![Photo of Margaret M. "Meg" Crane](/women_pictures/Crane_Margaret M. "Meg".png)
Margaret M. "Meg" Crane
Personal Information
Born: 1941
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Unknown
"After seeing rows of test tubes containing pregnancy tests at Organon she thought, “It’s so simple, just a test tube and a mirrored surface. A woman could do that herself.” & “It just came to me just like that,” she says, “I tried to think of a way to make this happen.” (smithsonianmag.com); “A woman should not have to wait weeks for an answer.” (smithsonianmag.com); “People in the company told me in effect that I was evil, this was really bad, this was terrible, and I had no right to be bringing this up—and women had no right to be doing this themselves; this was in doctors' hands,” Crane says. “And apparently some doctors were very upset about it when it finally got to the market, but not for terribly long.” (smithsonianmag.com); "
— Margaret M. "Meg" Crane
Professional Life
Field of Study: Graphic & Product Design; Inventor
Institution/Corporation: None found
Degrees & Memberships: None found
Awards & Achievements
Awards: None found
Achievements: 1967 designed the 1st home pregnancy test; tests were available in a Canadian test market in 1972 & in the US 1977,although her name was on the patent she didn't receive recognition for her design until after a New York Times article in 2012 didn't credit her with it & she wrote to the author & was then given credit for the 1st time
2004 was a juror in Martha Stewart's trial for lying to federal investigators during an insider trading investigation
was working on a new line of cosmetics packaging at Organon Pharmaceuticals (no longer in business) in west Orange NJ when she invented the home pregnancy test
saw test tubes in a lab at Organon & asked what they were & a scientist informed her they were pregnancy tests sent in by doctors & patients would get results in up to 2 weeks
used a paper clip holder, test tube, mirror, & dropper to create her prototype & presented the results to Organon executives who originally rejected her idea
"crashed" the meeting where the decision for the design of her idea of a home pregnancy test was being made after no consultation with her & placed her prototype among the others being considered, hers was eventually chosen because it looked the most "scientific" & trustworth
partnered with Ira /Sturtevant to do the advertising & marketing of her test named The Predictor & they remained partners in work & otherwise until his death in 2008
she & Ira went on to form their own marketing company they named Ponzi & Weill
although her name was on the patent, she was forced to sell her rights for $1 & never received it or any other money for her design because Organon sold the rights to 3 over-the-counter pharmaceutical companies
in 2015 a prototype of her Predictor & a 1970 packaged product version were acquired by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
her original tests gave results in approximately 2 hours, not the usual up to 2 weeks for tests submitted at a doctors office
PREDICTOR a play of her life & the creation of the hoe pregnancy test written by Jennifer Blackmer premiered in Nebraska in FEb. 2023
holds 1 patent