Ellen F. Eglin
1836 - 1916
Inventor; domestic
Personal Information
Born: 1836
Died: 1916
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: Black
Education
no formal education found
Professional Life
Field of Study: Inventor; domestic
Institution/Corporation: none
Degrees & Memberships: none
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: invented an improved wringer for washing machines, never applied for a patent, sold design to a white man for $18 because she believed no one would buy her product if they learned she was Black
1888, invented the clothes wringer for washing machines while working as a housekeeper
Also worked as a clerk or charwoman in a local census office
Fearing white women wouldn't buy a product invented by a Black woman, she sold her patent to a white agent (male) for $18