RHYS BOWEN: Since I chose not to mention that yesterday was President's Day, I've decided that today is celebrating Black Women's achievement day, since I understand that Black History month is to be removed from the federal calendar. Also women's history month. So I'm highlighting both.
I expect many of you have been equally ignorant about the achievements of women scientists and inventors, especially if they were women of color. In the book I have just finished writing with my daughter Clare we have a female scientist working on virus research, only she has to publish her papers in her husband's name.
This makes me wonder how many inventions really were the work of a wife or a daughter. But the women i'm celebrating today did publish, did get patents and did change the world for the better. Some were born into slavery, all had to fight to even get into a respectable university, but they persevered and deserve to be recognized more broadly.
I won't dwell on the ones we do know about, those three brilliant women who made the space program possible with their mathematical callculatons. All from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggling to balance family and work, battling constant prejudice and yet achieving such remarkable feats!
There are too many women for me to mention them all so I've picked out a few you probably don't know about:
Sara Goode who was born into slavery, invented the fold out bed we now know as the Murphy bed.
Alice Ball invented an injectable treatment for leprosy
Bessie Blount Griffin, while working as a physio-therapist, developed an automatic feeding system for wounded vets from WWI who could no longer feed themselves.
Sarah Boone invented the ironing board as we now know it
Alice Parker invented the natural gas furnace that enabled the central heating system
Marie Van Brittany Brown was worried about security in New York City so she invented the home video security system
In 1928 Marjorie Joyner invented the permanent wave machine for women's hair
More recently Shirley Jackson, who received a doctorate in particle physics, invented fiber-optic cables and touch tone dialing for phones
Dr. Marian Croak is responsible for the voice system that enables us to Zoom and holds over 200 patents
Flossie Wong-Stall was the first researched to clone the HIV virus and thus lead to testing for HIV
Patricia E Bath invented a cataract treatment--the laserphaco probe that made the experience less painful for patients.
As I said, this is just a small sampling of a remarkable number of women. If you have daughters or granddaughters then please look up these women. If you have sons please make sure they know what women of color have achieved, often against incredible odds.
I raise my glass to them all, and to all the unsung women
