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WOMEN INVENTORS
A Co-operatively Planned Unit on Women Inventors
for Later Intermediate Social Studies or Science
Hedy Lamarr
Marie Curie
Developed by:
Judith Coffin,
Marlowe Irvine,
Ramona Sousa,
Consultants:
Chips Klein,
Dianne Newell,
Beatrice Potter
Teacher Librarian,
Elgin Park Secondary
Interdisciplinary Studies Teacher,
Semiahmoo Secondary
Humanities Teacher,
North Surrey Secondary
Co-director,
Women Inventors Project
Department of History, U.B.C.
This material is covered by copyright and may not be used for commercial purposes. The author of
this material has provided it for use by students and teachers in instructional settings in public
schools. Users of this material should respect that intent and acknowledge the author.
INTRODUCTION
Name one female inventor. Inventing and discovery are usually seen as male
activities. Yet nuclear fission, solar heating, liquid paper, radio activity, and
pulsars were all discovered by women. Women inventors do exist. There are
many reasons why history ignores or omits their names and achievements.
Conventional history, found in Social Studies textbooks, encyclopedias and most
library books, focuses on industrial inventions. In doing so, it records men's
achievements and inventions. Because society relentlessly assigns women to the
domestic sphere, women's inventions are omitted or overlooked. Only recently
has evidence revealed the contributions of women inventors. Unfortunately, the
few books that have been written are highly academic and too advanced for high
school students. This unit is designed for the intermediate level and attempts to
fill the void by examining both the achievements of women inventors as well as
the barriers they faced. Activities one through five are recommended for late
intermediate Social Studies units on the Industrial Revolution. Activities one and
six through ten are recommended for late intermediate Science units on women
inventors and discoverers.
Workshops on women inventors can be arranged by contacting:
Judith Coffin
Elgin Park Secondary
13484 - 24th Avenue
Surrey, B.C.
V4A 2G5
1-604-538-6678
Many thanks to Chips Klein and Diane Newell, for their support and generosity in
sharing their knowledge and time.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
page 1
Introduction
page 2
Table of Contents
page 3
Activity One
Invent an Inventor
page 4
Activity Two
Researching the Inventor
of the Cotton Gin
page 6
Activity Three
Barriers to Women Inventors
page 22
Activity Four
Categorizing Inventors and Inventions
by Gender
page 36
Activity Five
Who Invented the Cotton Gin?
- A Case Study
page 38
Activity Six
Researching The Inventor of
The Vaccination
page 43
Activity Seven
Creating Children's Storybooks
About Women Inventors
page 57
Activity Eight
Reviewing Library Books on Inventors
page 63
Activity Nine
Patenting Your Invention
page 69
Activity Ten
Irène's Story: A Case Study
page 75
Bibliography
page 79
Evaluation Form
page 83
3
ACTIVITY ONE: INVENT AN INVENTOR
Goal: To explore gender stereotypes and images of inventors.
Length of Activity:
55 minutes
Materials needed:
Construction paper in a variety of sizes and colours
Crayons and felt pens in a variety of colours
Large white poster paper
Scissors
Glue stick
Handout 1A
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Teacher gathers materials.
2.
Photocopy Handout 1A for groups.
Class Procedure:
1.
Divide the class into groups of four.
2.
Using the coloured construction paper, felt pens and crayons, ask each group of
students to create and draw an inventor on a large sheet of white poster paper.
Give the inventor a name. Use Handout 1A.
3.
Ask each group to discuss and show not only the physical and the personality
characteristics but also the lifestyle (style of dress, home and family) that an
inventor would have.
4.
Ask each group to select a reporter to present their inventor to the class.
5.
Teacher leads class discussion. The following questions can be used as a guide:
1. Is your inventor a male or female?
2. Ask and poll how many groups created a male inventor? a female inventor?
3. Were there any common physical characteristics?
4. Were there any common personality characteristics?
5. Were there any common lifestyle characteristics?
6. Why did you choose a male inventor?
7. Why did you choose a female inventor?
8. Where do you get your images of inventors?
9. Name a movie with an inventor.
Adapted from: From Idea to Invention, by Susan Barker. Etobicoke: Ontario,
Women Inventors Project, 1992.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
Participation in the discussion will indicate the level of the students' acquired knowledge,
understanding and interest.
1.
2.
3.
In a paragraph, describe your inventor. On what images or information did you
base your inventor?
Describe the personality, characteristics, style of dress, home and family of a woman
inventor. Give her a name.
Write a letter to the writer/director of Back to the Future challenging/supporting
his choice in casting a male as an inventor.
4
1A
INVENT AN INVENTOR
Date
Names
Block
1.
Using coloured construction paper, felt pens and crayons, draw an
inventor.
2.
Please include any physical or personality characteristics as well as
style of dress, home and family.
3.
Give the inventor a name.
5
ACTIVITY TWO: RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
OF THE COTTON GIN
Goal: To examine the gender bias in encyclopedias and books.
Materials needed:
Handouts 2A - 2M
Chart paper
Large felt pens
Masking tape
The following general encyclopedias found in most school library reference collections:
World Book
Collier's
Compton's
Americana
Britannica
New Book of Knowledge
Handout 2I or the book Mothers of Invention, pp 204-206, Vare, Ethlie Ann and Ptacek,
Greg.
New York: Quill William Morrow, 1987. $15.95.
ISBN 0688089070.
Handout 2K or 2M or the book Feminine Ingenuity pp. XX-XXIV,
MacDonald, Anne. New York: Ballantine Books,
1992. $28.95. ISBN 0345358112.
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Teacher reserves the library for one period and alerts the teacher librarian of the
assignment.
2.
Photocopy one copy of Handouts 2A-2M.
3.
Photocopy two copies of Handout 2I.
4.
Teacher gathers chart paper, large felt pens and masking tape.
Class Procedure:
1.
Divide the class into triads.
2.
Send triads 1-6 to the appropriate encyclopedia in the library to answer the
questions on the sheet.
3.
Triads 7 and 8 will use either the book Mothers of Invention pp. 204-206 or
Handout 2I to answer the questions on the sheet.
4.
Triads 9 and 10 will use either the book Feminine Ingenuity pp. XX-XXIV or
Handouts 2K and 2M to answer the questions on the sheets.
5.
Each triad is to record their answers to the following three questions on the back
of their Handout on big chart paper.
A. Whose idea was the cotton gin?
B. Who helped with the invention of the cotton gin?
C. Who received the credit for the invention of the cotton gin?
6.
When students are finished, post the charts around the classroom.
7.
Each triad is to choose a reporter who will report their findings to the class.
8.
Go through Questions 5A, 5B and 5C with groups and discuss the conflicting
information of who invented the cotton gin.
6
The following questions can be used as a guide.
• According to your encyclopedias, who discovered the cotton gin?
