Wichita eagle., 1889-10-31
WOMEN AS INVENTORS.

Some of the Patents Granted Them-A
Field for Great Achievement.
That women are coming to the front as in
ventors and patentees is evinced by the fact
that in twenty-five weeks patents were
granted to fifty-three women.
Within this century, or since the year 1890,
when the first patent was taken out by
woman, $500 inventions have been patented
by women. The first woman to get an in
vention patented was certain Mary Keis,
and her discovery was one for weaving straw
with silk or thread. In 1915 Mary Brush re-
ceived patent for a corset. Sophia Asher
followed in 1919 with a carbonated liquid
cream Of tartar and Julia Phantom, in 1922,
with foot stove. After that date the en-
tries are annual, with the exceptions of the
years 1927, 1899, 1880, 1882. 1853, 1914,
1916, 1852 and 1876.
From the first year Of this century to 1858,
precisely fifty patents were granted to wo-
men, Up to the outbreak of the civil war,
patents were granted to only swo southern
ladies, one to Mrs. Agdalena S. Goodman,
of Florida, for an improvement in broom
brushes in 1S49.
During the same period New York had fur
nished IA woman patentees; Massachusetts,,
4; Ohio, 2, and Maine, Connecticut and New
Jersey / each.
The patents were by no means confined to
domestic arts and conveniences, or to the by
giene or adjournment Of women. For instance,
in 1854, Miss Montgomery brought forward
an improved war vessel. In the same year a
young woman from Michigan introduced the
improved lantern dinner pail. Miss Mont
gomery also devised an improvement in loco
cxy<
sociates in railroad inventions, even to an
apparatus for destroying vegetation on rail-
roads.
One woman in Iowa made an improvement
for cigars; another in Philadelphia offers
mustache spoon; a third in Boston contrib
utes trousers tree. There is an apparatus
for killing mosquitoes patented by woman.
The question naturally arises, Did that wom-
an make her fortunes
Some of the more bizarre devices are for
inducing sleep, for restoring facial symmetry
and for exposing hair to the action of heated
vapors Mrs Maria Beazley, of Philadel-
phia, is clever inventor who levies on the
shipping departments Of the Oil and sugar re-
fineries eternal obligations as well as profit
able royalties. By means of her invention
hundreds of ready made barrels are turned
out in day.
Mrs Emma D. Mills, one of the most ener-
getic advocates in New York of the intro
duction of women into occupations hitherto
monopolized by men, has invented patent
typewriter attachment, has patented it in her
own name, and is to manufacture and sell it
herself. For this purpose Mrs. Mills has even
had to have special tools made, but she has in
no way yielNed to obstacles that to most wo-
men would seem uncomfortable. The attach
ment is on the order of the governor of an
engine, and stops all action of the machinery.
1t seems that an inventor who makes her own
tools and with them manufactures her own
patent ought to succeed.
The celebrated English actress, Mrs. Ken
dial, is the inventor of lamp and candle
shade, from the safes of which she makes q
handsome profit. The wife Of New York
banker has invented machine for making
wire rope, the patent of which she has sold to
San Francisco firm for S25, 600 cash and a
royalty. The way she came to hit upon this
was from device she used to twist her
worsted Miss Helen Blanchard has made a
fortune through the invention of simple at
tachment for sewing machine.
a hand refrigerator and lunch box has
been invented by Miss Phelps of Dorchester,
Mass 1t is particularly suitable for lunches
and picnics, and has compartment for ice.
The smallest size holds three pounds and a
half of ice in a zinc lined box, and it is said
to last for seventeen hours.
Miss Proctor, of Lima, O., has patented a
process by which it is claimed 10000 cubic
feet of Illuminating gas can be extracted
from one barrel of Lima oil
Blanche Willis Howard, the novelist, has
patented music rack and bath shoa.-New
York StaN