On This Day in History: September 3

Inventor Beulah Henry

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This story gives you an idea how the world views women as merely following in men’s footsteps, because not only did flying pioneer Amelia Earhart get the nickname “Lady Lindy” for being seen as a female version of Charles Lindbergh, but accomplished inventor Beulah Henry was equally diminished by being given the nickname “Lady Edison.” 

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: September 3, 1912--

Born in 1887 in North Carolina, Beulah was referred to as “America’s leading feminine inventor.” A direct descendant of President Benjamin Harrison, as a child she would often look at something and say that shit is fucked up there is a much better way to do that, and then suggest ways it could be done better. She began sketching inventions by the age of nine, went to college in North Carolina, and got her first patent at the age of 25 on September 3, 1912, for inventing an ice cream freezer. Fuck yeah, melted ice cream is gross. 

Henry moved to New York in 1924 and founded two companies. During her life she created 110 inventions and was awarded 49 patents. She worked and consulted for numerous major companies that implemented her inventions, and was so damn busy she decided I don’t need no man and never married. 

Unlike so many other inventors who tended to follow a theme with their creations, Henry was all over the map. She invented umbrellas and the first bobbinless sewing machine. She created soap-filled sponges and dolls whose eyes could change color and open and close. Henry also created several inventions related to typewriters, a hair curler, and a can opener. Many of her inventions targeted children, such as a “Kiddie Clock” that taught little ones how to tell time. A popular business device she created was called a Protograph, which could make four typewritten copies of a document at a time without the need for carbon paper. 

Beulah Henry belonged to many scientific societies, and lived in New York hotels. She was very in tune with women’s fashion, and one of her most popular inventions was a snap-on cover for a woman’s parasol, which is basically an umbrella but more fashionable. The reason it was so popular was because many women wanted to color coordinate their parasols with their clothes. The snap-on covers allowed them to change the color of their umbrellas—shit, I mean parasols—to match their outfits without having to purchase an entire new parasol. 

Beulah lived to be 85, and in 2006 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. 

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