• How is the inventor described?
• According to your book or the summary of your book, who discovered the
cotton gin?
• How is the inventor described?
• Why do you think the encyclopedias book or summaries of books differ in the
information they provided?
• Who writes history?
• Who wrote the articles in the encyclopedias?
• Who wrote the books?
• Who can you believe?
• Why would some sources omit the contributions of Catherine Littlefield
Greene?
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
Write a paragraph, discussing why you think the information differed in the books
and encyclopedias?
2.
Rewrite the encyclopedia article the way you think it should be written.
3.
Rewrite the book/summary the way you think it should be written.
7
2A
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #1
Please look up Eli Whitney in the World Book Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions:
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article.
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
8
2B
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #2
Please look up Eli Whitney in the Collier's Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions:
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article.
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
9
2C
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #3
Please look up Eli Whitney in the Compton's Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions:
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article.
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
10
2D
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #4
Please look up Eli Whitney in the Encyclopedia Americana and answer the following
questions.
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article.
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
11
2E
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #5
Please look up Eli Whitney in the Encyclopedia Britannica and answer the following
questions:
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article?
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
12
2F
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #6
Please look up Eli Whitney in the New Book of Knowledge and answer the following
questions:
1.
What was Eli Whitney's first invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did this invention do?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, did anyone help Whitney with the
invention?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
List any adjectives used to describe Eli Whitney in this encyclopedia article.
5.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
13
2G
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #7
Using either the book Mothers of Invention pp. 204-206 or Handout 2I please answer the
following questions:
1.
Who was Catherine Littlefield Greene?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What problem existed on her cotton plantation?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
What suggestion did she make to Eli Whitney to solve the problem?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
What difficulty did Whitney have with his invention?
________________________________________________________________________
5.
How did Greene suggest he solve it?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6.
How did Whitney support himself?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7.
Who wrote this book?
________________________________________________________________________
14
2H
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #8
Using either the book Mothers of Invention pp. 204-206 or Handout 2I please answer the
following questions:
1.
Who was Catherine Littlefield Greene?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What problem existed on her cotton plantation?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
What suggestion did she make to Eli Whitney to solve the problem?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
What difficulty did Whitney have with his invention?
________________________________________________________________________
5.
How did Greene suggest he solve it?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6.
How did Whitney support himself?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7.
Who wrote this book?
________________________________________________________________________
15
2I
HANDOUT 2I
Catherine Littlefield Greene was born in 1755 to a prominent colonial
family. She married Nathaniel Greene, thirteen years her senior, who was a
military aid to General George Washington. In 1776, the Greenes settled
down to plantation life on Mulberry Grove in Georgia. Within a year
Nathaniel died leaving Catherine the house, the land and five children.
Catherine hired Phineas Miller, a Connecticut teacher to tutor her children.
He would eventually become her second husband. Phineas befriended a
penniless tinkerer named Eli Whitney who moved next door to the Greene
home.
Eli made himself useful around the house, helping with the children as well
as repairing the house. One evening, Catherine expressed her frustration
with the delay of the cotton harvest. She suggested the invention of a
machine which would separate seeds from short staple cotton would be
useful on the plantation. Mrs. Greene may have given him a complete set of
diagrams showing what the machine should be like. Eli retired to her
basement to construct the device that Catherine suggested. Catherine
supported Eli Whitney for six months providing him with space, tools, food
and ideas. When he couldn't get the machine to work with wooden teeth,
she showed him wire would solve the problem. When the cotton gin was
completed she promoted it to the neighboring plantation owners. Although
her name is not on the patent, Catherine Littlefield Greene was, along with
Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin.
Summary of pp. 204-206 of the book Mothers of Invention by Ethlie Ann
Vare and Greg Ptacek. New York: Quill William Morrow, 1987.
16
2J
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #9
Using either the book Feminine Ingenuity pp. XX-XXIV or Handout 2K, please answer
the following questions:
1.
Who was Catherine Littlefield Greene?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did she urge Eli Whitney to invent?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
What did Catherine suggest when the device didn't work?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
According to this book/summary, what should Catherine Littlefield Greene be
remembered for?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5.
Who wrote this book?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2K
17
HANDOUT 2K
Catherine Littlefield Greene was the widow of one of General George
Washington's highest ranking military advisors. With her new husband,
Phineas Miller, Catherine urged Eli Whitney, a newly hired Yale educated
skilled mechanic at her Georgian plantation to try and perfect what all
planters wanted, a machine to separate seed from cotton. Greene allowed
Whitney to work in her basement, use her husband's tools and supported
him financially while he worked on the model. Based on her suggestion,
Whitney built a model, but progress ground to a halt when the cotton
clogged the wooden teeth instead of slipping between them and passing
through the shade of the rollers. Catherine surveyed the problem and
suggested the solution. "Why don't you use wire instead of wooden teeth?".
He did and it worked. Catherine Littlefield Greene's name never appeared
on the patent and Eli Whitney has always been given the sole credit for the
invention of the cotton gin.
Summary of pp. XX - XXIV of the book Feminine Ingenuity
by Anne L. MacDonald. New York: Ballantine, 1992.
18
2L
RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
TRIAD #10
Using either the book Feminine Ingenuity pp. XX-XXIV or Handout 2M, please answer
the following questions:
1.
Who was Catherine Littlefield Greene?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
What did she urge Eli Whitney to invent?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
What did Catherine suggest when the device didn't work?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
According to this book/summary, what should Catherine Littlefield Greene be
remembered for?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5.
Who wrote this book?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
19
2M
HANDOUT 2M
Catherine Littlefield Greene was born in 1775 into a leading colonial
family.
She married Nathaniel Greene, one of General George
Washington's highest ranking military advisors. When he died, she married
Phineas Miller, a Connecticut teacher who she had hired to tutor her
children. Phineas befriended a neighbour named Eli Whitney. One evening
Catherine suggested the plantation could use a machine to separate the
cotton seed. With Catherine's support, Eli Whitney began working on the
invention. When the cotton clogged the wooden teeth of Whitney's
machine, rendering the machine useless, Greened seized a wire hearth brush
and suggested to Whitney that he use it to comb through the cotton.
Whitney gallantly replied "Thank you for the hint, I think I have it now",
and repaired the machine with wire teeth. Catherine Littlefield Greene and
Eli Whitney created the cotton gin, although her name never appeared on
the patent.
Summary of the 1932 letter from George Scarborough
of Georgia to the magazine Southern Agriculturalist.
September, 1932, p. 468.
From Feminine Ingenuity by Anne L. MacDonald
New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.
20
WHO INVENTED THE COTTON GIN?
Date
Names
Block
According to your book, article or encyclopedia, please answer the following questions.
1.
