Women - Women's Innovations

Ella Kathleen Casano

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

diagnosed with Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) & required IV transfusions every 6-8 weeks
ITP is an autoimmune disorder that makes her body destroy its own platelets
her fear of needles & all the IV equipment inspired her to invent the Medi Teddy
Medi Teddy has been awarded nonprofit status by the IRS enabling them to accept donations & provide Medi Teddy's to hospitals & pediatric patients for free
is a world champion rower
started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $5000 to pay for the 1st run of 500 Medi Teddys & raised more than $20,000 in a week
was coxswain & represented the United States in the U19 Women's 4+ and U19 Women's 8+ at the U19 World Championships in the summers of 2022 and 2023, respectively
Medi Teddy comes in two models: a personalized, washable “Bailey” plush with a stretchy mesh rear pouch and a silicone “Hope” bear designed for hospitals to reuse with multiple patients
enjoys fishing & singing
after 7+ years of IV therapy her ITP is in remission & she takes a daily oral medication
holds 2 patents

Born: 2006

Country: USA

Education: Currently a freshman at Stanford University with an expected graduation date of 2028

Sara Chambers

💡 Yoga products inventor 💼 Entrepreneur

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Harriet M. Chapman

💡 Inventor

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Alissa Marie Chavez

💡 Inventor 💼 Entrepreneur

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Josephine Garis (later known as Cochrane) Cochran

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

Invented the 1st successful hand-powered dishwasher; patent issued 1886
Founded Garis-Cochran Manufacturing Company to make her machines
1893, 9 of her washers were installed at the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago & were met with interest from hotels & restaurants; won the prize for "best mechanical construction, durability & adaptation to its line of work"
1913, her company became part of KitchenAid through the Hobart Manufacturing Company after her death
Invented the dishwasher because she was tired of her dishes getting chipped during hand-washing & wanted to relieve the tired housewives of the chore of washing dishes after a meal
Her machine was the 1st to use water pressure instead of scrubbers to wash dishes
Held 5 patents

Born: 1839

Country: USA

Education: no formal education past high school

Anna Connelly

💡 Inventor

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Laura S. Cooney

💡 Inventor

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Kellyan Coors

💡 Inventor

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Martha Jane Coston

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

As a widow struggling to feed her 4 children, she discovered her husband's notes on night signalling at the Navy Yard & took years to work on his incomplete signaling ideas, eventually coming up with signal flares
Had already developed red & white flares but after watching a fireworks display in 1858, realized she needed blue flares
April 5, 1859, granted a patent for a pyrotechnic night signal & code system; patent granted to her as the administratrix for her deceased husband (Benjamin) who was named as inventor
1871, obtained a patent in her own name for improvement to the system
The US Navy purchased the original patent for $20,000 at the start of the Civil War & she supplied the flares for less than the manufacturing cost during the war; by the end of the war she estimated the government owed her $120,000 for flares but they only offered her $15,000
Her flares are still used today
Held 2 patents

Born: 1826

Country: USA

Education: no formal education

Prudence Crandall

✊ Civil Rights Pioneer 📚 Educator

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✊ Civil Rights Pioneer 📚 Educator

opened a school to teach White girls in Canterbury CT in 1831 & admitted her 1st Black student (Sarah Harris) in 1832 thus creating the 1st integrated school in Connecticut
was harassed by White townspeople & families began removing their White daughters
was arrested & tried 3 times for violating Connecticut's Black Law enacted in 1933 making it illegal to teach African-American students from outside the State without the town's permission
the Black Law was initiated & passed in an attempt to get Crandall to close her school
when townspeople told her the school would encourage social equality & marriage between Blacks & Whites she replied, "Moses had a Black wife" (Wikipedia)
closed her school in 1834 after backlash from the townspeople including refusal to sell them groceries or accept the students at local churches, her arrest, the arrest of 1 of her students, poisoning her well, threats, setting fire to the school & breaking most of the windows
the Black Law was subsequently repealed in 1838
fled Connecticut after the closure of the school & vowed to never return
was involved in the temperance & women's suffrage movements
ran a school in La Salle IL
1886 Connecticut awarded her a $400 yearly pension ($13,600 in 2023 dollars) at the urging of Mark Twain & other supporters
1834 her supporters commissioned a painting of her by Francis alexander that is on display at Cornell University & a printed copy hangs at the Prudence Crandall Museum in Canterbury CT that was designated a US National Historic Landmark in 1991
1973 the Prudence Crandall Center for Women (now Prudence Crandall Center, Inc) a domestic violence shelter opened in New Britain CT
1966 an elementary school in Enfield CT named after her opened
arguments from her 3 trials were used in Brown v Board of Education in 1954

