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Found 84 Stories
Cover of American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D
Lemelson Center Books

American Independent Inventors in an Era of Corporate R&D

How America's individual inventors persisted alongside corporate R&D labs as an important source of inventions. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Alexander Graham Bell seated at table, speaking into telephone while a group of men watch.
Invention Stories

Diverse Voices: Immigrant Inventors

Immigrant inventors are essential to the invention landscape.

Orange box with words Who Gets to Be an Inventor
Invention Stories

Diverse Voices: Women Inventors

Throughout American history, women with diverse backgrounds and interests created inventions that change our lives every day.

Informal pose of Tahira Reid Smith, arms folded
Blog

Game Changers Inventor Spotlight: Tahira Reid Smith

Engineering professor Dr. Tahira Reid Smith has been inventive since childhood and is best known for her automated double-Dutch jump rope machine.

Hinda Miller and Lisa Lindahl wearing Jogbras running
Beyond Words

Inventive Minds: Inventors of the Sports Bra

Lisa Lindahl, Hinda Miller, and Polly Palmer Smith invented the now-ubiquitous sports bra in the 1970s.

Detail of Handprints on Hubble book cover, showing astronaut Kathy Sullivan looking out the window of the space shuttle.
Lemelson Center Books

Handprints on Hubble: An Astronaut's Story of Invention

The first American woman to walk in space recounts her experiences as part of the team that launched, rescued, repaired, and maintained the Hubble Space Telescope. Published in the Lemelson Center Studies in Invention and Innovation book series with MIT Press.

Article from The Woman Inventor, 1890, titled “Colored Woman Inventor,” with the story of Ellen Eglin who invented a clothes-wringer but was afraid that white women would not buy the wringer if they knew it had been invented by an African American woman. Eglin sold her invention to an agent for $18 in 1888 and made no further profit from it.
Blog

Who Invents and Who Gets the Credit?

The complex story of an African American woman inventor, hidden behind a simple clothes wringer.

Patricia Bath stands amongst a group of students during a Lemelson Center Innovative Lives program in 2000.
Blog

Remembering Dr. Patricia Bath

Pathbreaker, physician, educator, role model, and inventor of the Laserphaco Probe for the treatment of cataracts.

A black-and-white icon of a Mac Classic computer with a smiling face on the screen.
Blog

Susan Kare, Iconic Designer

Susan Kare designed the distinctive icons, typefaces, and other graphic elements that gave the Apple Macintosh its characteristic—and widely emulated—look and feel.

Detail of a photo of Elaine Ostroff, on left, with two other women, looking at a model of a play space. The words Play Room are on the door behind Ostroff.
Blog

Creating and Shaping Learning Environments

“It can happen anywhere—a learning environment can happen anywhere.” (Elaine Ostroff, Wheaton College interview, undated)

Official portrait of NASA astronaut Ellen Ochoa in her flight suit, 12 February 2002
Blog

Highlighting Hispanic Inventors and Innovators

A few stories of often overlooked inventors and innovators in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Frances Gabe pointing to model of her self-cleaning house, 1979
Blog

You Don’t Have Time to Clean Your House—Now What?

Frances Gabe called cleaning a “thankless, unending job, a nerve-twangling bore.” She set out to change that.

Masthead illustration for The Woman Inventor, 1890, depicting women at work in drafting, agriculture, and industry
Blog

Counting Women Inventors

The Patent Office’s first official list of women patentees, compiled in 1888, is a crucial—but flawed—source for historians of invention.

Margaret Knight’s patent model for an improved paper bag making machine shows 2 sets of 3 gears attached by articulated arms and springs to a wooden frame and horizontal bed where the paper is moved through the bag making process.
Blog

America Participates in Innovation – 1800s

In this post, I’ll describe how the democratic features of the United States Patent System enticed a broad spectrum of the American population to become inventors in the 19th century.

"Joy" movie poster
Blog

"Joy's" Process of Inventing

Jennifer Lawrence's silver screen portrayal of inventor Joy Mangano makes the case for the invention process.

Bulb used in Edison's first public demonstration
Encouraging Innovative Thinking

Curiosity and Invention

Do you consider yourself curious?

Hedy Lamarr
Invention Stories

A Movie Star, Some Player Pianos, and Torpedoes

Hedy Lamarr was dubbed the most beautiful woman in Hollywood, but she was more interested in inventing than in idle compliments.

Invention Stories

What to Wear Today? Invention and Innovation in Dressing

Did you ever think that when you get dressed in the morning, you're expressing inventive creativity? Dr. Linda Przybyszewski says this has been true throughout history.

Invention sketch of accessible snowboard
Invention Stories

Inventive Minds: Everyone Is Inventive

Throughout American history, inventors and innovators have used their imaginations to create, improve, and promote inventions and innovations that shape our everyday lives. Explore their stories in the Inventive Minds gallery.

Elizabeth Magie Phillips, inventor of "The Landlord's Game," a precursor to "Monopoly"
Invention Stories

The Woman Inventor Behind “Monopoly”

The invention process can be messy. Case in point: the invention of "Monopoly."

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