These Inventions And Discoveries Were Made By Women But Were Credited To Men

Women weren't just limited to being homemakers in the mid-1900s. There were other women that society has seemingly forgotten about, namely those armed with creativity, determination, and intellect – and some of them have even shaped our world with their inventions. Today, most people's minds go to men when you bring up the word "inventor," but the reason for this is unsettling: In the past, many women's inventions were unjustly credited to men.

This could be due to the STEM field's historically predominately male-dominated nature, with men typically holding positions of power and influence. It's evident that this imbalance (and sexism) has resulted in women's milestones being overshadowed, overlooked, and discredited. Women also faced challenges securing patents and intellectual property rights for their creations. In the 18th century, if a woman wanted to file for a patent, they were required to seek men's assistance to apply on their behalf. In 1809, Mary Dixon Kies was the first woman in the U.S. to obtain a patent for her technique of weaving silk and straw together to make bonnets. Luckily, the patent situation improved by the 19th century, but women still weren't getting the credit they deserved.

Nevertheless, we need to give praise where it's due. These are the amazing women who came up with life-changing inventions.

Hedy Lamarr Made WiFi and Bluetooth Possible

Hedy Lamarr wasn't just a dreamy, Austro-Hungarian actress – she was a gifted mathematician, scientist, and innovator. During World War II, Lamarr patented what she called the "Secret Communication System," now known as "frequency hopping." Frequency hopping is a method to quickly shift transmitting radio signals among several frequency channels to avoid interference and interception. Lamarr devised this wonderful idea to halt enemies' interception of the military's messages and signals. Lamarr worked with George Antheil to develop her creation, and she was not recognized or credited for it. 

I promise you, you would not be able to live without Lamarr's invention today – because it introduced the technology that served as the foundation for GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, and communication systems. Her "Secret Communication System" currently holds an estimated worth of $30 billion, but she only received the Pioneer Award of the Electronic Frontier Foundation after the original patent was found before she died in 2000. 

Rosalind Franklin Discovered the Double Helix

I was told in school that Jim Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix formation of DNA. Turns out, I was told wrong. Rosalind Franklin, a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer, was the one who took the first photographs of the DNA structure. She and her student gave Crick and Watson information about the DNA model, and by 1953, the duo announced that they had discovered the molecular structure of nucleic acids.

According to Franklin's biographical overview published by the NIH, the scientist's achievements in coal chemistry and virus structure research were acknowledged by her peers in those fields after she died in 1958. But in 1962, Crick, Watson, and Maurice Wilkins shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine due to their alleged findings of the double helix structure. None of them gave Franklin credit.

Watson wrote about Franklin in his 1968 memoir titled, The Double Helix. He described Franklin as "'Rosy,' a bad-tempered, arrogant bluestocking who jealously guarded her data from colleagues..." Gee, I wonder why.

Nettie Stevens Discovered the Sex Chromosomes

Nettie Stevens’s mentor, E.B. Wilson, was initially recognized as the discoverer of sex chromosomes. They were both working on the same research and published their findings around the same time. Stevens's model of X and Y chromosomes served as the basis for determining sex, and it did a better job of supporting Mendel's theory on genetics. Overall, Stevens is considered a figure who made a notable and substantial leap regarding this research.

“It is generally stated that E. B. Wilson obtained the same results as Stevens, at the same time,” Stephen Brush explains in The History of Science Society. However, “Wilson probably did not arrive at his conclusion on sex determination until after he had seen Stevens' results... Because of Wilson's more substantial contributions in other areas, he tends to be given most of the credit for this discovery.”

Mary Anderson and Windshield Wipers

Believe it or not, there was a time when cars did not have windshield wipers. Apparently, drivers just took the L whenever it rained and probably even drove with foggy windshields.

Luckily, a woman named Mary Anderson came up with a much-needed solution to this problem. In 1903, Anderson was awarded a patent for a swinging rod that had a rubber blade. At the time of her filings, cars weren't popular, and she was ridiculed for her idea since people thought that the movement of the windshield wipers could distract drivers. But by 1913, thousands of Americans had their own automobiles, complete with mechanical windshield wipers. Anderson's patent expired in 1920, and two years later, Cadillac became the first car manufacturer to adopt the windshield wiper as standard equipment, ripping off Anderson's invention.

Ada Lovelace, the First Computer Programmer

The first computer programmer was not a man. Ada Lovelace, the daughter of poet Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke Byron, wrote the world's first algorithm for a computing machine in 1840.

