Women inventors have been historically rare in some geographic regions. For example, in the UK, only 33 of 4090 patents (less than 1%) issued between 1617 and 1816 named a female inventor.[1] In the US, in 1954, only 1.5% of patents named a woman, compared with 10.9% in 2002.[1] Women's inventions have historically been concentrated in some areas, such as chemistry and education, and rare in others, such as physics, and electrical and mechanical engineering.[1] Some names such as Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace are widely known, many other women have been active inventors and innovators in a wide range of interests and applications, contributing important developments to the world in which we live.[2][3]
The following is a list of notable women innovators and inventors displayed by country.
Australia
- Rose Cumming (1884–1968), innovative interior decoration
- Sally Dominguez (born 1969), modular rainwater tank
- Minnie Crabb (1885–1974), braille printing press
- Myra Juliet Farrell (1878–1957), tailoring devices, fruit picker, folding pram hood
- Melissa George (born 1976), style snaps
- Veena Sahajwalla (fl 2010s), green steel
- Alison Todd (fl 1990s), pathogen detection
Austria
- Slawa Duldig (1901–1975), folding umbrella
- Ingeborg Hochmair (born 1953), medical devices, cochlear implants
- Lise Meitner (1878–1968), radioactivity, nuclear physics
- Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897-2000), Frankfurt kitchen
- Helene Winterstein-Kambersky (1900-1966), waterproof mascara
Belgium
- Guilly d'Herbemont (1888–1980), white cane for blind people
- Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (1864–1945), chafing dish
- Christine Van Broeckhoven (1953), treatments for neurodegenerative diseases[4]
- Maria Clementine Martin (1775–1843), alcoholic herb extract
Brazil
- Chu Ming Silveira (1941–1997), public telephone
Canada
- Suhayya Abu-Hakima (fl 1982), artificial intelligence
- Margaret Atwood (born 1939), robotic writing with the LongPen
- Yvonne Brill (1924–2013), propulsion technologies
- Maya Burhanpurkar (born 1999), Alzheimer's drugs
- Martha Matilda Harper (1857–1950), hair tonic
- Catherine McCammon (fl 2000s), spectroscopy-based examination of earth materials
- Rachel Zimmerman (born 1972), Blissymbol printer
China
- Joyce Chen (1917–1994), woks
- Lanying Lin (1918–2003), material engineering
- Tu Youyou (born 1930), malaria treatment
- Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (born 1965), brain-science-based learning tools
- Dan D. Yang (born 1965), learning systems
Denmark
- Dorthe Dahl-Jensen (born 1958), ice cores
- Hanne Nielsen (1829–1903), Havarti cheese
- Ida Tin (born 1979), menstruation app
Egypt
- Hypatia (c.350–415), mathematics, astronomy
- Pandrosion (c.300–360), mathematics
Finland
- Mimmi Bähr (1844–1923), calligrapher and inventor
France
- Danièle Aron-Rosa (born 1935), laser-based eye surgery
- Martine Bertereau (born c.1600), mineralogy
- Marie Boivin (1773–1841), pelvimeter, vaginal speculum
- Herminie Cadolle (1845–1926), brassiere
- Madame Clicquot Ponsardin (1777–1866), Champagne riddling
- Marie Harel (1761–1844), Camembert cheese
- Martine Kempf (born 1951), voice activation system
- Géraldine Le Meur (born 1972), digital innovation
- Marie Marvingt (1875–1963), metal plane skis
- Marguerite Perey (1909–1975), francium
- Joanna Truffaut (fl from 2000), urban Wi-Fi networks
- Jeanne Villepreux-Power (1794–1871), aquaria
Germany
- Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), coffee filter[4]
- Bertha Benz (1849–1944), brake linings
- Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), leg prosthesis, hand prosthesis
- Judith Esser-Mittag (born 1921), applicator-free tampon
- Marga Faulstich (1915–1998), optical glass[4]
- Amelia Freund (1824–1887), cooking stove
- Caroline Herschel (1750-1848), astronomer
- Sonja de Lennart (born 1920), Capri pants
- Maria Goeppert Mayer (1906-1972), nuclear physics
- Ida Noddack (1896–1978), nuclear fission
