Columbian Exposition

Columbian Exposition

Women Inventors—important, But not so Famous

Throughout history famous female inventors and mostly have contributed enormously to the world of invention. Women inventors are responsible for a wide variety of inventions that we all encounter in our daily lives, from the automatic dishwasher to life saving medical inventions.

A brief look at some famous and not-so-famous women inventors.

Josephine Garis Cochran invented the first practical mechanical dishwasher in 1886.  Mrs. Cochrane was very wealthy and held a lot of dinner parties. Although she had servants to do the dishes, she was unhappy about how long it took and how many dishes the servants chipped. It is said that she once exclaimed, "If nobody else is going to invent a dishwashing machine, I'll do it myself!" 

She went about building one herself. Her friends were quite impressed and had her make machines for them as well.  Soon word spread, and she was getting orders for the machines from hotels and restaurants.  She got a patent on her design and went into production. At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago she won the highest award.

Her friends talked a lot about their new machines and soon, Mrs. Cochrane was getting orders for her dishwashing machine from restaurants and hotels in Illinois. She patented her design and went into production. She showed her invention at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago and won the highest award.

Ellen Ochoa, Astronaut and Female Inventor

Ellen Ochoa born on May 10, 1958 in Los Angeles, CA., received her bachelor of science degree in physics from San Diego State University, and a master of science degree and doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University. 

Ellen Ochoa developed an optical system designed to detect imperfections in repeating patterns. Patented in 1987, this system is used for quality control in manufacturing.  Later she patented an optical system which can be used for robotic. To date, Ellen Ochoa has received three patents.

Not only is she an inventor, Dr. Ellen Ochoa is also a research scientist and astronaut for NASA. Dr. Ellen Ochoa is a veteran of three space flights and has logged over 719 hours in space. 

Patsy Sherman Inventor of Scotchgard

In 1952 became one of a small minority of women chemists working for a major corporation, 3M in this case. 

Patsy Sherman regards the discovery of Scotchgard as one of her most significant achievements since many experts had concluded that such a product was "thermodynamically impossible." Patsy Sherman said, "We were trying to develop a new kind of rubber for jet aircraft fuel lines, when one of the lab assistants accidentally dropped a glass bottle that contained a batch of synthetic latex I had made. Some of the latex mixture splashed on the assistant's canvas tennis shoes and the result was remarkable."

That day in the lab is the stuff of legend. Patsy Sherman and her colleague, Sam Smith, were working on another project when they observed the accidental spill on a white tennis shoe. It wouldn’t wash and solvent didn’t remove it, and it resisted soiling.

Patsy Sherman and Samuel Smith obtained U.S. patent #3,574,791 in 1973, for the method for treating carpets, now known as Scotchgard. The name Scotchgard is a combination of the words Scotch and guard.

Patsy Sherman was inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 1983. Patsy Sherman and Sam Smith jointly hold 13 patents in fluorochemical polymers and polymerization processes. 

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How did Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 changed America?

aka World's Columbian Exposition.

There were a lot of inventions promoted at the world's fair. I think they debuted a certain type of car there.

The hot dog was said to be "invented" there as well.

The World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 (The Urban Simulati