In 1833, she met mathematician Charles Babbage, who devised a calculating machine he dubbed the "Difference Engine." This inspired Lovelace, and she and Babbage became lifelong friends. Later, Lovelace wrote about her idea of a more-advanced machine called the "Analytical Engine." She discovered that it had the ability to execute a comprehensive series of mathematical operations. She wrote it could "weave algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves." Additionally, a sequence she formulated for computing Bernoulli numbers is widely acknowledged by computer historians as the pioneering computer program.

For the longest time, historians debated over the author of Lovelace's notes, because they couldn't imagine her writing it. Yet exchanges between her and Babbage suggest that she was the one who came up with the Analytical Engine after all.

The Eniac Programmers and the First Electronic Computer

Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first electronic digital computer, was completed in 1945. It was successfully programmed in 1946 by six women as part of a secret World War II project: Jean Jennings, Marlyn Wescoff, Ruth Lichterman, Betty Snyder, Frances Bilas, and Kay McNulty. Impressively, they were carefully selected because they were the most mathematically advanced in their group. John Mauchley is widely recognized as having created the first commercial computer, but the programmers were the ones who fully developed it.

It wasn't until the mid-1980s that their efforts were acknowledged by the public. A young computer programmer named Kathy Kleiman unearthed an old ENIAC team photo while working on a college project. When she approached a representative at the Computer History Museum, she was told they were "refrigerator ladies," models who would typically get photographed to enhance the appeal of products. So, she conducted her own research, and Kleiman learned the truth about these magnificent women.

She met and interviewed them and learned that they all had different backgrounds but worked well together. Jennings recalled in one interview, "We had a wonderful time with each other, mainly because none of us had ever been in close contact with anyone from one of the others’ religions. We had some great arguments about religious truths and beliefs. Despite our differences, or perhaps because of them, we really liked one another.”

Ada Harris and the Hair Straightener

I thank Ada Harris for her invention every day. In 1895, Harris filed a patent for her hair-straightening device. Her patent read, "Be it known that I, Ada Harris, of Indianapolis, county of Marion, and state of Indiana, have invented a certain new and useful Hair Straightener." She continued, "My invention relates to a hair straightener whose purpose is to straighten curly hair and is especially of service to colored people in straightening their hair."

Our hair straightener looks different from Harris's design, which she also described: "The hair straightener which I have devised is to be heated like a curling-iron; and has a toothed or comb portion adapted to separate and comb the hair and also a portion having flat contacting faces adapted to press the hair. Before the hair straightener is used the hair is preferably oiled, and, since the implement is hot, the flat faces when they press the hair will make it straight."

However, a man named Isaac K. Shero filed a similar patent in 1909, and wrote about a similar device in his filings, though he did remove the comb that Harris initially came up with. Too bad, because Harris seemed like an amazing woman. According to Professor of History Dr. Earline Rae Ferguson, "People I interviewed who knew her [Harris] said things like, 'If there was something that needed addressing that no one else wanted to touch, you [give] it to Miss Ada.'"

Lisa Meitner and Nuclear Fission

Lisa Meitner was the first female physics professor in Germany, and she discovered the element protactinium and nuclear fission. In simpler terms, nuclear fission is when a neutron collides with a larger atom, forcing it to excite and split into smaller atoms.

In 1939, Meitner and her nephew, Otto Frisch, described how fission occurs in a letter to the editor of Nature. However, Meitner's scientific discovery has often been credited to her colleague Otto Hahn. 

At the time, due to the anti-Semitic persecution unfolding in Nazi Germany, Meitner was a Jewish exile residing in Sweden. When it finally came to publishing the scientific findings, Hahn excluded Meitner, falsely claiming that the discovery was due to his own insights. In 1944, Hahn was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery of the fission of heavy nuclei."

Marion Donovan and Disposable Diapers

Babies had to use cloth diapers back in the day. As you can imagine, mothers like Marion Donovan grew increasingly exasperated from their babies soiling themselves and their beddings. Determined to find a solution, she released the innovative "boater," a reusable and waterproof diaper made from a shower curtain.

It was in 1949 that Donovan effectively marketed her diaper to Saks Fifth Avenue, establishing a significant business milestone. Her next project was to create a similar product that she could throw away. But when she made the prototype for a disposable diaper, no one was interested, and she struggled to find a company to manufacture her product. One decade later, Pampers (Victor Mills was the CEO at the time) began producing disposable diapers.

Closing Thoughts 

Throughout history, women have made remarkable contributions that have shaped our society. From scientific theories to diapers, the women of our past have introduced transformative ideas that have greatly enhanced our lives. By acknowledging and appreciating their exceptional inventions, we affirm their rightful place in history and encourage other women to be revolutionary.

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