- Emmy Noether (1882–1935), algebra, physics
- Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (born 1942), biochemist
- Katharina Paulus (1868-1935), collapsible parachute
- Agnes Pockels (1862-1935), surface science
- Margarete Steiff (1847–1909), stuffed animals
- Brigitte Voit (born 1963), polymers
Greece
- Spéranza Calo-Séailles (1885–1949), "Lap" decorative concrete
Hungary
- Mária Telkes (1900–1995), solar energy
India
- Pratibha Gai (fl from 1974), electron microscopy
- Munia Ganguli (fl 2010s), drug delivery systems
- Sylvia Ratnasamy (born 1976), distributed hash table
- Sheila Sri Prakash (born 1955), prefabricated rotationally moulded inspection chamber
Ireland
- Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh (fl 2010s), silicone glue[4]
Israel
- Ruth Arnon (born 1933), multiple sclerosis drug
Italy
- Maria Abbracchio (born 1956), pharmacology
- Catia Bastioli (born 1957), biodegradable plastics[4]
- Patrizia A. Caraveo (born 1954), particle physics
- Teresa Ciceri Castiglioni (1750–1821) Italian inventor, agronomist
- Maria Cristina Facchini (fl from 1980s), aerosols
- Elena of Montenegro (1873–1952), signed photographs
- Maria Montessori (1870–1952), physician and educator
- Adele Racheli (1897–1992) engineer and co-founder of Milan patent protection office
Japan
- Teruko Mizushima (1920–1996), time-based currency
- Katsuko Saruhashi (1920–2007), measurement of carbon-dioxide concentrations in seawater[5]
Latvia
- Marija Šimanska (1922–1995), heterocyclic compounds
- Lina Stern (1878–1968), blood–brain barrier
Netherlands
- Katja Loos (born 1971), enzymatic polymerization
- Laura J. van 't Veer (born 1957), cancer risk screening[4]
- Saskia Wieringa (born 1950), gender relations
New Zealand
- Elizabeth Ann Louisa Mackay (1843–1908), cooking utensils
Nigeria
- Omowunmi Sadik (born 1964), microelectrode sensing, environmental applications
Poland
- Marie Curie (1867–1934), radioactivity
Portugal
- Antonia Ferreira (1811–1896), winemaking
Romania
- Ana Aslan (1897–1988), ageing treatment
Russia
- Anna Pavlova (1881–1931), pointe shoes for ballet
- Irina Beletskaya (born 1933), organometallic chemistry
Singapore
- Lin Hsin Hsin (fl 1990s), various IT inventions
Spain
- Concepción Aleixandre (1862–1952), gynecology
- Ángela Ruiz Robles (1895–1975), electronic book reader
- Margarita Salas (1938–2019), DNA amplication[4]
Sweden
- Maria Christina Bruhn (1732–1808), gunpowder packaging
- Eva Ekeblad (1724–1786), agronomy
- Amalia Eriksson (1824–1923), candy stick
- Simone Giertz (born 1990), robotic devices
- Iréne Grahn (1945–2013), patented finger joint support for patients with rheumatoid arthritis
- Hanna Hammarström (1829–1909), telephone wires
- Ninni Kronberg (1874–1946), powdered milk
- Laila Ohlgren (1937–2014), mobile telephony
- Maria Romell (1859-1949), heat-insulated food container and more
- Petra Wadström (b.1952), inventor of Solvatten
Switzerland
- Ursula Keller (born 1959), laser technology[4]
United Arab Emirates
- Reem Al Marzouqi (fl 2000s), car driven without hands
United Kingdom
- Princess Anne of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (1864–1927), automatic balancing bed
- Anna Atkins (1799–1871), photography
- Hertha Ayrton (1854–1923), electric arc lighting
- Theresa Berkley (died 1836), Berkley Horse
- Lauren Bowker (born 1985), colour-change inks
- Roxey Ann Caplin (1793–1888), corsetry
- Adelaide Claxton (fl 1860s–1890s), ear caps
- Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), artificial stoneware
- Emily Cummins (born 1987), evaporative refrigeration
- Fiona Fairhurst (fl 2009), swimsuits
- Christine Foyer (born 1952), plant science
- Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), chemist
- Ida Freund (1863–1914), gas measurement
- Barbara Gilmour (died 1732), cheese making
- Sarah Guppy (1770–1852), bridge construction, domestic devices
- Mandy Haberman (born 1956), baby bottles
- Diane Hart (1926–2002), corsetry
- Valerie Hunter Gordon (1921–2016), disposable diapers, sanitary towels