Whose idea was the cotton gin?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
Who helped with the invention of the cotton gin?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
Who received the credit for the invention of the cotton gin?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
21
ACTIVITY THREE: BARRIERS TO WOMEN INVENTORS
Goal: To examine the barriers that women inventors faced.
Length of Activity:
55 minutes
Materials Needed:
Handouts 3A - 3K
8 1/2" X 11 " paper
Felt pens
Masking tape
Teacher Preparation:
1.
2.
Teacher gathers paper and pens.
Photocopy one copy of Handouts 3A - 3J.
Teacher's Note:
These scenarios are created to reflect historical situations which
women faced as inventors: It is suggested that activity on
patents precede this activity.
Class Procedure:
1.
Divide the class into ten groups.
2.
Give each group one scenario.
3.
Each group is to discuss the scenario and on paper record the barriers that
prevented women from securing a patent.
4.
Each group is to choose a student to report to the class.
5.
He or she will read the scenario to the class, and describe the barrier and post it on
the wall.
6.
Have all students record the list of barriers in their notebooks.
7.
Teacher summarizes lesson by reading appropriate passages from Handout 3K to
the class.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
2.
3.
Write a story in which the main character is a man who faces one or more of these
barriers.
Rewrite one of the scenarios so that the woman inventor overcomes the barrier
and receives credit for the invention.
Write a newspaper headline and article announcing a woman's invention.
22
3A
SCENARIO #1
In 1876, George Hibbard submitted his new method for processing formerly
discarded turkey wing and tail feathers into usable feather dusters. When a
competitor alleged that he had the idea first and hauled Hibbard before the
patent examiners, George confessed that the idea was his wife Susan's.
"My wife suggested the idea. If the one who suggested the splitting of the
feathers is the inventor, then I am not the one." Fortunately for Susan, she
had careful records of her experiments and she won the case. Later, Susan
revealed why she let George have all the credit.
"I didn't understand the patent laws. I have no particular occupation but I
know a lot about feathers. I did the experiments myself."
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Susan from receiving a patent for her invention?
23
3B
SCENARIO #2
Elizabeth Adams developed a new corset for pregnant women. When she
attempted to patent her invention she found one obstacle was the Patent
Office. The Patent Office had reinstated the requirement for models and
ruled that applicants must furnish an extra set of drawings in case one
should be destroyed by fire. Since women relied upon professional
assistance to prepare these models and drawings, fees for model makers and
draftsmen added still another expense to the daunting problem of raising
investment capital.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Elizabeth from receiving a patent for her invention?
24
3C
SCENARIO #3
Catherine Deiner lived in the country, five hundred miles from the nearest
city. She was a widow with three children to support. She wanted to patent
her invention which she called a rolling pin.
To patent her invention, she had to rely on other expert help. The help was
available but cost money. Catherine had to rely on agents to act as a go
between in their dealings with the Patent Office. She could easily locate
such agents through city directories and through advertisements in
magazines about inventions but most agents offered a policy of no money,
no patent.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier would prevent Catherine from getting her rolling pin patented?
25
3D
SCENARIO #4
In 1899, Frank and Elizabeth Ball met at university. They both became
chemists and worked together in the mining industry. Elizabeth discovered
an improvement in the process of desulpherizing ore. Although the Patent
Act of 1870 recognized patents for women, in all states the situation for
married women was quite different. Most states had laws that transferred
ownership of a married woman's property to her husband and outright
empowered him to make decisions about its disposition.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevents Elizabeth from receiving a patent for her discovery?
26
3E
SCENARIO #5
Lelitia Geer always dreamed of being a medical doctor. In 1895, Lelitia
graduated from medical school and decided to specialize in medical
research. In 1899, she invented and successfully patented the medical
syringe. In 1902, another challenged her patent and maintained that he had
invented the syringe. Lelitia needed a lawyer to represent her in the lengthy
court battle that would follow but she didn't have enough money.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier is preventing Lelitia from maintaining her right to her patent?
27
3F
SCENARIO #6
One rainy night in 1935 Eva Landman darted across the street and collided
with a truck. Seriously injured, she spent three months recovering in the
hospital. There, she incubated her concept of a windowed umbrella and told
her husband Max about an umbrella with a built-in transparent "windshield"
to deflect rain and wind while still providing the carrier a clear view of the
potential hazards. He developed her idea and patented it under his name.
He didn't feel he was robbing his wife; he felt that because he brought the
idea to the patent stage, he inherited it.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Eva from receiving the patent?
28
3G
SCENARIO #7
Catherine Littlefield Greene suggested to her neighbour Eli Whitney that he
create a machine that separated the cotton seed from the stalk. Catherine
supported Eli Whitney with space, tools, food and ideas as he perfected the
machine. Catherine Littlefield Greene never received credit because had
she done so, the ridicule and scorn of every man and woman who knew her
name would have been heaped on her. She would have been looked upon as
a monstrosity of unwomanliness and presumption.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Catherine from receiving her patent?
29
3H
SCENARIO #8
Elias Howe described his fourteen unsuccessful years of trying to develop a
sewing machine until his wife took over. She realized that her family would
starve to death if a successful invention was not developed immediately. So
in two hours she invented the sewing machine. Elias Howe took out the
patent in his name because if it had been known that the invention was a
woman's, it wouldn't have been taken seriously.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Sara Howe from receiving a patent?
30
3I
SCENARIO #9
Marsha Coston had never been a shrinking violet. Having fallen in love
with a dashing young inventor at sixteen, she eloped with him in defiance of
her parents' wishes. Less than five years after the wedding her husband's
sudden death left her with four small children. Her husband had first tested
different coloured flares and left his wife only a rough chart of the
invention. Marsha worked out his concept into practice and could have
obtained the patent in her name. But she deferred to her deceased husband
because his well established reputation would give her special credibility
and respectability.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Marsha from patenting this invention in her name?
31
3J
SCENARIO #10
Betsy Metcalf never even applied for a patent that made her employer and
many other local industries a great deal of money. In fact she totally
revitalized local industry. Why was she satisfied with earning just one
dollar a day when her invention made so much money? She had an
explanation. She knew that a patent had to be approved by the United
States Congress. If the Congress knew who she was, then, soon so would
the newspapers and her neighbours. The last thing Betsy wanted was to be
a celebrity.
From Feminine Ingenuity
What barrier prevented Betsy from patenting the invention in her name?
32
3K
WOMEN: THE HIDDEN INVENTORS by Rachelle Beauchamp
Is "inventor" a male word?
The classic images - if you close your eyes and try to picture an inventor - are almost
certain to be male: Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin or Alexander Graham Bell. Most
people find it impossible to name even one woman inventor.
Yet women inventors do exist, and their contributions have been important if often
overlooked. Prof. Fred Amram of the University of Minnesota, who spent several years
pouring over United States Patent Office records, uncovered a number of important
devices invented by women.
