Geographical classification

America > United States

Socio-cultural movements

Late modern period / Contemporary period

Groups by dedication

Technologists > Object designers

Technologists > Inventors

Professionals / Other groups > Businesswomen / Executives / Administrative managers

Writers > in > English

Character
Fotografía

Beulah Louise Henry

(Lady Edison)

North Carolina 28-09-1887 ‖ North Carolina 26-02-1973

Period of activity: From 1912 until 1970

Geographical classification: America > United States

Socio-cultural movements

Late modern period / Contemporary period

Groups by dedication

Technologists > Object designers

Technologists > Inventors

Professionals / Other groups > Businesswomen / Executives / Administrative managers

Writers > in > English

Context of feminine creation

Although other female inventors, such as the American chemists Ruth Benerito (1916-2013) and Giuliana Tesoro (1921-2002), achieved a larger number of patents (50 and 125, respectively), the merit of Beulah Henry is even greater, being of an autodidact. 

The following female inventors can also be highlighted: 

1. Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), to whom we owe the technology that made wi-fi or Bluetooth networks possible. 

 2. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), who created the first algorithm that would process the analytical engine (considered the first computer in history). She is considered the first computer programmer in history. 

3. Alice H. Parker (1895-1920) designed a central heating system using natural gas as the fuel source. She became the creator of the first boiler, the forerunner of central heating and hot water systems. 

4. Katharine Burr Blodgett (1898-1979), the first woman to work for the General Electric company. We can thank her, among other things, for the effectiveness of the sunglasses. Her best-known invention is the anti-reflective glass, used to make computer screens, car windshields, and camera lenses. 

5. Ángela Ruiz-Robles (1895-1975), Spanish teacher, devised and patented a system of "mechanical, electrical and air pressure procedure for reading books" in 1949. It is what we know today as an e-book.  


 

Review

Beulah Louise Henry was a completely self-taught American inventor and businesswoman, responsible for some 110 inventions and 49 patents, which is why she was known by the nickname "Lady Edison", by analogy with the prolific Thomas Alva Edison. She moved to New York in 1924, where she went on to create two companies and, between 1939 and 1955, she worked as an inventor for the Nicholas Machine Works, as well as a consultant to various companies that used her inventions, including the Mergenthaler Linotype Company and the International Doll Company. During her stay in New York, she belonged to the scientific society of the city. All her inventions were related to the new habits of the American middle class.

Activities

English

Spanish

Catalan

Justifications

  • American inventor nicknamed “Lady Edison” in the 1930s, by analogy with her many developed inventions.
  • During her life she developed a total of 49 patents and 110 inventions.
  • She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Biography

Beulah Henry was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, into a family of distinguished lineage. She was the granddaughter of William Woods Holden, Republican Governor of the state, and also a direct descendant of Patrick Henry, two-time Governor of Virginia and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Beulah grew up in a cultured environment conducive to the fine arts. Even as a child, she made models and designs with household tools and appliances. 

In 1912, she obtained her first patent: an ice cream machine. Among her most notable inventions are the double chain stitch sewing machine (1936); a multi-coloured umbrella (1924) and umbrella bag (1925); the Poodle-Dog doll (1927); the "Dolly Dips", soap-filled children's sponges (1929); "Miss Illusion", a doll with eyes that could close and change colour (1929); the "protographer", a machine for making four copies of a typed document (1932); a typewriter (1936), a device for producing articulated sounds (1941); and a can opener (1956). 

The merit of Beulah Henry is especially noteworthy for being self-taught and having lived in a time when innovating and, even more so, living off innovations, was something forbidden to women.


 

Works


Creator of 45 patents and more than 110 inventions. 
<http://historico.oepm.es/museovirtual/galerias_tematicas.php?tipo=MUJER&xml=Henry,%20Beulah%20Louise.xml> (30/03/2022) 

Bibliography

<https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beulah_Louise_Henry>  (7/10/2021) 

Didactic approach

Her inventions can be used in:

- Mathematics: posing problem solving based on their inventions.

- Economy: to talk about successful markets and their improvements 

- Technology: accessing the patent and trademark office to meet other female inventors.

Documents