- Phyllis Margaret Tookey Kerridge (1901–1940), glass electrodes
- Marie Killick (1914–1964), sapphire stylus
- Helen Lee (researcher) (fl from 1990s), diagnostic kits for infectious disease[4]
- Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), mathematician
- Heather Martin (designer) (fl from 2000), interaction design
- Jane A. McKeating (fl from 1990s), molecular biology
- Emma Parmee (fl from 1990s), antidiabetic drugs
- Lucy Rogers (fl from 1990s), animatronic controllers
- Leslie Scott (born 1955), board games
- Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990), device for aircraft engines
- Bridget Elizabeth Talbot (1885–1971), watertight electric torch
- Asha Peta Thompson (fl 2000s), wearable technology
United States
- A
- Berenice Abbott (1898–1991), photography
- Alice Alldredge (born 1949), marine biology
- Frances Allen (1932–2020), computer scientist
- Randi Altschul (born 1960), cellphones, games and toys
- Susan Amara (fl from 2000), drug discovery
- Anne Anastasi (1908–2001), psychometrics
- Betsy Ancker-Johnson (born 1927), plasma physics
- Beth Anderson (born 1950), music composition
- Laurie Anderson (born 1947), electronic music
- Mary Anderson, windscreen wipers
- Virginia Apgar (1909–1974), health of newborns
- Frances Arnold (born 1956), enzyme engineering
- Barbara Askins (born 1939), photographic negative enhancement
- B
- Tabitha Babbitt (1779–c. 1853), tool making
- Betty Lou Bailey (1929–2007), exhaust nozzle
- Ellene Alice Bailey (1853–1897), clothing, household goods
- Betsey Metcalf Baker (1786–1867), straw bonnets
- Anna Baldwin (fl 1860s), milk production
- Alice Pike Barney (1857–1931), mechanical devices
- Janet Emerson Bashen (born 1957), software
- Patricia Bath (born 1942), medical devices
- Maria Beasley (fl 1870s–1890s), barrel hooper, life rafts
- Ruth Benedict (1887–1948), anthropology
- Ruth R. Benerito (1916–2013), cotton fabrics
- Miriam Benjamin (1861–1947), hotel chairs
- Evelyn Berezin (1925–2018), computerized typewriter[5]
- Margaret Olofsson Bergman (1872–1948), looms
- Barbara Beskind (fl 1945–1956), therapeutic devices
- Patricia Billings (born 1926), Geobond building material
- Hazel Bishop (1906–1998), lipstick
- Sara Blakely (born 1971), hosiery
- Helen Blanchard (1840–1922), sewing machines
- Joani Blank (1937–2016), vibrators
- Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898–1979), low-reflectance glass[5]
- Bessie Blount Griffin (1914–2009), feeding devices, disposable basins
- Vanna Bonta (1958–2014), flight suit for weightless environments
- Sarah Boone (1832–1904), ironing boards
- Shree Bose (born 1994), drugs for treating cancer
- Charlotte Bridgwood (1861–1929), windshield wipers
- Louise Brigham (1875–1956), modular furniture design
- Clarissa Britain (1816–1895), received seven patents
- Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999), home security systems
- Deborah Washington Brown (1952–2020), speech recognition
- Rachel Fuller Brown (1898–1980), antibiotics
- Mary Brush (fl 1815), corsets
- C
- Ve Elizabeth Cadie, (20th century), heat insulating handle for small home appliances, coffee pot
- Mary P. Carpenter (1840–1900), sewing machines, mosquito nets
- Keiana Cavé (born 1998), oil spill disperants
- Leona Chalmers (fl 1937), menstrual cup
- Melanie Chartoff (born 1950), water recycling
- Deanna M. Church (fl from 1990s), human genome
- Inga Stephens Pratt Clark (1906–1970), scarf
- Edith Clarke (1883–1959), electrical engineering
- Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913), dishwasher[4]
- Lynn Conway (born 1938), computer science
- Martha Coston (1826–1904), marine signalling
- Cathy A. Cowan (fl from 1990s), health care cost trends
- Margaret Crane (fl 1967), home pregnancy test
- Caresse Crosby (1891–1970), modern bra
- Rose Cumming (1887–1968), wallpapers
- Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958), diapers
- D
- Emily Davenport (1810–1862), electric motor
- Constance Demby (1939–2021), electronic musical instruments
