Mary Dixon Kies
Personal Information
Born: 1752
Died: 1837
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
none formal
Professional Life
Field of Study: Inventor
Institution/Corporation: none
Degrees & Memberships: none
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1965, monument to her erected in Old South Killingly Cemetery, Rhode Island; 2006 National Inventors Hall of Fame
Achievements: her invention made it possible for New England s hat making industry to be one of the few industries to prosper during the War of 1812
Her patent for a new technique of weaving straw with silk & thread to make hats was approved & signed by President James Madison in 1809
1st female to apply for & receive a US patent in her own name (some sources cite Hannah Slater in 1793 or Hazel Irwin in 1808)
Dolly Madison was so pleased by Kies' invention she sent her a personal letter congratulating her
Her patent was lost in the 1836 fire at the patent office