Born in Greene County, Alabama, Mary Anderson was a real estate developer by trade. However, on a business trip to New York in 1902 she noticed that during sleet storms trolley car operators drove with their heads poking out the side window because they could not see through the windshield. Upon returning to Alabama she invented a device consisting of a lever with a rubber blade attached that could be cranked from within the vehicle. Anderson was only granted a 17-year patent on the invention, meaning her rights to it expired before the mass production in the automotive industry began. As a result, she received little in the way of royalties from her invention. Even today, windshield wipers operate on the same basic design that Anderson created.
Automotive Inventions by Women
Many people may be unaware, however, that a surprising number of women were involved in the development of the automobile as we know it. Indeed, some of the most common parts of the modern car were first patented by female inventors.
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Windshield Wiper
Sleeve-valve Automobile Engine
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One of the most prodigious female inventors of the 19th century, Margaret E. Knight was born in York, Maine, in 1838. Her first invention was a machine that automated the production of paper bags. Although her invention was originally stolen from her she later won a patent interference lawsuit and used her winnings from this case to found the Eastern Paper Bag Co. Knight was a major contributor to the evolution of the rotary engine, patenting a number of its components and improvements, including the sleeve-valve automobile engine.
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Kevlar Tires
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Stephanie Kwolek is a Polish-American inventor born in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Although she originally intended to pursue a career in medicine, Kwolek began working for the chemical company DuPont in 1946. In 1965 she was part of a team attempting to find a fiber that was strong enough yet also suitably lightweight for use in tires. Kwolek noticed that the polymers she was working with at the time formed liquid crystals which could be spun into fiber. In tests with tires it was found that these polymers, later named "Kevlar," would not break in situations where nylon would.
Turn Signal
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Florence Lawrence was a Canadian silent film actress perhaps best known for her appearances in movies such as "The Curtain Pole," "The Lonely Villa" and "The Automobile Thief." She was also the inventor of what is now recognized as the first turn signal, which she called the "auto signalling arm." It consisted of a button the driver could press which raised or lowered an arm at the back of the car indicating which direction he intended to turn. Lawrence did not patent her invention.
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