Items30The creator’s order
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Josephine CochraneBorn 8 Mar 1839Cochrane made dishwashing a workable business, not just a clever mechanism. Her 1886 patent used water jets and racks to clean dishes, and she pursued manufacture, sales and installation with mechanical collaborators. Earlier dishwashing devices already existed; hotels and restaurants were…0 - 2
Margaret E. KnightThe flat-bottomed paper bag is easy to overlook until you consider making it at speed. Knight's machine cut, folded and glued the base automatically, earning her a patent in 1871. She improved an existing industry rather than inventing paper packaging from nothing, and defending authorship was part…0 - 3
Nils BohlinBorn 17 Jul 1920Bohlin's three-point seat belt, introduced by Volvo in 1959, made a safety restraint practical for everyday drivers and passengers. His aviation background met the company's wider vehicle-safety work: the important change was a design that held both upper and lower body while remaining…0 - 4
Alice Catherine EvansBorn 29 Jan 1881Evans connected bacteria found in milk with human brucellosis, helping turn a disputed laboratory finding into a public-health argument for pasteurisation. She worked within government research institutions and built on earlier microbiology; she did not invent the heating process. Her contribution…0i - 5
László BíróBorn 29 Sept 1899Bíró's ballpoint pen depended on ink as much as on the little rolling ball. Working with his chemist brother György and others, he developed a combination that made the idea commercially useful. Earlier ballpoint patents existed, including John Loud's, and later manufacturers brought their own…0i - 6
Gideon SundbackBorn 24 Apr 1880A zip needs to close reliably many times, not merely demonstrate that two edges can meet. Sundback improved earlier fasteners associated with Whitcomb Judson, developing closely spaced interlocking elements that made the mechanism more dependable. Manufacturing and clothing makers then helped make…0i - 7
Robert KearnsBorn 10 Mar 1927Kearns's intermittent-wiper system addressed the familiar irritation of blades sweeping too often in light rain. His 1967 patent built on existing motors and circuitry, while his notebooks also document engineers and family members who worked with him. The later disputes with car manufacturers make…0i - 8
George de MestralBorn 19 Jun 1907Burrs led de Mestral towards a fastening system made from tiny hooks and loops. Developing a usable textile product took years of experimentation, rather than a single walk producing a finished invention. His 1955 patent and the manufacturing work behind the VELCRO brand helped bring the principle…0 - 9
Bette Nesmith GrahamBorn 23 Mar 1924Graham turned a typist's workaround into Liquid Paper, allowing errors to be covered instead of requiring a whole page to be retyped. She began making correction fluid at home and built a company around it, with family, employees and formulation expertise helping it grow. Her own painting…0i - 10
Ruth R. BeneritoBorn 12 Jan 1916Benerito and her USDA colleagues developed treatments that helped cotton resist wrinkles by changing the relationships between its fibres. Earlier textile chemistry and a large research programme underlay the work; calling her the lone inventor of easy-care clothing misses that setting. Her…0i