- Olive Dennis (1885–1957), passenger train equipment
- Maude Dickinson (c.1866–1933), hygiene products
- Marion Donovan (1917–1998), disposable diapers
- Anna Dormitzer (1830–1903), window-cleaning equipment
- Emily C. Duncan (born 1849), banking calculators
- E
- Tomima Edmark (born 1957), garments designed for online sales
- Ellen Eglin (born 1849), clothes wringer
- Gertrude B. Elion (1918–1999), medical research, drugs
- Jeri Ellsworth (born 1974), computer design
- F
- Ethel Finck (1932–2003), cardiac catheter
- Edith M. Flanigen (born 1929), molecular sieves
- Irmgard Flügge-Lotz (1903–1974), aircraft guidance systems
- Eunice Newton Foote (1819–1888), greenhouse effect, boot soles
- Josephine G. Fountain (fl 1960), direct suction tracheotomy tube
- Helen Murray Free (1923–2021), diabetes tests
- G
- Frances Gabe (1015–2016), self-cleaning house
- Ruth Graves Wakefield (1903–1977), chocolate chip cookies
- Sarah E. Goode (1855–1905), folding cabinet bed
- Linda Gottfredson (born 1947), educational psychology
- Olga D. González-Sanabria (fl from 1979), battery technology, systems management
- Bette Nesmith Graham (1924–1980), liquid paper
- Temple Grandin (born 1947), hug machine
- Elizabeth Riddle Graves (1916–1972), Manhattan Project
- Lori Greiner (born 1969), household sponge, toilet accessories
- H
- Mary Hallock-Greenewalt (1871–1950), visual music
- Ruth Handler (1916–2002), Barbie doll
- Elise Harmon (1909–1985), computer miniaturization
- Martha Matilda Harper (1857–1950), retail franchising
- Arlene Harris (born 1948), mobile and wireless technologies
- Ami Harten (1946–1994), applied mathematics
- Elizabeth Lee Hazen (1885–1975), antifungal medication
- Marti Hearst (fl from 1990s), text mining
- Ada Henry Van Pelt (1838–1923), water purification
- Beulah Louise Henry (1887–1973), sewing machines, freezers, typewriters
- Isabella Coler Herb (c.1863–1943), ether administration to patients
- Leta Stetter Hollingworth (1886–1939), educational psychology
- Mabel White Holmes (1890–1977), baking mixes
- Erna Schneider Hoover (born 1926), computerized telephone switching
- Grace Hopper (1906–1992), computer programming language compiler
- Frances Hugle (1927–1968), semiconductors
- Simona Hunyadi Murph (fl 2010s), nano technologies
- Ida Henrietta Hyde (1857–1945), intracellular micropipette electrode
- J
- Mary Lou Jepsen (born 1965), computer applications, sunlight-readable display, laptop development
- Karen C. Johnson (born 1955), preventative health
- Kristina M. Johnson (born 1957), optoelectronic processing, 3-D imaging
- Nancy Maria Donaldson Johnson (1794–1890), hand-operated ice cream freezer
- Amanda Jones (1935–1914), vacuum canning
- Eldorado Jones (1860–1932), aeronautical mufflers, electric iron developments
- Marjorie Joyner (1896–1994), cosmetics, permanent waving
- K
- Anna Keichline (1899–1943), interior design, kitchen features, construction bricks
- Mary Kenner (1912–2006), sanitary belt[5]
- Mary Dixon Kies (1752–1837), hat manufacture
- Elizabeth Kingsley (1871–1957), crossword puzzles
- Edith Klemperer (1898–1987), neurology and psychiatry
- Margaret E. Knight (1838–1914), flat-bottomed paper bag
- June Kroenke (fl 1960s–1990s), sewing tools
- Deepika Kurup (born 1998), solar-powered water purification
- Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014), synthetic fibres
- Angela Kornas (born 1977), bra inserts
- L
- Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), radio guidance systems
- Esther Lederberg (1922–2006), microbial genetics
- Cricket Lee (born 1953), clothing fitting
- Tara Lemmey (fl 2010s), information technology
- Jennifer A. Lewis (born 1964), 3D printing
- Lisa Lindahl (born 1948), exercise bra
- Barbara Liskov (born 1939), computer programming
- M
- Elizabeth Magie (1866–1948), game of Monopoly
- Misha Mahowald (1963–1996), computational systems
- Annie Malone (1869–1957), cosmetics
- Helen Herrick Malsed (1910–1998), toys
- Joy Mangano (born 1956), self-wringing mop, luggage systems
- Elizabeth Holloway Marston (1893–1993), systolic blood-pressure test