The very first patent issued to a resident of North America was British patent No. 401
issued to Thomas Masters of Pennsylvania in 1715. It was entitled: "A new invention
found out by Sybilla, his wife, for cleaning and curing the Indian corn growing in the
several colonies in America."
Thomas Masters built a mill incorporating his wife's invention while she, typical of
successful inventors, proceeded to innovate further. Amram points out that through the
years women inventors have continued to make a significant, though often unrecognized
contribution to society in a variety of fields.
It turns out that even the inventor of the famous cotton gin was not Eli Whitney but his
landlady, Catherine L. Greene.
Later, women were able to profit from their inventions.
Marsha Coston invented a flare that earned her 30,000 pounds during the American Civil
War ( a huge sum of money at the time.) More recently, Mary Ollides Weaver and
several colleagues received the 1977 National Inventor of the Year award in the United
States for a starch-graft polymer known as the "super slurper."
In 1977 also, Barbara S. Askins was the first woman to win the title in her own right, for
a method of obtaining clear pictures from old or faint negatives.
Overall however, the percentage of female patentees is very small. Among current
United States patents, only about 1.7 per cent have a woman's name attached. The
proportion may be even lower in Canada; in the period from 1951 to 1965 the average
was only 0.67 per cent. However, one study found that profits received by women
patentees were, on average, higher than for men.
There are doubtless a number of factors which account for these low numbers, including
many women's lack of financial resources, time and technical and business expertise.
Because many women inventors are "invisible," other women and men view inventing as
a masculine activity - one at which women have little chance for success.
Though many patented inventions are not in fact highly technical, women may not regard
the devices or tools they develop as truly inventive and may not therefore seek to patent
them.
33
3K
Another reason for the small proportion of women patentees is that the majority of
patents are issued to "corporate" inventors and until very recently the poll of potential
female corporate inventors - that is, the number of women in industry or in research
organizations - has been miniscule.
Certainly the experience of the Canadian Industrial Innovation Centre/Waterloo, is that
women constitute a far greater proportion of independent inventors that the patent
statistics (note above) would indicate. Women constitute about five per cent of the
independent inventors who have benefited from our services.
Other organizations dealing with independent inventors report similar percentages.
Moreover, our experience is that by and large, the women who make use of CIIC's
Inventors Assistance Program (which provides, at modest cost, expert evaluation as to
whether a new idea is technically feasible and whether there is likely to be a market for it)
are similar to their male counterparts.
They are equally as firm believers in the importance of their pet ideas, equally concerned
about secrecy, and equally anxious to proceed quickly.
Their inventions tend to be solutions to problems they face day to day at home or at work.
The major barrier for male and female inventors seems to be a lack of financial resources.
There are, however, some differences.
A review of 825 inventions logged in the centre's in-house database over the past two
years shows that all of them bear the name of at least one woman inventor.
The review also shows:
• A majority (67.5 per cent) of inventions by women were in the
"personal/household" area, while only 18 per cent of the total number of inventions
were so classified.
•Women are less likely than men to want to "do it all themselves."
• Women are more likely to learn about the innovation centre through friends and
relatives or through reports in the news media, whereas men are more often apt to
have learned about the centre through referrals from government sources, lawyers or
business associates.
• Women's inventions are less likely to receive "poor" or "excellent" ratings and more
likely to receive "average" scores.
•Women appear to spend less money on their inventions than men.
The ideas that have been submitted to the CIIC by women range from novel toothbrushes
to fermenters, from bicycle trailers to baby bottles. Some are patented; most are not.
The inventors are also a diverse group, representing all ages, most provinces and a variety
of professions.
34
3K
One of them, Patricia Maretto, a Toronto-area housewife, has patented the "Mufflemit,"
an arm warmer which incorporates fold-up mittens and a scarf. She sold almost 10,000
of them, in kit form, at the 1984 Canadian National Exhibition. She is looking for a
Canadian license to manufacture the Mufflemit. Like most successful inventors, she has
a number of other good ideas.
She reports her primary obstacles as a lack of time to pursue her ideas and the high cost of
obtaining a patent protection in Canada and the United States.
Mary Jane Curtis of Toronto is a jigsaw-puzzle fan. Years ago, she designed a game
board and had it built for her own use. Two years ago she submitted her idea to the CIIC,
at the urging of a friend. The centre judged the board attractive and novel and
recommended that Curtis proceed with a patent search and market study.
However, Curtis reports that limited personal funds have precluded further development.
She has found new product development to be time-consuming and expensive and
suggests that additional government assistance, including seminars and counselling, be
made available.
Mary Anne White, a chemistry professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, is the
inventor of a novel class of heat storage chemicals, which CIIC is developing further.
At 31, Dr. White exemplifies a new generation of young women inventors. She combines
a demanding career in a technical and traditionally male-dominated field (physical
chemistry) with the more conventional female roles of wife and mother.
As is the case with many women in non-traditional occupations, Dr. White reports she
was strongly influenced, in her desire to invent, by her dentist father. He himself had
been a "frustrated" inventor who loved gadgets and who treated Dr. White, who has two
older brothers, as a third son.
Individual inventors and small companies have been responsible for more than two-thirds
of the inventions developed in the last 100 years. In as much as Canada's competitive
position in the world is vitally dependent on continued technological innovation, it has
become crucial to try to nourish and encourage these creative individuals.
Yet, when one looks at the numbers, it is obvious that 50 per cent of our population are
scarcely represented. As the Science Council of Canada recently pointed out:
"Developing this resource should not be seen as a token or goodwill gesture towards
women....it is, instead, essential to our economic survival."
Canada should ensure that our young girls and women are given the necessary skills and,
above all, the confidence needed if they are to succeed as inventors.
Reprinted from Daughters of Invention: An Invention Workshop For Girls,
Waterloo: Women Inventors Project, 1992, p. 51.
35
ACTIVITY FOUR: CATEGORIZING INVENTORS
AND INVENTIONS
Goal: To examine the relationship between the gender of the inventor and the invention.
Length of activity: 55 minutes
Materials needed:
Chart paper
Felt pens
Social Studies nine textbook
Library books on inventions
The book Mothers of Invention by Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek..
New York: Quill William Morrow, 1987.
ISBN 0688 089070 $15.95.
The book Feminine Ingenuity by Anne L. MacDonald.
New York: Ballantine Books, 1992.
ISBN 0345 358112 $28.95.
The book Inventing Women: Profiles of Women Inventors by Jan Panabaker.
Waterloo: Women Inventors Project, 1991. $10.00.
Handout 4A
Teacher preparation:
1.
Photocopy a class set of Handout 4A.
2.
Teacher gathers books.
3.
Teacher reserves library for one period and alerts the teacher librarian of the
assignment.
4.
Teacher gathers chart paper and felt pens.
