Inventors of the 20th Century
(1900-1999)
- Name: Annie Turnbo Malone
Invented: Pressing Comb
Patent No:
Date: 1900
Note: Annie Turnbo Malone may have also invented a Pressing Iron. - Name: C. J. (Madame) Walker
Invented: Method of softening hair (year only – exact date uncertain)
Patent No:
Date: January 1, 1905 - Name: Clara C. Frye
Invented: Surgical appliance
Patent No: 847,758
Date: March 19, 1907 - Name: Madeline M. Turner
Invented: Fruit Press
Patent No.: 1,180,959
Date: April 25, 1916
Note: Her fruit press was called “ingenious” by a patent review committee member. Her invention was exhibited at the Panama Exposition.
►Alice H. Parker
Invented: Heating Furnace
Patent No.: 1,325,905
Date: Dec 23, 1919
Note: She was the first to use natural gas to heat a building.
►Mary J. Reynolds
SCGA: St. Joseph, MI
Invented: Hoisting and Loading Mechanism
Patent No: 1,337,667
Date: April 20, 1920
►Sacramenta G. Tankins (See also: 1932)
Invented: Comb
Patent No.: 1,339,632
Date: May 11, 1920
► Marjorie Stewart Joyner
Invented: Permanent Hair-Wave Machine
Patent No: 1,693,515
Date: November 27, 1928
► Virginia Scharschmidt
Invented: Safety window cleaning device
Patent No: 1,708,594
Date: April 9, 1929
► Sacramenta G. Tankins (Also See: 1920)
Invented: Method of and Means for Treating Human Hair
Patent No. 1,845,208
Date: February 16, 1932
►Margaret Cheetham
Invented: Toy
Patent No: 1,998,270
Date: April 16, 1935
►Mary E. Jackson(Co-inventor with Henry Jackson)
Invented: Protective appliance
Patent No: 2,038,491
Date: April 21, 1936
►Mary E. Jackson (Co-inventor with Henry Jackson)
Invented: Protective appliance
Patent No: 2,053,035
Date: September 1, 1936
►Mary E. Jackson (Co-inventor with Henry Jackson)
Invented: Burglar alarm switch
Patent No: 2,071,343
Date: February 23, 1937
►Bertha Berman
Also See: 1949 and 1959
Invented: Tooth Brush Protector
Patent No: 2,154,486
Date: April 18, 1939
►Henrietta Bradberry (Also See: 1945)
Invented: Bed Rack
Patent No: 2,320,027
Date: May 25, 1943
►Henrietta Bradberry (Also See: 1943)
Invented: Torpedo Discharge Means (Underwater Cannon)
Patent No: 2,390,688
Date: December 11, 1945
►Bertha Berman
Also See: 1939 and 1959
Invented: Bed Sheet Construction
Patent No: 2,462,156
Date: February 22, 1949
►Lydia M. Holmes
Invented: Knockdown Wheeled Toys
Patent No.: 2,529,692
Date: November 14, 1950
►Bessie Virginia Blount Griffin
Invented: Portable receptacle support
Patent No: 2,550,554
Date: April 24, 1951
►Christina M. Jenkins Original Name: Christina Mae Thomas
Invented: The Sew-in Weave
Patent No.: 2,621,663
Date: December 16, 1952
► Mary Beatrice Kenner (Also See: 1976, 1982, 1987)
Invented: Sanitary belt
Patent No: 2,745,406
Date: May 15, 1956
►Bertha Berman
Also See: 1939 and 1949
Invented: Fitted Bed Sheets
Patent No: 2,907,055
Date: October 6, 1959
►Iula O. Carter
Invented: Nursery Chair
Patent No: 2,923,950
Date: February 9, 1960
►Marie Van Brittan (Co-Inventor, Albert L. Brown)
Invented: Home security system utilizing television surveillance
Patent No: 3,482,037
Date: December 2, 1969
►Gertrude E. Downing (Co-inventor William P. Desjardin)
Invented: Reciprocating corner and baseboard cleaning auxiliary attachment for rotary floor treatment machines
Patent No: 3,715,772
Date: February 13, 1973
►Joan Clark[xxviii]
SCGA: Los Angeles, CA
Invented: Card Holder for Attachment to Bras and the Like
Patent No: Des. 241.189
Date: August 31, 1973
► Isadore Small[xxix] (Co-inventor)
SCGA: Milwaukee, WI
Invented: Universal on-delay timer
Patent No: 3,814,948
Date: June 4, 1974
►Virgie M. Ammons