- Sybilla Righton Masters (1676–1720), corn milling, hat making
- Jessica O. Matthews (fl from 2008), energy-storing devices
- Melanie Mayron (born 1952), skin care products
- Frances McConnell-Mills (1900–1975), hair rinse
- Florence Melton (1911–2007), foam-soled slippers
- Barbara Haviland Minor (fl from 1980s), refrigerants
- Heidi Messer (born 1969), online marketing
- Ynes Mexia (1870–1938), botany
- Catharine Cox Miles (1890–1984), human intelligence
- Joan L. Mitchell (1947–2015), JPEG image format
- Sumita Mitra (born 1949), dental filler based on nanoparticles[4]
- Karen Mohlke (fl from 1990s), human genetics
- Mary Sherman Morgan (1921–2004), hydyne rocket fuel[5]
- Virginia A. Myers (1927–2015), printing press developments
- N
- Klára Dán von Neumann (1911–1963), early computer applications, including meteorology
- Lyda D. Newman (fl 1890s), hairbrush
- P
- Karen Panetta (fl 1990s), medical diagnostics software
- Alice H. Parker (1885–1920), gas-powered central-heating furnace
- Bonnie Pemberton (fl from 1990s), cat anti-scratch deterrent
- Radia Perlman (born 1951), spanning-tree networking protocol
- Lindsay Phillips (born 1984), flip-flop design
- Mary Florence Potts (1850–1922), clothes irons
- Q
- Agnes J. Quirk (1884–1974), penicillin production
- R
- Gitanjali Rao (born 2005), measurement of lead content in water
- Sibyl M. Rock (1909–1981), mass spectrometry
- Ernestine Rose (1810–1892), deodorizer
- Lorraine Rothman (1932–2007), menstrual extraction kit
- S
- Leona D. Samson (born 1952), DNA repair
- Ginny Scales-Medeiros (fl 1970s), tanning system
- Sandra Scarr (born 1936), developmental psychology
- Becky Schroeder (born 1962), Glow Sheet for writing in the dark
- Patsy O'Connell Sherman (1930–2008), Scotchgard, repellents
- Altina Schinasi (1907–1999), Harlequin eyeglass frame
- Amy B. Smith (born 1962), screenless hammer mill, phase-change incubator
- Pamela S. Soltis (born 1957), botany, polyploidy
- Fannie S. Spitz (1873–1943), nut-shelling equipment
- Vesta Stoudt (1891–1966), duct tape
- Edith Stern (born 1952), holds over 100 patents in various computerized applications
- Harriet Williams Russell Strong (1844–1926), water storage
- Janese Swanson (born 1958), educational games
- T
- Esther Takeuchi (born 1953), energy storage[4]
- Emily E. Tassey (1823–1899), marine technology
- Emily E. Tassey (fl 1980s), women's bicycles
- Valerie Thomas (born 1943), illusion transmitter
- Elizabeth Sthreshley Townsend (died 1919), braille typewriter
- Harriet Tracy (1834–1918), elevators and sewing machines
- Ann Tsukamoto (born 1952), stem cell research
- Madeline Turner (fl 1916), fruit press
- Anne Tyng (1920–2011), children's construction set
- V
- Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic (fl 1990s), tissue grafts[4]
- W
- Grace Wahba (born 1934), statistics
- Mary Walton (fl 1879), reduced hazards of smoke emissions
- Josephine Webb (1918–2017), switchgear
- Sandra Welner (1858–2001), patient examination table
- Eliza Wilbur (1851–1930), telescopes
- Margaret A. Wilcox (born 1838), car heater design
- Nancy Farley Wood (1903–2003), ionizing radiation detectors
- Y
- Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921–2011), radioimmunoassay technique
- Adele De Berri (1885 - 1950s), Inventor of Silver Screen
See also
References
- ^ a b c David Ghere, Fred M. B. Amram (2007). Inventing music education games. British Journal of Music Education 24(1): 55–75 doi:10.1017/S0265051706007224
- ^ "Scientists and inventors: the women who changed the world". Iberdrola. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ "Women of Invention: Women Inventors and Patent Holders". Library of Congress: Science Reference Guides. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Women inventors (8 October 2021), European Patent Office (accessed 9 May 2022)
- ^ a b c d e Carmen Borca-Carrillo (31 March 2022). Five Women Inventors You Didn't Learn About in History Class. Smithsonian (accessed 9 May 2022)