Breaking Barriers: Remarkable Discoveries and Inventions by Women
By Jack Ripley | April 15, 2024
Revolutionizing Communication: Hedy Lamarr's Impact on Wireless Technology
Throughout history, women have been at the forefront of innovation and revolutionized industries. They have reshaped the world with their groundbreaking inventions, demonstrating their ingenuity in various fields. Their contributions have improved daily lives and shattered societal barriers. Furthermore, they have changed the course of wars. This proves that gender is no limit to brilliance. Through their determination, women inventors have propelled humanity forward, leaving a mark on history and inspiring generations to come. Let's take a look at some famous discoveries made by women.
Hedy Lamarr, a celebrated Hollywood actress, emerged as an inventor during World War II. She collaborated with composer George Antheil to devise "frequency hopping" technology. Their invention allowed radio signals to rapidly switch frequencies in a pattern known only to the transmitter and receiver, making it difficult for enemies to jam or intercept the signals. They drew inspiration from the piano roll. This enhanced the security of the communication systems and helped keep enemies from being able to detect radio-guided torpedoes.
It also laid the foundation for modern wireless communication systems. Even though she encountered skepticism and gender bias, Lamarr's invention gained recognition. The United States Navy later embraced it in the 1960s. Today, her work continues to resonate across diverse fields such as telecommunications and cybersecurity.
Driving Efficiency: Letitia Geer's Contribution to Medical Technology
Letitia Geer changed the landscape of healthcare by inventing the medical syringe. She worked helping her husband make medical supplies and observed the challenges healthcare providers faced in administering medications. Geer was motivated to find a solution. She developed a novel syringe design that allowed for precise measurement and delivery of fluids. It had a glass barrel with measurement markings and a plunger. Its design allowed providers to use it with only one hand. She received a patent for her syringe in 1899 and founded the Geer Manufacturing Company to make the syringe. She also invented a nasal speculum and a retractor. Geer was also very active in the Women's Suffrage Movement.
Enhancing Maritime Safety: Maria Beasley's Innovations in Life-Saving Equipment
National Museum of American History
Maria Beasley was an American inventor and entrepreneur who revolutionized maritime safety with her invention of the life raft in 1882. Born in Philadelphia in the mid-19th century, Beasley possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. She had a keen interest in improving safety standards at sea. She likely read newspaper accounts of ships sinking, fueling her determination to develop a reliable solution. She used her background in manufacturing and engineering to patent an inflatable raft with buoyant chambers. She received two patents for her idea.
Beasley was also known for her other inventions. She improved a barrel-hooping machine, a foot warmer, and a device to help trains stay on their tracks. In 1878, she founded the Beasley Barrel Hoop Company, which manufactured barrels that were sold to the Standard Oil Company. The company was later renamed the Beasley Safety Barrel Company.
Quieting the Skies: Eldorado Jones and the Evolution of Aircraft Noise Reduction
Eldorado Jones revolutionized aviation with her invention of the airplane muffler. She discovered she loved working with iron, which earned her the nickname "Iron Woman." She recognized the need to mitigate the loud noise produced by early aircraft engines. Jones developed a groundbreaking airplane muffler, which dampened the noise emitted by aircraft engines.
She founded Eldorado Inventions, Inc. to build the muffler, and you could only work for her company if you were a woman over 40. She also would not take any money from male investors. Furthermore, she would not sell her patent or company to a man. As noted in her obituary in the New York Times in 1932, she said, "Do not forget to exploit men all you can. Because if you don't, they will exploit you."
Cutting-Edge Innovation: Tabitha Babbitt's Revolutionary Contribution to Woodworking Tools
In Harvard, Massachusetts, Tabitha Babbitt was a skilled weaver. She found herself intrigued by the operations of the local sawmill, observing the laborious efforts of workers wielding the two-man whipsaw. She noticed that half of their energy was wasted during the backward motion of the saw. Babbitt envisioned a circular blade that could harness the full potential of each movement, so she crafted a prototype. Babbitt attached a circular blade to her spinning wheel and utilized its pedal to power it. Eventually, she changed the design so that water powered the saw.