Dates: Dec. 29, 1908 – July 12, 2000
Born in: Gaithersburg, Maryland
SCGA: Eglon, WV
Invented: Fireplace Damper Actuating Tool
Patented No.: 3,908,633
Date: September 30, 1975
Virgie Ammons’ invention allowed the chimney damper to be locked in the closed position, thereby blocking cold air and dust from blowing down the chimney and preventing it from re-entering the house.[xxx] When not in use, it can be stored next to the fireplace.[xxxi]
► Mary Beatrice Kenner[xxxii] (Also See: 1956, 1982, 1987)
Dates: May 17, 1912- January 13, 2006
Born in: Monroe, NC
SCGA: McLean, VA
Invented: Carrier attachment for invalid walkers
Patent No: 3957071
Date: May 18, 1976
►Beatrice L. Cowans(Co-inventor)
Invented: Embroidered fruit bowl wall hanging and kit
Patent No: 4016314
Date: April 5, 1977
►Virginia E. Hall (Co-inventor)
Invented: Embraided fruit bowl wall hanging
Patent No: 4016314
Date: April 5, 1977
► Debrilla M. Ratchford
Invented: Suitcase with wheels and transporting hook
Patent No: 4,094,391
Date: June 13, 1978
►Mary Ann Moore
Invented: Pain relief composition and method of preparing same
Patent No: 4,177,266
Date: December 4, 1979
► Mildred Davidson Austin Smith
Invented: Family Treedition game
Patent No.: “Family Treedition.”
Date: 1980
Mildred Smith invented a board game that helped players not only find out about their family trees but also their ancestors. Ms. Smith, being disabled herself, took into consideration other individuals with disabilities. As a result, she had her game published in braille so the blind could participate. Not wanting to sell the rights to her game, she manufactured and sold it herself. She trademarked the game’s name, “Family Treedition.”
►Valerie L. Thomas
Invented: Illusion Transmitter
Patent No: 4,229,761
Date: October 21, 1980
► Mary Beatrice Kenner (Also See: 1956, 1976, 1987)
Invented: Bathroom tissue holder
Patent No: 4,354,643
Date: October 19, 1982
►Maxine W. Snowden
Invented: Rain Hat
Patent No: 4,378,606
Date: April 5, 1983
►Brenda A. Truedell (Co-inventor)
Invented: 2-N-acylated and 2-N-alkylated derivatives of 4-O-substituted-2-deoxystreptamine aminoglycosides
Patent No.: 4,424,344
Date: January 3, 1984
These were antibacterial inventions for which Ms. Truedell received two patents.
►Joan Clark
Invented: Medicine Tray
Patent No: Des. 283,249
Date: April 1, 1986
►Christine Mayambala Mwanika (Co-inventor)
Invented: Ascorbate interference-resistant composition, device and method for the determination of peroxidatively active substances
Patent No: 4,587,220
Date: May 6, 1986
►Betty Wright Harris
Invented: Spot test for 1, 3, 5-triamino-2, 4, 6-trinitrobenzene, TATB
Patent No. 4,618,452
Date: October 21, 1986
►Ruane Sharon JeterbAlso See: 1997 and 1999
Invented: Digital Toaster
Patent No: Des. 289,249
Date: April 14, 1987
► Mary Beatrice Kenner (Also See: 1956, 1976, 1982)
Invented: Shower wall and bathtub mounted back washer
Patent No: 4,696,068
Date: September 29, 1987
►Patricia Bath (Also See: 1998, 1999)
Invented: Apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses
Patent No: 4,744,360
Date: May 17, 1988
Invented: Novel Organic Fertilizer and Production Thereof
Patent No.: 4,957,534
Date: September 18, 1990
This invention was a fertilizer that was a “single molecule compound comprised of non-toxic, all-organic compounds.” It was also called Way-To-Gro.
►Carol C. Randall
Invented: Ear Brace
Patent No.: 4,971,072
Date: November 17, 1990
“This invention is a device to hold the ears in a position folded forward and down to allow unobstructed access to the hairline area behind the ears.”
