7 items invented by Black women - from an ironing board to 3D imaging technology
The next time you leave your house wearing a crisply ironed shirt or dress for an important meeting or maybe a first date, ask yourself where you would be without that ironing board?
All of the daily things that we take for granted had to be invented by someone and some of them happened to be devised by Black women. As Black History Month in the UK begins, this year the annual event is focusing on the invaluable contributions Black women have made to history and modern society.
With this in mind, the Mirror is honing in on seven Black women below in particular who broke new ground with their inventions and innovations, the everyday and beyond. They helped changed many people's lives for the better in the process and deserve recognition for their achievements.
NASA scientist Valerie Thomas (Getty Images)Valerie Thomas patented 3D imaging technology used by NASA
Valerie was just one of two women in her class at Morgan State University who majored in physics. Her scientific landed a position as a data and mathematical analyst at NASA, where she managed the development of image-processing systems for the "Landsat" satellite.
She was inspired to create the illusion transmitter, which uses concave mirrors to produce optical illusion images, after witnessing an light illusion during an exhibition in 1976. Valerie eventually received a patent for her invention in 1980.
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Her groundbreaking technology led to the development of 3D imaging, which NASA used in some of its satellite applications. She retired in 1995 and in a 2021 essay for Oprah Daily, Valerie revealed she had only seen computers in movies when she began working at the renowned space agency.
Sarah Boone's invention was a household stroke of genius (blackhistorymonth.org)Sarah Boone invented modern ironing boards
Here is the inventor of a household essential that millions of people use every day. Sarah was was born enslaved in North Carolina in the US in 1832 and eventually married and had eight children.
The family moved to New Haven Connecticut in the 1850s where she worked as a dressmaker. Then in 1892 she came up with the idea for a better ironing board with collapsible legs, reports Insider.
Her patent application in the New Britain Industrial Museum reads: "My improved device is not only adapted for pressing the inside and outside seams of the sleeves of ladies waists and mens' coats, but will be found particularly convenient, also, in pressing curved waist-seams wherever they occur."
Marie Brown has helped lots of homes stay secure for decadesMarie Van Britten Brown invented home security systems
Marie was working as a nurse and living in a high-crime neighborhood in 1966 when she invented the new device. She and her husband, electronics technician Albert Brown, developed the system to give her a view of her front door.
The security system consisted of a sliding camera, television monitors, two-way microphones and four peepholes, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The sliding camera used the peepholes to capture images of people at different heights, while the microphone allowed Marie to speak with the person on the outside.
She also installed an emergency button that would alert police or security when pressed. Marie's invention also marked the first time closed-circuit television, or CCTV, was used as part of a security system.
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner was prolific innovator (Wiki Commons)Mary Kenner's sanitary belt was a menstrual pad predecessor
During the 1930s, Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner dropped out of Howard University due to financial pressures. She then worked a variety of odd jobs all while working on her invention that changed the lives of millions of females worldwide.
In 1957 she had eventually saved up enough money to file her first patent - a belt for a sanitary napkin. Mary's design was made up of an adjustable belt with a moisture-proof napkin pocket built inside. In 2018 it was reported than the contraption made it less likely that menstrual blood would leak out and stain clothes.
Mary faced many challenging aspects of racism in field her but yet she continued in to innovate. According to MIT, she also created a walker with an attachable pocket and tray, a back washer for the shower and a modernised toilet paper dispenser.
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Bridget 'Biddy' Mason invested her money to help families in downtown LA
She went on to become one of the first Black landowners — and one of the richest women — in Los Angeles. But not before she was forced to walk more than 2,000 miles with her enslavers to California while caring for her three young children in the mid-1800s.
Bridget eventually won her and her family's freedom in what the ACLU of Northern California calls a "landmark court case". With a fortune equal to $7.5million (£6.2million) in today's money, she became a renowned philanthropist in the area.
She co-founded and financed the First African Methodist Episcopal Church - the oldest church founded by African Americans in Los Angeles - and also established a daycare for working parents.
In addition, she opened an account where families who lost their homes to floods could get supplies. At a wreath-laying ceremony for Mason in February 2022, Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León called her "one of the greatest angels our city has ever had."
Dr Patricia Bath invented cutting-edge device for cataracts
Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath's Laserphaco probe and technique led to her posthumous induction to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2021. Both her and engineer Marian Croak became the first two Black women to be inducted into the organisation, in fact.
Dr Bath was also the first Black female physician to receive a medical patent and the first Black woman to complete a residency in ophthalmology at New York University. She was also the first woman to chair an ophthalmology residency program in the US and received a total of five patents throughout her career - all while advocating for racial minorities in the public health sector.
Tahira Reid Smith invented the double Dutch rope machine
Tahira is currently a professor of mechanical engineering and engineering design at Penn State University and said she first drew her idea for the machine in third grade. She she had enjoyed the double dutch rope game - involving two long jump ropes turning in opposite directions - as a kid but couldn't play much as an only child.
She worked with her mentor and other students and her invention was finally brought to life the semester before she graduated. Although the patents are currently dormant, Smith said she wants to revisit the design in the future.
The inventor added: "This story draws people, inspires people — inspires kids, especially. I think it helped me to be set apart. First of all, I'm already rare in engineering: Black female mechanical engineer. "There's not a lot of us. And so, it just helped to shine a different light on me as well."
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