Class procedure:
1.
Divide the class into groups.
2.
Using Handout 4A, ask each group to list fifteen inventors, their gender, their
invention, and to designate whether the invention is a domestic or an industrial
invention. Post chart paper around the room.
3.
Ask each group to transfer their information onto the board or chart paper. The
room will be covered with names of inventors, their gender, their invention and
type of inventions.
4.
Ask students to draw conclusions based on the following questions:
a) What type of inventions do women generally invent? What types of
inventions do men generally invent?
b) Who is responsible for the majority of domestic inventions? Industrial
inventions?
c) What inventions do the library books and textbooks choose to include?
d) Why do you think this happens?
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
In a paragraph, discuss whether an industrial invention like the cotton gin is more
important than a domestic invention like ice cream.
2.
Create a pamphlet recruiting women into a school for women inventors.
3.
Write a set of laws that ensure that women get equal access and equal opportunity
to invent and receive credit for inventions.
36
4A
CATEGORIZING INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS
Please complete the following sheet, using the books, Mothers of Invention, Feminine
Ingenuity, Inventing Women, as well as your Social Studies nine textbook and library
books on inventions with Dewey decimal number 608.
Date
Names
Block
GENDER
NAME OF INVENTOR
MALE OR
FEMALE
M OR F
INVENTION
DOMESTIC
OR
INDUSTRIAL
D OR I
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
37
ACTIVITY FIVE: WHO INVENTED THE COTTON
GIN? - A CASE STUDY
Goal: To examine the invention and patenting of the cotton gin.
Length of Activity:
55 minutes
Materials Needed:
Handouts 5A and 5B
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Photocopy a class set of Handouts 5A and 5B.
Class Procedure:
1.
Teacher distributes Handout 5A to each student.
2.
Students read Handout 5A.
3.
Teacher distributes Handout 5B to each student.
4.
Teacher arranges students in groups.
5.
Students in groups discuss Handout 5A by answering the questions on Handout
5B.
6.
When students have completed questions on Handout 5B, teacher leads class
discussion.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
In a paragraph, discuss Chief Justice Cari Adair's decision.
2.
Rewrite an encyclopedia article which gives credit to or includes Greene's
contribution.
3.
In a paragraph, describe who should be given credit for inventing the cotton gin.
38
The big idea is
men and women can be limited by
cultural attitudes and economic
conditions.
Important concepts that flow from this big
idea are:
a) Conventional history ignores the
inventions of women.
b) Cultural attitudes and economic
conditions prevented many women from
patenting their inventions.
c) The decision of who receives credit for a
patent is a complex philosophical
question.
39
5A
WHO INVENTED THE COTTON GIN?
What was Supreme Court Chief Justice Cari Adair going to do? She reviewed the
evidence before her and wrestled with her decision. Paul Greene, a direct descendant of
Catherine Littlefield Greene, had brought a suit against the U.S. Patent Office to reclaim
Catherine's place in history. Paul wanted no remuneration. Rather, he wanted the name
of Catherine Littlefield Greene placed on the patent of the cotton gin. But Eli Whitney
had been given credit for inventing the cotton gin and patented the machine in 1794.
Now Paul Greene wanted the world to know that Catherine, not Eli, was the real inventor
and deserved her place in history. Cari had searched and searched but she found no legal
precedent.
Catherine "Kitty" Littlefield was born in 1755 to a leading colonial family in Georgia.
She married Nathaniel Greene, thirteen years her senior who was the trusted aide of
General George Washington. Courageous and dedicated, during the revolutionary war,
she followed her husband to Valley Forge to spend the winter at his side.
After the war, Kitty and Nathaniel settled down on their cotton plantation in Mulberry
Grove, Georgia. Within the year, tragedy struck. Nathaniel died, leaving Catherine the
house, the land and five children. Now Catherine would have the formidable job of
managing the 900 workers and servants on the 400 acre plantation.
When the children needed a tutor, Catherine hired Phineas Miller, a Connecticut native.
Within a year he became her second husband and introduced Catherine to his friend, a
penniless teacher named Eli Whitney. When Eli lost his job, Phineas brought Eli home to
live on the plantation. To pay for his room and board Eli began fixing things around the
plantation.
One evening at dinner, Catherine, frustrated by the delay in harvesting the cotton,
mentioned how useful a device which separated the seed from the cotton would be. Of
course, Eli never had so much as seen a raw cotton boll but the idea peaked his interest.
"Could you build such a device?" queried Catherine.
"I'd like to try," replied Eli, "but I haven't any tools or a place to work and build a model."
5A
40
"There are tools in my basement. Why don't you work down there?" she offered. "I will
support you."
For six months, Eli laboured on his model but progress ground to a halt when the cotton
clogged in the wooden teeth. Frustrated, Eli called Catherine down to the basement to
show her the problem. "It just keeps clogging," he said.
Catherine examined the rollers and suggested that he substitute wire teeth for the wooden
teeth. Her suggestion worked and Eli built his model of the cotton gin.
Catherine was happy with her new machine and showed it to other plantation owners. Eli
patented the invention because Catherine felt uncomfortable patenting the device in her
name. Catherine felt that as a female inventor in 1794 she would be ridiculed and would
lose respect in the community.. She didn't mind promoting the machine but patenting the
machine in her name would create unwanted gossip. So Eli registered the cotton gin at
the U.S. Patent Office on March 14, 1794 and Catherine lost her place in history as the
inventor of the cotton gin.
Now Chief Justice Cari Adair had to decide who should receive credit for the invention of
the cotton gin. She reviewed the case playing the arguments back and forth in her mind:
It was Catherine's idea. She supplied the money, the tools and the workplace. But Eli
had created and built the model. He was also penniless and would have been unable to
build the model without Catherine's support. Legally she could have patented the cotton
gin but she was afraid of the gossip and ridicule. Catherine never complained when Eli
registered the patent. She had suggested using wire instead of wood when Eli's first
model didn't work. Cari knew her decision could change history. Should a patent 200
years old be changed to include Catherine's name? Should she leave well enough alone?
What would her decision be?
41
5B
WHO INVENTED THE COTTON GIN?
Date
Name
Block
Please discuss and answer the following questions:
1.
What do you see as Eli's contribution to the invention?
2.
What do you see as Catherine's contribution to the invention?
3.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone took credit for something you
did? If you feel comfortable, can you tell other people?
4.
In your opinion, who would you give credit for the invention of the cotton gin?
42
ACTIVITY SIX: RESEARCHING THE INVENTOR
OF THE VACCINATION
Goal: To examine the gender bias in encyclopedias and books.
Length of Activity: 55 minutes
Materials Needed:
Handouts 6A - 6L
Chart paper
Large felt pens
Masking tape
The following encyclopedias found in most school library reference collections:
World Book
Collier's
Merit Students
Britannica
Compton's
New Book of Knowledge
Americana
Handout 6L or the book Mothers of Invention.
pp. 206 - 209.
By Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek.
New York: Quill William Morrow, 1987.
$15.95. ISBN 0688089070.
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Teacher reserves the library for one period and alerts the teacher librarian of the
assignment.
2.
Photocopy one copy of Handout 6A - 6L.
3.
Teacher gathers chart paper, large felt pens and masking tape.
Class Procedure:
1.
Teacher divides the class into triads.
2.
Teacher sends Triads 1-5 to the appropriate encyclopedia in the library to answer
the questions on the Handout about Edward Jenner.
3.
Teacher sends Triads 6-11 to the appropriate encyclopedia in the library to answer
the questions on the Handout about Lady Mary Montagu.
4.
Teacher instructs Triad 11 that they will use Handout L or the book Mothers of
Invention pp. 204 - 206 to answer the questions on Handout K.
5.
Teacher instructs each triad to record their answers on big chart paper.
6.
When students are finished, charts are posted around the classroom.
7.
Each triad is to choose a reporter who will report their findings to the class.
8.
Reporters share their answers with the class.
9.
After all groups have reported, teacher guides a discussion of the conflicting
information of who invented the vaccination.
The following questions can be used as a guide:
43
Direct the following questions to Triads 1-5.
• According to your encyclopedia article, who was responsible for the
discovery of the vaccination?
• Does the encyclopedia article mention Lady Mary Montagu?
• When did the discovery take place?
Direct the following questions to Triads 6-10.
• According to your encyclopedia article, what was the historical contribution of
Lady Mary Montagu?
• Will she be remembered as a writer or discoverer?
• When did she make her discovery of inoculation?
Direct the following questions to Triad 11.
• According to the book or summary, what did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
• When did she make her discovery?
Direct the following questions to the class.
• How many encyclopedias credited Edward Jenner as the discoverer?
• How many encyclopedias credited Lady Mary Montagu with the discovery?
• Why do you think the encyclopedias and books differ in the information they
provided?
• Who wrote the articles in the encyclopedias?
• Who wrote the book?
• Who can you believe?
• Why would some encyclopedias omit the contributions of Lady Mary
Montagu?
• Who writes history?
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
Write a paragraph, discussing why you think the information differed in the books
and encyclopedias.
2.
Rewrite the encyclopedia article the way you think it should be written.
3.
Interview Edward Jenner or Lady Mary Montagu about their discovery.
44
6A
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #1
Please look up Edward Jenner in the Collier's Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions.
1.
What did Edward Jenner discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was his discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person previously credited
with the discovery of the vaccination?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
45
6B
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #2
Please look up Edward Jenner in the Americana and answer the following questions.
1.
What did Edward Jenner discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was his discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person previously credited
with the discovery of the vaccination?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
46
6C
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #3
Please look up Edward Jenner in the World Book Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions.
1.
What did Edward Jenner discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was his discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person previously credited
with the discovery of the vaccination?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
47
6D
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #4
Please look up Edward Jenner in the New Book of Knowledge and answer the following
questions:
1.
What did Edward Jenner discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was his discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person previously credited
with the discovery of the vaccination?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
48
6E
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #5
Please look up Edward Jenner in the Compton's Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions.
1.
What did Edward Jenner discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was his discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person previously credited
with the discovery of the vaccination?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
49
6F
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #6
Please look up Lady Mary Montagu in Collier's Encyclopedia and answer the following
questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover in Constantinople?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was her discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article,was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
50
6G
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #7
Please look up Lady Mary Montagu in the Americana Encyclopedia and answer the
following questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was her discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
51
6H
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #8
Please look up Lady Mary Montagu in the World Book Encyclopedia and answer the
following questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was her discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to this encyclopedia article, was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
52
6I
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #9
Please look up Lady Mary Montagu in the Merit Student's Encyclopedia and answer the
following questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was the discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to the encyclopedia article, was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
53
6J
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #10
Please look up Lady Mary Montagu in the Britannica Encyclopedia and answer the
following questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was the discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to the encyclopedia article, was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the encyclopedia article?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Note: At the end of the encyclopedia article, the author's name will be listed.
54
6K
RESEARCHING THE DISCOVERY OF THE VACCINATION
TRIAD #11
Please read pp 206 - 209 of the book Mothers of Invention or Summary on Handout 6L
and answer the following questions.
1.
What did Lady Mary Montagu discover?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
In what year was the discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
3.
According to the encyclopedia article, was any other person connected to the
discovery?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
4.
Who wrote the book or summary of the book?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
55
6L
LADY MARY MONTAGU
In 1717, Lady Mary Montagu and her husband, the British ambassador at Constantinople
travelled to Turkey. There she saw a local custom called Ingrafting. Old women
performed the operation every autumn when they injected a tiny amount of small-pox into
the veins of patients. The inoculated patients would get sick for several days, but within a
week they would recover and display an immunity from small-pox.
Since Lady Mary had the small-pox as a child, she saw the potential for this procedure.
In the British Isles, 45,000 people died of small-pox every year. When she returned to
England, she had her daughter inoculated against small-pox. She convinced the Princess
of Wales to allow her to experiment on orphans and convicts. When these tests proved
successful, the Princess's own daughter was inoculated.
Despite vehement opposition from the medical establishment and the Church, small-pox
vaccinations were introduced in England. Lady Mary Montagu published anonymously,
"Plain account of the Inoculating of the small-pox by a Turkish Merchant" and lived to
see the death rate from small-pox reduced from 30% to 2%. Lady Mary Montagu was
responsible for the discovery of the idea of vaccination for small-pox.
Summary of pp. 206 - 209 of the book Mothers of
Invention by Ethlie Ann Vare and Greg Ptacek.
56
ACTIVITY SEVEN :
CREATING CHILDREN'S STORYBOOKS
ABOUT WOMEN INVENTORS
Goal: To write and illustrate a children's storybook about the life of a woman inventor.
To learn about women inventors.
Length of activity: 165 minutes
Materials needed:
8 1/2 X 11 inch paper
felt pens, paints or crayons
Handouts 7A, 7B, 7C and 7D
The video: What If?
1/2" VHS colour 16 minutes. 1990
Cost of video : $160.00.
Summary of video :
The following books :
Seven successful women inventors are interviewed
in their workplaces.
Marie Curie
Lepscky, Ibi.
New York : Barron's,
1993. $5.95.
ISBN 0 8120 1558 4.
Mothers of Invention
Vare, Ethlie Ann, Ptacek, Greg.
New York : Quill William Morrow,
1987. $15.95.
ISBN 0 6880 8907 0.
Inventing Women : Profiles of Women Inventors
Panabaker, Jan.