Babbitt's innovative design transformed the woodworking industry and exemplified the practical ingenuity championed by the Shakers. Historians argue that Babbitt's design was the first circular saw. The Shakers did not believe in patenting inventions since they felt ideas belonged to everyone.
Unveiling Earth's Secrets: Inge Lehmann's Discovery of the Earth's Inner Core
Inge Lehmann received a top education at a time when that was seldom true for women and later became the assistant director of the Niels Erik Nørlund. She also spent many hours in her garden. She would put cardboard oatmeal boxes filled with cardboard cards containing earthquake data from around the world on a big table. On the cards, she would write the velocity of seismic waves worldwide, allowing her to discover earthquake patterns.
In 1936, her astute observations led to the revelation of the Earth's inner core, which challenged existing scientific ideas. Lehmann discovered Earth had a solid inner core surrounded by its molten outer core. This discovery was then named the Lehmann discontinuity. She found an abrupt change in seismic wave velocity about 1,800 miles below the Earth's crust, where the Earth's inner core starts.
Clearing the View: Mary Anderson's Visionary Invention of the Windshield Wiper
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903. That year, she made a trip to New York City in the winter, where she observed that streetcar drivers had difficulty seeing through their front windows during inclement weather. Therefore, they had to open their windows and manually clear them with cloths. Sometimes, they had to stop the car and get out to clear the windshield.
Anderson's windshield wiper had a rubber blade attached to a spring-loaded arm. The driver used a lever to turn it on and off, moving it back and forth across the windshield. It cleared away rain, snow, and debris. Initial interest from manufacturers was quite limited, but as automobile production increased, manufacturers adopted her idea. They put it in every vehicle. Instead of developing the idea herself, she hired a company that came up with the design. Then, Mary applied for the patent.
Pioneering Programming: Ada Lovelace's Trailblazing Contributions to Computer Science
Ada Lovelace created the first computer algorithm. Ada worked with Charles Babbage. He had made an Analytical Engine, a mechanical general-purpose computer. Lovelace translated an article on the Analytical Engine by Italian engineer Luigi Federico Menabrea. The original article was written in French, and she rewrote it into English.
Ada also added her notes about how to get the algorithm to compute Bernoulli numbers. This algorithm made Lovelace the world's first computer programmer, but some historians argue this idea. Regardless, Babbage envisioned the instrument only being useful for numbers. Meanwhile, Lovelace saw people using computers for many tasks. She died when she was only 36 years old and is buried next to her father, celebrated English poet Lord Byron.
Driving Comfort: Margaret A. Wilcox's Innovation in Automotive Heating Systems
Margaret A. Wilcox invented a train heater in 1893 so that people stayed more comfortable in trains. The invention used the heat from the train's engine to heat its interior. The heater also helped keep moisture from building up on the train's windows. It did not have a thermostat, so people often got too hot.
In 1917, her idea became the first car heater after reconfiguration. Later, engineers figured out how to add a thermostat. Wilcox's invention eventually laid the foundation for modern automotive heating systems. Initially, people did not like her idea. Then, Henry Ford saw it and added it to vehicles in 1929. She also had other inventions. One was a stove that used the oven's excess heat to warm water.
Heating Innovation: Alice H. Parker's Breakthrough in Gas-Powered Furnaces
Alice H. Parker is known for her pioneering work in developing the gas-powered central heating furnace. Before her innovation, heating systems were often inefficient. People relied on coal or wood-burning stoves. Parker's furnace used natural gas, which helped keep the furnace cleaner. Natural gas was also a more convenient heating source.
She received a patent for her idea in 1919. It had a system of ducts and vents that worked together to distribute heat evenly throughout a building. Almost nothing is known about Parker's life because she was Black. The photo used here is of a woman born five years after Parker received her patent for her furnace. Historians do not have any pictures of her.
