Maria Beasley

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Maria Beasley's patent for a lifeboat, April 6, 1880.

Maria E. Beasley (* 1847 in Philadelphia as Maria E. Kenny) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. In the course of her career, she was granted a total of fourteen different patents in two different countries.

biography

Beasley married Samuel Beasley in 1865. She worked in various professions, including as a tailor. Between 1891 and 1896, she was listed as an inventor on the Chicago City Directory of Professions.

Beasley's first patent was granted to her in 1878. The patent described a machine for the production of barrel rings. She presented her invention at the World Industrial and Cotton Exposition in 1884. During the expo she also showed an improved version of her lifeboat . She received the corresponding patent in 1882. Beasley's machine for making barrel rings turned out to be quite lucrative and brought her a considerable amount of money. The Evening Star wrote in 1889 that she had made a small fortune from her invention. With the help of their invention it was possible to make 1,500 barrels a day. Beasley's other inventions included foot warmers, pans, a train derailment device, and two other improvements to her lifeboat design. The latter was also patented in Great Britain in addition to the USA. The lifeboats she developed were used on the Titanic , among others .

Later in her life she wanted to develop a better version of a lifeboat. It should be fireproof, compact, safe and easy to use. She invented this improved design in 1880, it included a safety railing that encompassed the entire boat. Furthermore, this version could be folded and unfolded so that it could be stowed away to save space.

literature

  • Autumn Stanley: Mothers and Daughters of Invention. Notes for a Revised History of Technology . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1995, ISBN 0-8135-2197-1 ( books.google.com ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ B. Zorina Khan: The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790–1920 (=  NBER series on long-term factors in economic development ). Cambridge University Press, New York 2005, ISBN 0-521-81135-X (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
  2. ↑ Sharon M. Himsl: Sharon's Shells, Tales and Sails: L is for Life Raft: Inventions by Women AZ . April 14, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
  3. ↑ Women as Inventors . In: Evening Star , November 9, 1889. Retrieved May 8, 2017. 
  4. ↑ Busy Women . In: Arkansas Democrat , September 14, 1901. Retrieved May 8, 2017. 
  5. ↑ Jared Jones: Celebrate Women's History Month with 12 awesome things invented by women. (en) . In: Upworthy , March 9, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2017. 
  6. ↑ 6 Female Inventors Who Made the World a Safer Place | Direct Auto (en) . In: Direct Connect , February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2017. 
personal data
SURNAME Beasley, Maria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kenny, Maria E. (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur and inventor
DATE OF BIRTH 1847
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH 20th century