Waterloo : Women Inventors Project,
1991. $10.95.
Teacher Preparation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Teacher contacts a primary teacher at local elementary school and invites
participation in the activity.
Teacher alerts the teacher librarian of the assignment and asks for assistance with
the techniques of storytelling.
Teacher gathers the videos and books.
Teacher adapts and personalizes Handout 7A.
Photocopy a class set of Handout 7B and 7C.
Class Procedure:
57
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Teacher asks students to name one woman inventor to encourage discussion of
women inventors.
Students view video : What If?
Teacher or teacher librarian reads the storybook of Marie Curie to the class.
Teacher reads Handout 7A to the class.
Students in pairs select a woman inventor.
Students in pairs write and illustrate a story using Handout 7B as a guide.
When stories are completed, teacher or teacher librarian outlines the technique of
storytelling.
Students in pairs practice reading and telling their story using Handout 7C.
Students read their story to the primary class.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
The storybook can be evaluated.
2.
The storytelling can be evaluated.
3.
Write a letter to a publisher submitting your storybook for publication.
58
7A
EXAMPLE LETTER
September 13, 1993
Dear Mr. Irvine and his Block C Science class:
Yesterday, my grade two class and I were studying inventors, when we realized
there was only one storybook on a female inventor. With the exception of Marie Curie,
all the books are on men inventors like Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein or Alexander
Graham Bell. We know there are many women inventors. We have included a list of
women inventors. Unfortunately, the books about these inventors in our library are too
advanced for us to read. Do you think the students in your class could write and illustrate
a story about a woman inventor for us to read and put in our library? Could they come to
our class and read the storybooks to us?
Yours sincerely,
Charles "Chucky" Steele
and his grade two class
59
7A
The following is a list of some of the women inventors found in the books Mothers of
Invention and Inventing Women.
Maria Gaetana Agnesi
Bette Nesmith Graham
Melitta Bentz
Marion Donovan
Ann Moore
Helena Rubinstein
Julie Newmar
Ruth Handler
Ruth Wakefield
Louise Pearce
Hattie Elizabeth Alexander
Sara Josephine Baker
Lise Meitner
Harriet W.R. Strong
Eleanor A. Ormerod
Jane Colden
Elizabeth Lucas Pinckney
Mary Engle Pennington
Stephanie L. Kwolek
Katherine Burr Blodgett
Marsha J. Coston
Rosalind Franklin
Jocelyn Bell
Olivia Poole
-
Calculus
Liquid Paper
Drip Coffee
Disposable Diaper
Snugli
Cosmetics
Cheeky Derriere Panty Hose
Barbie Doll
Chocolate Chip Cookie
Sleeping Sickness Serum
Meningitus Serum
Eye Dropper
Nuclear Fission
Water Control
Insect Control
The Gardenia
Indigo
Refrigeration
Kevlar
Non-Reflecting Glass
Flare
D.N.A.
Pulsar
Jolly Jumper
60
7B
CHILDREN'S STORYBOOK PLANNING GUIDE
Date
Names
Block
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Choose your inventor.
Research her life and invention.
Summarize your research as a story.
Illustrate the story.
Design a cover and title page.
Practice reading your story with your partner.
Read your story.
Place
Day
Time
Children's storybooks usually include:
a)
A cover which presents the title, name of the author and a picture.
b)
A title page which presents the title, author's name, place of publication, publisher
and copyright date.
c)
A text or story which in your case should be approximately 10 pages.
Illustrations, pictures and dialogues are part of your story.
61
7C
GUIDE TO STORYTELLING
Why read to children? Children's reading interests can be expanded through reading.
Reading to children can also create enjoyment of prose and poetry as well as give
information to the listeners. Reading performs another important function of providing a
model so children can see and hear the techniques of good reading. To read effectively,
preparation is necessary.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Read the passage aloud.
Decide which passages or words need emphasis.
Familiarity with the story allows the reader to maintain eye contact with the
listeners.
When introducing the book, read the title. It is worthwhile to let children discuss
the title and what the book might be about.
Bring a prop which heightens interest in the story.
Hold the book so it is visible to the audience.
When turning the pages pay careful attention to turn the pages without pulling the
book down.
Read loudly, slowly, and clearly.
62
ACTIVITY EIGHT: REVIEWING LIBRARY BOOKS
ON INVENTORS
Goal: To examine the gender bias of books on inventors.
Length of Activity:
55 minutes
Materials Needed:
Handouts 8A, 8B, 8C
Library books on inventors or inventions found under the Dewey Decimal
Number 608 or 920.
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Photocopy a class set of Handout 8A and 8B.
2.
Teacher reserves the library for one period and alerts the teacher librarian of the
assignment. Suggested books are listed on Handout C as a guide for the teacher
and teacher librarian.
Class Procedure:
1.
Teacher divides the students into pairs.
2.
Teacher distributes Handout 8A and 8B to each student.
3.
Teacher reviews Handout 8A and 8B.
4.
Teacher instructs students in pairs to answer the questions on Handout 8B.
5.
When class has completed Handout 8B, students report their conclusions to the
class.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
Write an article for the Martian Chronicle describing your adventure on earth
investigating library books about inventors.
2.
Write a review of the book you examined for the Martian Chronicle.
3.
Write a letter to the publisher in which you describe how you would change the
book you reviewed.
63
8A
YOUR ASSIGNMENT IS:
You are the ace reporter for the Martian Chronicle. You have been given a special
assignment. You are to travel to earth and find out about their inventors and inventions.
While on Mars, you studied earth languages. You can read their languages, but you have
great difficulty speaking them. Only the books in the library will tell you the information
you want to know.
In the library, you are to select one book on inventors or inventions. You may ask the
teacher librarian for help by showing her/him your assignment. Answer the questions on
Handout 8B and describe your conclusions about earth inventors and inventions. Be
prepared to present your conclusions to the class. Select an illustration or short passage
from the book to support your conclusions.
64
8B
BOOK REVIEW QUESTION
Date
Name
Block
TITLE
1.
What is the title of the book?
________________________________________________________________________
2.
Does the title indicate whether inventions are created by men or women?
________________________________________________________________________
COVER
1.
Describe the cover of the book.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
Count the men on the cover.
3.
Count the women on the cover.
4.
Name the inventions on the cover.
________________________________________________________________________
5.
Are these inventions created by men or women?
________________________________________________________________________
6.
Are there any people of colour on the cover?
65
8B
BOOK REVIEW QUESTION
AUTHOR
1.
Who is the author?
________________________________________________________________________
2.
Is the author a man or a woman?
________________________________________________________________________
ILLUSTRATIONS
1.
Count the pictures or illustrations of female inventors in this book.
2.
Count the pictures or illustrations of male inventors in this book.
3.
Count the pictures or illustrations of people of colour in this book.
