In the spirit of Women’s History Month, we celebrate three Black female inventors. You might notice that their patents are all for things that inspired items that we use today.
- Judy W. Reed. Reed is mostly shrouded in mystery, but she’s known as the first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent. She appeared in a census at age 44, and was known to be a widow and a mother of five who moved from Virginia to Washington D.C. later in life. Her invention was something every baker should know about—a dough kneader and roller. It was granted on September 23, 1884, and consisted of a new and improved design of existing rollers. It allowed the dough to mix more evenly while covered and protected. Due to the times, it’s very likely that she was taught to read or write; as such, she signed her patent with a simple “X.”
- Sarah E. Goode. Where Judy Reed is credited for being the first Black woman to receive a patent, Goode is known as the first Black woman to sign a patent. Her invention: the cabinet bed—a precursor to the Murphy bed. It was foldable to save space, and also served as a desk and storage space. She received the patent in 1885, becoming the second Black woman to get one. Goode had a furniture store in Chicago and was inspired by the problem New York City was having with building restrictions and limited space, and set out to make a solution herself. The Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy was opened and named in her honor in 2012.
- Marie Van Brittan Brown. Speaking of NYC, Brown was truly motivated by her environment as a New York native. She was both a nurse and an inventor, with an electronics technician for a husband. Their odd work hours, Queens’ high crime rate, and the time it took for the police to arrive at the scene of them gave her a vision for a home security system. Brown and her husband got the patent in 1969. Fifty years later, small businesses and houses are still using it, and there might not be any modern-day security systems without it. We highly encourage you to read up on the details for how she rigged the system—it’s truly incredible.
penned by diva ferrell
