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Found 53 Stories
Masthead illustration for The Woman Inventor, 1890, depicting women at work in drafting, agriculture, and industry
Invention Stories

Inventive Minds: Women Inventors

The word “inventor” may conjure images of men like Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, but the history of women inventors is as long as that of their male counterparts.

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.

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.

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.

Cover to the book, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt Beyer
Lemelson Center Books

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age

Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age (2009) by Kurt Beyer reveals the vibrant, complex, and intriguing woman whose career paralleled the rise of the postwar computer industry.

Black and white photograph of crowds on the beach in Atlantic City, NJ in 1908.
Invention Stories

Invention Hits the Beach

Curious about the origins of the beach chair, research led me to the story of Wilhelm Bartelmann, a German basketmaker who invented the “strandkorb,” a wicker chair designed for the beach.

Kwolek behind a table full of Kevlar products, including gloves, helmets, rope, and spools of the Kevlar fiber.
Invention Stories

Inspiring Inventor: Stephanie Kwolek (1923-2014)

Monica Smith pays homage to Stephanie Kwolek, inventor of Kevlar® and a great friend to the Lemelson Center, who recently passed away.

Encouraging Innovative Thinking

Recognize the Unusual

The tendency to see non-obvious connections and relationships often leads inventors to the key insight that is the basis for their invention.

DO Try This at Home!

Make a Polymer

Be inspired by the work of Kevlar© inventor Stephanie Kwolek with this How-To guide to making your own polymer!

Close-up of Stephanie Kwolek
Invention Stories

Stephanie Kwolek: Kevlar® Inventor

The ubiquitous fiber that had an unlikely beginning.

Encouraging Innovative Thinking

Girls Get Science (and Invention)

Since the Lemelson Center was founded in 1995, we’ve had the great fortune of researching, documenting, and highlighting an array of amazing historic and contemporary women inventors, and one of the great parts of my job is sharing those stories with girls and their parents.

Fresh Paper inventor Kavita Shukla
Invention Stories

Try It: Fresh Paper

A young woman's concern for food waste lead to a remarkable invention.

Liz Lerman
Beyond Words

Podcast: Liz Lerman Nurtures Civic Dialogue and Creativity through Dance

The choreographer’s studio is a hot spot of innovation for the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.

Jane Lancaster
Beyond Words

Podcast: Historian Jane Lancaster Follows Lillian Gilbreth’s Quest to “Have it All Ways”

Industrial psychologist Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972) revolutionized management techniques and improved workplaces for all kinds of workers.

Cover to the book, Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt Beyer
Beyond Words

Podcast: Grace Hopper Led America into the Information Age

Author Kurt Beyer describes the life and legacy of inventor and computer programmer Grace Murray Hopper.

Madam C. J. Walker
Beyond Words

Podcast: Madam C. J. Walker Had a Good Head for Hair Care, Part 2 (of 2)

A'Lelia Bundles explains her quest to document her famous great-great-grandmother's life and legacy.

Madam C. J. Walker
Beyond Words

Podcast: Madam C. J. Walker Had a Good Head for Hair Care, Part 1 (of 2)

A'Lelia Bundles explains her quest to document her famous great-great-grandmother's life and legacy.

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