ThinkHer

When we think of inventors, names like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, or Nikola Tesla often come to mind. But what about Maria Beasley, Anna Connelly, Margaret Wilcox, or Stephanie Kwolek? Why do we know so little about the women inventors? For centuries, women were systematically excluded from innovation and recognition.  Patents were out of the question when they couldn’t even own property or hold bank accounts . This erasure led to the creation of a male-dominated historical narrative, leaving the contributions of women largely unrecognized. Sybilla Righton Masters, for instance, circumvented legal restrictions by having her husband receive a 1715 patent for her corn-curing invention, a common reality for women inventors who had to rely on male relatives for recognition. Yet, despite these barriers, women have persisted, creating groundbreaking inventions that have shaped the modern world.  Interestingly, a significant proportion of famous inventions by women fa...