Female Ingenuity

A partial list of the many ingenious inventions by women.

Invention	Inventor	Year
Antifungal antibiotic (Nystatin)	Rachel Fuller Brown and Elizabeth Lee Hazen	1957
Barbi Doll	Ruth Handler	1959
Brassiere	Mary Phelps Jacob	1913
Battery container	Nancy Perkins	1986
Beehive	Thiphena Hornbrook	1861
Cabinet Bed	Sarah Goode	1885
Canister vacuum	Nancy Perkins	1987
Car heater	Margaret Wilcox	1893
Circular saw	Tabitha Babbit	1812
COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language)	Grace Hopper	1959
Computer program	Augusta Ada Byron	1842
Cooking stove	Elizabeth Hawk	1867
CPR Mannequin	Dianne Croteau, et al	1989
Dam and reservoir construction	Harriet Strong	1887
Direct and return mailing envelope	Beulah Henry	1962
Dishwasher	Josephine Cochran	1872
Disposable cell phone	Randi Altschul	1999
Drinking fountain device	Laurene O'Donnell	1985
Electric hot water heater	Ida Forbes	1917
Elevated railway	Mary Walton	1881
Engine muffler	El Dorado Jones	1917
Feedback control for data processing	Erna Hoover	1971
Fire escape	Anna Connelly	1887
Fireplace damper actuator	Virgie Ammons	1975
Geobond	Patricia Billings	1997
Globes	Ellen Fitz	1875
"Gong and signal chair"	Miriam Benjamin	1888
Grain storage bin	Lizzie Dickelman	1920
Hair products for African Americans	Madame C.J. Walker	1908
Improved animal handling systems in meat plants	Dr. Temple Grandin	1989
Improved locomotive wheels	Mary Jane Montgomery	1864
Improvement in dredging machines	Emily Tassey	1876
Improvement in stone pavements	Emily Gross	1877
Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests	Stephanie Kwolek	1966
Life raft	Maria Beaseley	1882
Liquid Paper correction fluid	Bette Nesmith Graham	1956
Locomotive chimney	Mary Walton	1879
Medical syringe	Letitia Geer	1899
Mop-wringer pail	Eliza Wood	1889
Newborn Scoring System (Apgar Score)	Dr. Virginia Apgar	1949
Non-reflective glass	Katherine Blodgett	1938
Oil burner	Amanda Jones	1880
Optical analysis systems	Dr. Ellen Ochoa	1987
Permanent wave for the hair	Marjorie Joyner	1928
Portable screen summer house	Nettie Rood	1882
Process for isolating human stem cells	Ann Tsukamoto, et al	1991
Refrigerator	Florence Parpart	1914
Rolling pin	Catherine Deiner	1891
Rotary engine	Margaret Knight	1902
Safety device for elevators	Harriet Tracy	1892
Signal generator	Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson	1966
Spread spectrum	Hedy Lamarr	1941
Street cleaning machine	Florence Parpart	1900
Submarine lamp and telescope	Sara Mather	1845
Suspenders	Laura Cooney	1896
Washing machine	Margaret Colvin	1871
Windshield wiper	Mary Anderson	1903
Zigzag sewing machine	Helen Blanchard	1873