Born: 1803

Country: USA

Education: Black Hill Quaker School; Moses Brown School

Margaret M. "Meg" Crane

🔍 Graphic 🎨 Product Design 💡 Inventor

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🔍 Graphic 🎨 Product Design 💡 Inventor

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

Born: 1941

Country: USA

Education: Unknown

Raquel Graham Crayton

💼 Entrepreneur 💡 Inventor

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💼 Entrepreneur 💡 Inventor

founded ROQ Marketing Group in 2009 & they offer strategic marketing solutions to corporations looking to develop their reach and brand awareness
was a financial analyst at JP Morgan after college
invented NEKZ because she couldn't find a scarf her children would wear & launched it on HSN in 2016
launched Headlightz on HSM in 2017
aooeared on Season 13 episode 11 of Shark Tank & formed a partnership with Kevin O;Leary & Peter Jones
is a past VP & head of Marketing for Ebony Magazine
was in the process of launching Handy Lightz (a lightweight glove with 2 LED lights so you didn't have to hold a flashlight) when COVID hit & switched her focus to designing & making facemasks (had 16 models) that allowed for the insertion of a filter in her Face Maskz
before beginning her alliance with HSN she spent 3 months in the hospital with a misdiagnosed doses before a correct diagnosis of fungal pneumonia was made, she was given a 20% chance of survival, suffered from a stroke, lung failure twice & cardiac failure, it took her 1 year to recuperate fully
toured with a dance company at age 9
is an active runner & exerciser; holds 2 patents

Born: Unknown

Country: USA

Education: Wesleyan University BA History with a minor in Economics 1990; Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA Marketing 2009

Lisa F. Crites

⚕️ Medical Journalist ⚕️ Media Strategist 💡 Inventor

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⚕️ Medical Journalist ⚕️ Media Strategist 💡 Inventor

created her shower shirt following her breast cancer diagnosis and bi-lateral mastectomy surgery because she didn't want to shower using a plastic garbage bag to protect her surgical drain sites
was the original Health/Medical television anchor/reporter for Central Florida News 13 (Channel 13) in Orlando Florida
consults with Gannett News Service as a broadcast media coach and works for both CNTV and NADA-TV as a medical television correspondent
had multiple complications after her mastectomy including 2 hospital obtained infections, 4 months of hyperbaric oxygen treatments, & 7 surgeries
her brother (an engineer) helped her design the architectural schematic and her aunt and cousin helped sew the initial prototype
there were seven prototype variations of the shirt before it was ready for manufacture

Born: Unknown

Country: USA

Education: Murray State University BS Journalism/Marketing 1989; University of Barcelona MBA & MS Digital Marketing & ECommerce

Caresse ((born Mary Phelps Jacob) "Polly" Crosby (born Jacob)

🔍 Publisher ✊ activist ✍️ writer 💡 inventor

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🔍 Publisher ✊ activist ✍️ writer 💡 inventor

time called her the "literary godmother to the Lost generation of expatriate writers in Paris"
childhood nickname was "Polly"
1914 was presented to the King of England at a garden party
was photographed by Charles Dana Gibson of "Gibson girls" fame as a child
grew up in an upper-class environment living on estates in Manhattan & New Rochelle New York & Connecticut
1910 fashioned her 1st bra from 2 handkerchiefs & some pink ribbon to replace an uncomfortable corset cover to attend a debutante ball
her autobiography was titled "The Passionate Years"
sold her bra patent to Warner Brothers Corset Company for $1,500
had an open marriage with her 2nd husband Harry Crosby
she & Harry lived a bohemian lifestyle in Paris as expatriates in the 1920s living in the "here & now" with no concern for their future
Harry believed there could be no greater expression of love than a willingness to die with ones beloved &, at one point, the couple had a suicide pact to jump out of an airplane on October 31, 1942 but he committed suicide with 1 of his lovers in 1929
the documentary "Always Yes, Caresse" is about her life & was produced shortly prior to her death
her great granddaughter, Tamara Colchester wrote a biography of her titled "The Heart is a Burial Ground"
she lived in Washington DC 1937-1950 & opened an art gallery, Caresse Crosby Modern Art Gallery & exhibited paintings by Henry Miller
starred in several experimental dance films & wanted to be an actress
is rumored to have ghost written pornography for Henry Miller who was a close friend

Born: 1892 or 1891

Country: USA

Education: none formal

Jamie Lee Curtis

💡 Inventor 🔍 Actress ✍️ children s book author ✊ activist

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💡 Inventor 🔍 Actress ✍️ children s book author ✊ activist