►Sharon J. Barnes (Co-Inventors)
Invented: Process and apparatus for contactless measurement of sample temperature
Patent No. 4,988,211
Date: January 29, 1991
► Wanda A. Sigur
Born in: New Orleans, LA
SCGA: New Orleans, LA
Invented: Method of fabricating composite structures
Patent No: 5,084,219
Date: January 28, 1992
►Natalie R. Love
Invented: T-Top Roof Cover
Patent No: 5,110,178
Date: May 5, 1992
T-top cover for convertible cars
►Joanna Hardin (Co-inventor)
Invented: CompUrest keyboard CompUrest keyboard Keyboard stand (CompUrest keyboardCompUrest keyboardCompUrest Keyboard Stand)
Patent No.: 5,188,321
Date: Feb. 23, 1993
This invention helps typists to stop or reduce suffering from computer-related injuries, such as joint and nerve wear and tear
►Brothella Quick
Invented: Pocketed Underwear
Patent No: Des. 341,470
Date: November 23, 1993
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor)
Invented: An Optimum Write-Back Strategy for Directory-Based Cache Coherence Protocols
Patent No: 5,313,609
Date: May 17, 1994
►Tanya R Allen
Invented: Undergarment with a pocket for releasably securing an absorbent pad
Patent No. 5,325,543
Date: July 5, 1994
►Valerie Adegbite (Co-inventor)
Invented: Electromagnetic Curing Apparatus and Method of Use
Patent No: 5,406,056
Date: April 11, 1995
►Carol C. Randall
Invented: Portable Holder for Tissues
Patent No.: 5,544,750
Date: August 13, 1996
“A portable holder for tissues to carry full size tissues right from a tissue box. The holder is to be die cut from flexible transparent material such as vinyl.”
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor)
Invented: Using Virtual Disks for Disk System Checkpointing
Patent No: 5,634,096
Date: May 1997
►Ruane Sharon Jeter (Co-Inventor) Also See: 1987 and 1999
Invented: Hand-held, multi-functional devices in one housing including a stapler, staple remover, pencil sharpener, hole punch, calculator, tape measure, architectural and engineering scale.
Patent No: Des. 383,783
Date: September 16, 1997
►Patricia S. Cowings
Born in: New York
SCGA: Saratoga, CA
Invented: Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) method and system
Patent No.: 5,694,939
►Barbara A. Nichols (Co-inventor)
Invented: Information Repository for Storing Information for Enterprise Computing System
Patent No.: 5,727,158
Date: March 10, 1998
► (AE) Maria Dolapo Adewunmi (Co-inventor)
Invented: Process for Eliminating Labile Glycohemoglobin from Sample
Patent No: 5,739,037
Date: April 14, 1998
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor)
Also See: Index of Prolific Women Inventors
Invented: Parallel Network Communications Protocol using Token Passing
Patent No: 5,742,812
Date: April 21, 1998
Invented: African American Headpiece
Patent No: Des. 395,737
Date: July 7, 1998
► (CA) Geraldine Mbamalu (Co-inventor)
Invented: Oligomerized receptors which affect pathways regulated by transmembrane ligands for elk-related receptor tyrosine kinases
Patent No: WO1998001548 A1
Date: January 15, 1998
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor)
Invented: Invalidation Bus Optimization for Multiprocessors using Directory-Based Cache Coherence Protocols in which an Address of a Line to be Modified is Placed on the Invalidation Bus Simultaneously with Sending a Modify Request to the Directory
Patent No: 5,778,437
Date: July 7, 1998
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor) Also See: 21th Century Section)
Invented: Cache Coherence Protocol for Reducing the Effects of False Sharing in Non-Bus-Based Shared-Memory Multiprocessors
Patent No: 5,822,763
Date: October 13, 1998
►Patricia Bath (Also See: 1988, 1999)
Invented: Method and apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses
Patent No: 5,843,071
Date: December 1, 1998
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor) Also See: 21th Century Section)
Invented: Efficient Method for Providing Fault Tolerance Against Double Device Failures in Multiple Device Systems
Patent No: 5,862,158
Date: January 1999
►Sandra K. Johnson (Co-Inventor)
Invented: Home Node Migration for Distributed Shared Memory Systems
Patent No: 5,893,922
Date: April 13, 1999
►Diane Nixon Johnson
Invented: African American Headpiece
Patent No: Des. 408,118
Date: April 20, 1999
►Ruane Sharon Jeter (Co-Inventor) Also See: 1987 and 1997
Invented: Cabinet for housing a medical waste container
Patent No: Des. 411,008
Date: June 15, 1999
►Patricia Bath (Also See: 1988, 1998)
Invented: Laser apparatus for surgery of Cataractous lenses
Patent No: 5,919,186
Date: July 6, 1999
►Ruane Sharon Jeter (Co-Inventor) Also See: 1987 and 1997
Invented: Container installing system
Patent No: 5,918,762
Date: July 6, 1999
►Ruane Sharon Jeter (Co-Inventor) Also See: 1987 and 1997
Invented: Medical waste disposal container
Patent No: 5,947,285
Date: September 7, 1999