5 women inventors who changed our lives forever
#1 Margaret Knight - In her lifetime, Margaret Knight received 27 patents. Her inventions included shoe-manufacturing machines, a “dress shield” to protect garments from perspiration stains, a rotary engine and an internal combustion engine. All this was in the late 19th century.
#2 Melitta Bentz - If this name sounds familiar, think Melitta coffee makers and coffee filters. Yes, it's the same Melitta who received a patent for her coffee filter system in 1908 and founded a business that still exists today.
#3 Caresse Crosby - This NYC socialite in 1914 received a patent for her idea for a "backless bra." It was the end of corsets and the beginning of her company, the Fashion Form Brassière Company, that began to manufacture and sell her invention. She eventually sold her patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company, which began producing bras in large quantities.
#4 Katharine Blodgett - Blodgett received a Ph.D in physics at England’s Cambridge University and was the first woman hired by General Electric. She invented non-reflective glass. She also contributed important research to military needs like gas masks, smoke screens and a new technique for de-icing airplane wings.
#5 Stephanie Kwolek - In 1965, Kwolek discovered a lightweight and durable new fiber that could be used in everything from military helmets and bulletproof vests to work-gloves, sports equipment, fiber-optic cables and building materials. She received the National Medal of Technology for her research and in 1994 was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Read more at www.biography.com/news/famous-women-inventors-biography