Known for her roles in horror & slasher movies
Has won numerous awards for her film & TV roles, including an Oscar in 2022
Has written 13 childrens books & was on the NY Times Best Seller list
Studied law for 1 semester
Refused to allow her modified diaper to be manufactureds until companies began selling biodegradable diapers
Was a blogger for the Huffington Post 2011-2017
Helped finance the rebuilding of the Great Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary to honor her father's (Tony Curtis) Jewish heritage
Helped refurbish the synagogue in Mateszalka, Poland where her grandparents worshipped
Is a recovering alcoholic & was once addicted to painkillers after a surgical procedure
Holds 2 patents

Born: 1958

Country: USA

Education: 1 semester at University of the Pacific

Mary A. Delaney

💡 Inventor

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Mary Jones DeLeon

🔍 Food services 💡 Inventor

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Lisa Seacat DeLuca

💻 Software Engineer 💡 Inventor

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💻 Software Engineer 💡 Inventor

is the most prolific inventor in the history of IBM
worked at IBM over 16 years before moving to Unstoppable domains
played on the women's basketball & volleyball teams at Carnegie Mellon University
grew up in Montana
loved storytelling & would type up scripts to be acted out by her stuffed animals & younger sister
wrote her book "A Robot Story" with her children to get them excited & interested in technology
has applied for more than 1000 patents with approximately 650 being granted & the remainder are pending

Born: Unknown

💡 Inventor 📚 Educator ✍️ Author

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💡 Inventor 📚 Educator ✍️ Author

spent most of her time as a teenager translating classical texts, such as the Eclogues of Virgil and publishing poetry
had a passion for map making
wrote and published a guidebook to go with the Fitz globe mounting system titled "Handbook of the Terrestrial Globe or Guide to Fitz's New Method of Mounting and Operating Globes" which she wrote in order to make the globe understandable and user friendly, whilst promoting her innovations
most of her adult life was spent in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada where she worked as a governess and educator
a copy of her original patent for the Fitz globe mount is held with the Ellen Eliza Fitz papers at the Watertown Free Public Library in Massachusetts
her globe was displayed at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia
first woman involved in the design and manufacturing of globes

Born: 1835

Country: USA

Education: West Newton State Normal School 1853

Abigail "Abbey" M. Fleck

💡 Inventor

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Ida R. Forbes

💡 Inventor

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Hazel Tietjen Forbis

💡 Inventor

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Frances Gabe

💡 Inventor 🔍 Jewelry maker 🔍 Ceramist

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💡 Inventor 🔍 Jewelry maker 🔍 Ceramist

father was an architect & construction working which led to numerous job-related schools when she was growing up
attended 18 different elementary schools
worshiped father & accompanied him to job-sites often riding up scaffolding on his shoulders
graduated high school at 16 & was married at 17
after her divorce in 1967 decided she hated housework & found it inconvenient & time consuming which ultimately led to her designing the self-cleaning house
it took her 12 years to build her self-cleaning house
mother died when she was very young & she didn't get along with her stepmother, preferring to spend time with her father
completed six years of middle school and high school in two years
after her divorce changed her last name from Bateson to Gabe which was a combination of her maiden and married names: Grace, Arnholtz, Bateson and added the E
built a model of her 2-story home & travelled the country trying to sell her patents & get backing for building more homes, even charging for tours of her own home to raise money but was unsuccessful & her own home was the only self-cleaning house to be built
her family sold the home when they had to put her in a nursing home & the current owner has removed most of the self-cleaning features
January 31, 1984 the model of her home was donated to the Hagley Museum and Library
2005 Artist Lily Benson visited Gabe & subsequently made a short film released in 2015 documenting her patents & home
invented 68 separate devices to eliminate every part of the cleaning of the home including a cupboard that could clean dishes without needing to move them, and cabinets in which one could hang dirty clothes to be washed and dried that could later be pulled with chains into the closet
her house was about a thousand square feet and was completed in the 1980s at a cost of $15,000
she reportedly had contentious relationships with all her neighbors & was very difficult to get along with & often attributed to the cement mixer which was permanently in her front yard, her pack of snarling Great Danes or her penchant for doing her yard work in the nude during her younger days
after divorcing her husband she allowed him to continue living in a trailer on the property
was an accomplished jeweler and ceramist
lived on 7 overgrown acres 25 miles southwest of Portland OR
for dirty dishes she designed a cupboard in which dirty dishes were set on mesh shelves then washed and dried in situ
floors in the home were coated with multiple layers of marine varnish, furniture was encased in clear acrylic resin, bedclothes were kept dry by means of an awning pulled over the bed before the cascade of water began & books were encased in plastic covers
got the idea for her self-cleaning house after 1 of her children smeared fig jam on the wall of her house & she used a hose to wash it off
her patent patent contained 68 individual parts covering the home’s other labor-saving cleaning devices
she was unable to afford to maintain her patent & it expired in 2001
her family moved her (reportedly against her wishes & "kicking & screaming" according to 1 of her grandsons) to a nursing home in 2008
built the entire house by herself
her husband started a building repairs business which she ran for 35-45 years (times vary depending on the source consulted)
her patent is under the name Frances G. Bateson

