In August 1888, Ellen Elgin, a black woman housekeeper, invented a clothes wringer which allowed clothing to be washed and dried faster by feeding clothes through two rollers to wring out the clothing, thereby making them easier to hang and dry. Elgin sold her patent to a white person because she felt it would have a better chance at success than if people knew the inventor was a woman of color. Thus, U.S. Patent No. 459,343 lists Cyrenus Wheeler, Jr. as the inventor.
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- SCOTUS Sustains Blow to Patent Prosecution Practice in Denying Juno v. Kite Rehearing
- Opinion: Restoring The Road Less Traveled – American Invention at a Crossroad
- An Alternative to Claim Mirroring in Initial Patent Application Filing
- Bristol Myers Says AstraZeneca’s Imjudo Infringes Yervoy Patent
- New Federal Law and FTC Rule Will Imperil Trade Secret Protection
Recent Posts
- SCOTUS Sustains Blow to Patent Prosecution Practice in Denying Juno v. Kite Rehearing
- Opinion: Restoring The Road Less Traveled – American Invention at a Crossroad
- An Alternative to Claim Mirroring in Initial Patent Application Filing
- Bristol Myers Says AstraZeneca’s Imjudo Infringes Yervoy Patent
- New Federal Law and FTC Rule Will Imperil Trade Secret Protection