed to have been in use or are currently brand names or trading names. Some are no doubt obsolete. The proprietary rights of the intellectual property owners and their licensees are acknowledged. Names of manufacturers are not included in the listings below, since many are now unknown. However in some cases there will be information in individual entries in the text. Some brand names will have now changed after modernisation of product design.
Aciclovir – anti-Herpes virus infection drug
ADA – computer programme
Aladdin Oven – safety oven for factory usage
Anywayup Cup – infant feeding device
Ayrton Fan – for dispersal of gases from gun emplacements
Azidothymidine (AZT) – anti-AIDS drug
Bain-Marie – double boiler for kitchens
Barbie Doll – successful doll design, sold worldwide via TV
Body-Shop – natural cosmetic and hygiene products
Buko – fruit cocktail from immature coconut flesh
Carlisle House – first fully solar-powered house (in Carlisle, Mass)
Cast-Cooler – aid to relieve itching in plaster casts
Cavendish – card game
Cayley/Purser code – encryption for electronic messages
Chanel No.5. perfume
Charlotte House – hexagonal house in N. Carolina, space-efficient (patented)
Chip – card game
COBOL – computer language
Coco Manila – canned milk from coconut flesh (1 year shelf-life)
Continuo – card game
Cotton-Gin – cotton processing machine
Craftcote – glue for repairing sculptures
Crème Valza – cosmetic preparation, start of Helena Rubinstein’s career
Croque - card game
Data Secretary – editing typewriter
Diaper Pocket – accessory for when changing babies’ diapers
Dimethirimol – plant fungicide
D-Pot – non-drip teapot spout design
Duo – card game
Eff-y-Co – dish-drying rack, wall mounted or on draining board
Elecom 200 – early computer
Electric Storm – automatic windscreen wipers for vehicles
Ethirimol - plant fungicide
Faut Marble – imitation marble, for sculpting
Foxfibre – natural cotton in various colours
Frankenstein – neology from Mary Shelley’s writings
Geobond - adhesive, heat resistant, asbestos replacement
Haberman Feeder – infant feeding device
Hot-Pants - fashionable 1970s dress
IV-house – intravenous injection/blood withdrawal aid
Jack-in-the-funnel – filtration aid to prevent overfilling
Kevlar – polyamide fibres, incredibly strong
Kewpie Doll – alliteration of Cupid Doll
Kiddie Stool – retractable cabinet-mounted stool for children (bathroom)
Langmuir-Blodgett films – ultra-thin films of soap on sheets of metal
Liquid-Paper – typing correction fluid
Lithodipyra Terra Cotta – artificial stone for statues
Lucille’s Car-Care Clinic – television series
Makin’ Bacon – microwave oven accessory for cooking bacon
Mark 1 – computer, military
Marmalade – jam from oranges
Melitta Filter – coffee percolator filter system
6-mercaptopurine (Imuran, allopurinol) – organ transplantation aid, anti-gout drug
MiniSkirt – fashionable 1960s dress
Mistake-Out – typing correction fluid
Monopoly – board game
Mustard Gas – chemical warfare material, arising from chemical mutagen studies
Nolanum – interlocking bricks with superior qualities
Nystatin – antifungal drug
Pampers – disposable paper diapers that retain moisture away from the skin
Perflorurea – synthetic oxidant, used in rocket fuels
Powder-Puff Mechanics Course – business to teach car care to women
Protograph – typewriter accessory, produces multiple copies
Pyrotechnic night signals – maritime coloured flares
Quadwrangle – card game
Quiz-wrangle – card game
Rain Rubbers – manual windscreen wipers
Reflex Sock – alternative medicine device
REUZIP – plastic pallet container with zipper
Rhino’s word Game – card game
Santa Gertrudis – new breed of hardy cattle
Sapphox stylus – for gramophone record playing
Scotchgard – fabric-protecting chemical, waterproofing
Share-Ware – computer software for businesses
Shilling’s Penny – fuel-injection accessory for planes
Siroca – solid alcohol alternative fuel
Skipnet – flexible net in mobile bar-skips
Snappy-Sox – plastic holder to keep a pair of socks together
Snugli – baby carrying aid, worn on shoulders
Stylus Software –for bar-code and touch-tone interpretation
Talking Potty – training aid for infants
Teddy’s Party – card game
The A-Pack – card game
The IV-House – intravenous injection accessory
Turtle-Power Tiller – agricultural tractor for paddy-fields
Ventrex – aluminium/steel roofing for farm buildings
Visual Voice – software for complex telephony operations
Warhorse – equestrian eventing device
Xanthan – gum from microbial origins
Zeolite Y – molecular sieve material and catalyst
Zero-StikE – safety syringe for medical usage
Zesto Coco Juice – uncarbonated coconut water drink
77 – card game
Peter Knight
Derek Myhill
Marie Curie
Irene Joliot-Curie
Bryn Mawr
Vassar Female College 1864
Vassar College - Thompson Library
Wellesley College - Tower Court
American Chemical Society
Annie Jump Cannon
American Astronomical Society
Annie Edson
Hannah Reitsch (L)
Mary Shelley and her famous monster
Madame Tussaud
Lillian Gilbreth
Grace Hopper
Baby Doll
Meccano Set
Barbie
Action Man
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