Mary Anderson (inventor)

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Mary Anderson (born February 19, 1866 in Greene County , Alabama , † June 27, 1953 in Monteagle , Tennessee ) was an American builder , rancher , winemaker and inventor of the windshield wiper system . On November 10, 1903, she received US Patent No. 743801 for the world's first working windshield wiper system. Anderson's device consisted of a lever attached near the steering wheel, with which the driver could set a spring-loaded swing arm with a rubber blade on the windshield in motion, which then returned to its starting position.

Childhood and youth

Anderson was in 1866 at the Burton Hill Plantation in Greene County (Alabama) in the United States , the early Reconstruction born. She moved to the thriving city of Birmingham, Alabama, with her mother and sister in 1889 . Shortly thereafter, she built the Fairmont Apartments on Highland Avenue. In 1893 Mary Anderson settled in Fresno, California , where she ran a cattle ranch and vineyard until 1898 .

Invention of the windshield wiper system

On a visit to New York City in the winter of 1902, while riding the tram on a frosty day, she noticed that the tram driver was driving with the windshield open, as it was difficult to keep a clear view due to the falling freezing rain . When she returned to Birmingham, she sketched a hand-operated device to keep a windshield clear and had a local company build a working model. In 1903 a 17-year-old patent for a windshield wiper system was granted in their name. Their device consisted of a lever and a swinging arm with a rubber lip. The lever could be operated from inside the vehicle to swipe the spring-loaded arm back and forth across the windshield. Similar devices were invented earlier, but Anderson's was the first to be effective.

In 1905 she tried to sell the rights through a well-known Canadian company, but her application was denied: "We do not consider it to be of such commercial value as would warrant our undertaking its sale." (freely: "We do not consider it of so high commercial value that a sale by our company would be justified."). Although she occasionally received royalties , these did not amount to large sums of money.

After the patent expired in 1920 and the automotive industry grew exponentially, windshield wipers, which inherited the basic design from Anderson, became standard equipment.

Later stage of life

Anderson lived in Birmingham, where she continued to manage the Fairmont Apartments, until her death at the age of 87. At the time of her death, she was the oldest member of the South Highland Presbyterian Church . She died in her summer home in Monteagle, Tennessee . Her funeral was attended by Dr. Frank A. Mathes in South Highland and she was buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Obituary , Birmingham Post-Herald , June 29, 1953
  2. ↑ U.S. Patent 743801
  3. ^ Women Hold Patents on Important Inventions; USPTO recognizes inventive women during Women's History Month , United States Patent and Trademark Office press release # 02-16, March 1, 2002, accessed March 3, 2009
  4. ↑ Many Anderson: Windshield Wipers , September 2001, Inventor of the Week Archive, Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering website, accessed March 3, 2009
personal data
SURNAME Anderson, Mary
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American inventor of the windshield wiper system
DATE OF BIRTH February 19, 1866
PLACE OF BIRTH Greene County , Alabama
DATE OF DEATH June 27, 1953
Place of death Monteagle , Tennessee