Born: 1015

Country: USA

Education: Girls Polytechnic High School

Ella Neilson Gaillard

💡 Inventor

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Jessica "Jessie" Noel Garcia

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

Tozuda means headstrong in Spanish & the name is a nod to her grandmother who used to call her tozuda growing up
she is a former rugby player
her mechanism detects force of impact and, when the impact is strong enough to potentially cause a concussion, releases a red dye into a clear chamber
received a grant from Protolabs, a well-known prototyping injection molding company, which enabled her to complete her design/manufacture her Head Impact Indicator
released her 1st Indicator in 2019 & an improved model in 2020
“If it’s red, check your head,” is her company motto
in her free time enjoys cooking primal foods, listening to podcasts, lifting, welding, and mountaineering
holds 3 patents

Born: Unknown

Country: USA

Education: Lehigh University BA global Studies, Entrepreneurship & Women's Studies 2012; Master of Engineering-Technical entrepreneurship 2013; Stanford University Latino Entrepreneurship Fellowship 2015

Shanya Gill

💡 Inventor

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💡 Inventor

was 12-years-0ld when she invented her device
has said her goal in creating her device was to design an early warning system that is superior to a standard smoke detector & while smoke detectors sense active fires as smoke begins to rise her system is designed to stop unwanted fires from starting
was inspired to improve fire safety after a restaurant behind her home burned down in the summer of 2022
interests include sports, crafting, coding, and teaching younger kids
hopes to become a biomedical engineer
her system involves connecting an affordable thermal camera to a compact computer (Raspberry Pi retail costs start at about $35) which is then programmed to differentiate between people–which were identified as warm objects moving horizontally–and heat sources, such as an active gas burner, which were identified as hot objects that remained stationary; she then programmed the system to send a text message when it detected a heat source but no human presence for a continuous 10-minute period
testing showed her system accurately detected human presence 98% of the time and heat sources 97% of the time
has put her code up on GitHub, which is open source, so people can make suggestions on how to improve the program, which still has some bugs
has decided not to patent her invention so it is available to all
is working with the U.S. Fire Administration to perfect her device
used to struggle with insecurities tied to her body image, and was called names because of her size but has developed a healthier self-image, and working on the project has helped her build confidence
once her device comes to market she plans to donate a portion of the profits to charities and organizations that help victims of fires
wants to refine her device by combining it with a smartphone app that will allow users to quickly switch over to a camera after receiving a text message so they can see if the alert is correct, as well as a higher resolution sensor, incorporating smarter algorithms, and designing the product for mass production

Born: 2011

Country: India

Education: current a student

Jane E. Gilman

💡 Inventor

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Cassidy L. Goldstein

💡 Inventor

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Sarah Elisabeth Goode

💡 Inventor 💼 Entrepreneur

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Bette Nesmith Graham

💡 Inventor 🔍 secretary

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Mary Temple Grandin

🔍 academic 💡 inventor 🔍 and ethologist

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🔍 academic 💡 inventor 🔍 and ethologist

is a prominent proponent of the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter
is the author of more than 400 scientific papers on animal behavior
one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experiences with autism
is a faculty member with Animal Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University
was diagnosed with "brain damage" at age 2 & autistic savant as an adult
when she was a toddler doctors recommended she be institutionalized & her father was agreeable but her mother wasn't & tried speech therapy instead
she has described her years in junior high & high school as the worst time of her life
was expelled at the age of 14 for throwing a book at a schoolmate who taunted her
advocates for early intervention to address autism and supportive teachers, who can direct fixations of the child with autism in fruitful directions
has been the subject of many books, articles, movies, & documentaries
did not talk until she was three and a half years old
was mainstreamed into a normal kindergarten at age five
advocates for the acceptance of neurodiversity, challenging the notion of seeking a comprehensive cure
her book, "Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior," explores the parallels between the thoughts of animals and the experience of autism, shedding light on how sensory processing differences can provide insight into animal behavior
her book, "Animals Make Us Human," delves deeper into animal welfare, emphasizing the importance of understanding animals’ emotional needs
her memoir is titled "Thinking in Pictures,"
in school was given the nickname “tape recorder” due to her habit of repeating words repeatedly
holds 1 patent under the name Temple Grandin

Born: 1947

Country: USA

Education: Franklin Pierce University BA Human Psychology !970; AS MS Animal Science 1975; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign PhD Animal Science 1989