Inventor Name
Donovan, Marion O’Brien
Repository
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution
Archives Center
P.O. Box 37012
MRC 601/Room 1100
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202-633-3270
https://americanhistory.si.edu/archives
Physical Description
7 cu. ft. : 21 boxes
Summary
Remembered as the "grandmother of the disposable diaper," Donovan was an inventor and entrepreneur who held over a dozen U.S. and foreign patents on products that addressed problems of personal health, beauty, and household needs. Her "Boater" diaper cover became a commercial success when she began selling it at Saks Fifth Avenue, 1949. She sold her company and diaper patents to children's clothing manufacturer Keko Corporation. Born Oct. 15, 1917 in South Bend, Ind., died November 4, 1998. Collection includes a videotape featuring Marion Donovan and Jacob Rabinow, interviewed by Barbara Walters, 1975. Correspondence, patents, photographs, newspaper clippings, and subject files about various inventors and ideas. Collection documents women inventors, American culture, 1950s-1970s, and products designed for women and the home. Donovan papers offer a near complete invention record, including both successes and failures, as well as partent and trademark correspondence.
Finding Aid
https://amhistory.si.edu/archives/d8721.htm