The following is a partial list of the many ingenious inventions by women.

INVENTION INVENTOR YEAR Alphabet blocks Adeline D. T. Whitney 1882 Apgar tests, which evaluate a baby’s health upon birth Virginia Apgar 1952 Chocolate-chip cookies Ruth Wakefield 1930 Circular saw Tabitha Babbitt 1812 Dishwasher Josephine Cochran 1872 Disposable diaper Marion Donovan 1950 Electric hot water heater Ida Forbes 1917 Elevated railway Mary Walton 1881 Engine muffler El Dorado Jones 1917 Fire escape Anna Connelly 1887 Globes Ellen Fitz 1875 Ironing board Sarah Boone 1892 Kevlar, a steel-like fiber used in radial tires, crash helmets, and bulletproof vests Stephanie Kwolek 1966 Life raft Maria Beaseley 1882 Liquid Paper®, a quick-drying liquid used to correct mistakes printed on paper Bessie Nesmith 1951 Locomotive chimney Mary Walton 1879 Medical syringe Letitia Geer 1899 Paper-bag-making machine Margaret Knight 1871 Rolling pin Catherine Deiner 1891 Rotary engine Margaret Knight 1904 Scotchgard™ fabric protector Patsy O. Sherman 1956 Snugli® baby carrier Ann Moore 1965 Street-cleaning machine Florence Parpart 1900 Submarine lamp and telescope Sarah Mather 1845 Windshield wiper Mary Anderson 1903

Mystery Inventors

We'll probably never know how many women inventors there were. That's because in the early years of the United States, a woman could not get a patent in her own name. A patent is considered a kind of property, and until the late 1800s laws forbade women in most states from owning property or entering into legal agreements in their own names. Instead, a woman's property would be in the name of her father or husband.

For example, many people believe that Sybilla Masters was the first American woman inventor. In 1712 she developed a new corn mill, but was denied a patent because she was a woman. Three years later the patent was filed successfully in her husband's name.