TEXT
1.
Count the number of inventions by men in this book.
2.
Count the number of inventions by women in this book.
CONCLUSIONS
According to your book, what sex, race or nationality would a Martian believe produces
inventions on earth? Choose a picture or passage to illustrate your conclusion.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
66
8C
BOOKS ON INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS
The following is a list of suggested books on inventors and inventions that can be found
in school and public libraries.
1.
Bailey, Joseph.
Small Inventions That Make A Difference.
National Geographic Society, 1971.
2.
Baker, Eric.
Great Inventions, Good Intentions : An Illustrated History of American Design
Patents.
Chronicle Books, 1971.
3.
Brown, J. J.
The Inventors.
McClelland and Stewart, 1967.
4.
Carpenter, Thomas.
Inventors : Profiles in Canadian Genius.
Camden : Camden House, 1990.
5.
De Vries, Leonard.
Victorian Inventions.
London : Jarrold and Son Ltd., 1971.
6.
Feldman, Anthony.
Scientists and Inventors.
New York : Facts on File, 1979.
7.
Gegury, James.
The Patent Book.
New York : Addison and Wesley, 1981.
8.
Griffin, Gordon.
How To Be A Successful Inventor.
New York : John Wiley and Son Inc., 1991.
9.
Hornsby, Jeremy.
Story of Inventions.
New York : Crescent Books, 1977.
10.
Inventions That Changed The World.
New York : Reader's Digest, 1982.
11.
Lomask, Milton.
Great Lives : Invention and Technology.
Toronto : MacMillan, 1991.
12.
Men of Science and Invention.
New York : American Heritage, 1960.
67
8C
BOOKS ON INVENTORS AND INVENTIONS
13.
Noonon, Geoffrey.
Nineteenth Century Inventors.
New York : Facts on File, 1990.
14.
Norman, Bruce.
Inventing America.
New York : Taplinger Publishing Co., 1976.
15.
Olsen, Frank.
Inventors Who Left Their Brand on America.
New York : Bantam, 1991.
16.
Richards, Norman.
Dreamers and Doers : Inventors Who Changed The World.
Toronto : MacMillan, 1985.
17.
Rowland, K. T.
Eighteenth Century Inventions.
New York : Barnes and Noble, 1974.
18.
Stein, Ralph.
Great Inventions.
New York : Ridge Press Books, 1976.
19.
They Made Our World : Five Centuries of Great Scientists and Inventors.
New York : Broadside, 1980.
20.
Those Inventive Americans.
New York : National Geographic Society, 1971.
21.
Turvey, Peter.
Inventions, Inventors and Ingenious Ideas.
New York : Watts, 1992.
22.
Weiss, Harvey.
How To Be An Inventor.
New York : Thomas Crowell, 1980.
68
ACTIVITY NINE : PATENTING YOUR INVENTION
Goal : To understand what a patent is.
To understand the necessity of a patent.
Length of Activity : 110 minutes
Materials needed:
Handouts 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E
100 straws and 30 straight pens
6 or 7 paper bags
Teacher's Note: Included are two examples of patents labelled 10D.
• The first example is a Canadian patent for the PACIFINDER and
would be appropriate for a Science class
• The second example is for Catherine Littlefield Greene/Eli Whitney's
cotton gin and was included for a Social Studies class.
Teacher preparation:
1.
Photocopy a class set of Handouts 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D, 9E.
2.
Sort straws and pens into bags (15 straws and 6 pens per bag).
3.
Gather small prizes (OPTIONAL).
Class Procedure:
1.
Teacher distributes Handout 9A and instructs students.
2.
Teacher divides class into groups.
3.
Teacher gives each group a bag of straws and pens.
4.
After 15 minutes, teacher stops the activity, and collects Handout 9A from each
group.
5.
When evaluating, the structure, the teacher
a) does not praise the group effort
b) verbally praises the outstanding work of the one student in each group whose
name is on Handout 9A.
6.
Teacher stops and debriefs the simulation using the following questions:
a) To the students who did not receive the credit, ask:
How did you feel when you didn't receive credit for your contribution?
b) To the class, direct the following questions:
• Describe a situation where you felt that someone stole an idea that you had
and then took credit for your idea.
• How did you feel?
• What can a person do to legally protect an idea or an invention that they
develop?
• When is it necessary to have legal protection for an idea or invention?
• Can you think of any examples of ideas or inventions that are protected in
this way?
7.
Teacher distributes Handouts 9B and 9C.
8.
Students return to groups and answer question on 9C, using Handout 9B.
9.
When students have completed Handout 9C, students share answers as a class.
69
10.
11.
12.
Teacher distributes Handout 9D to each student.
Teacher instructs students using Handout 9D.
Students create a patent for their invention using Handout 9E.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
Create a collage of examples of items that are patented, copyrighted, trademarked
or have an industrial design.
2.
Patent assignment can be evaluated.
3.
In a paragraph, describe an incident in your life where you did not receive credit
for something you did.
70
9A
BUILDING A STRUCTURE
Date
Names
Block
Please follow the directions carefully.
Your group will receive a bag of straws and straight pens.
As a group:
a) Build as large a structure as possible using only these items.
b) Write the name of the student in your group with the last name that would
appear first in the phone book.
c) Write only that student's name in the top right hand of Handout 9A.
EVALUATION MARKS
_______
50
71
9B
LEGAL PROTECTION FOR INVENTIONS
There are five main types of protection for ideas and inventions. They are:
a)
PATENT
A patent is a document received from the Canadian government which gives an
inventor protection for twenty years from someone else making or selling her
invention without permission.
b)
TRADE SECRET
A trade secret protects a process or recipe from competitors. The recipe for
COCA COLA is an example of a trade secret.
c)
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
An industrial design provides legal protection against the imitation of the shape,
pattern or ornamentation of an industrially produced object. The golden arches of
McDonalds is an example of an industrial design.
d)
COPYRIGHT
A copyright provides legal protection for books, computer software, paintings and
videotapes. The symbol © is short for copyright.
e)
TRADEMARK
A trademark protects the name of the product. The symbol for trademark is ® or
TM next to the product's name. Kleenex would be an example of a trademark.
72
9C
Date
Names
Block
Using the information in Handout B, decide which form of legal protection the following
items have:
1. Liquid Paper ®
2. A new name of scissors called SNIPPERS
3. The video Home Alone 2
4. The shape of the HEINZ ketchup bottle
5. BIC ® pen
6. The recipe for Paul Newman's salad dressing
7. Stephen King's book Needful Things
8. A new mousetrap design
9. The ingredients or recipe for PEPSI
10. A new lamp design
11. INSULIN
12. ZIPPER ®
13. VELCRO
14. TRIVIAL PURSUIT
15. SNOWMOBILE TM
73
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
A CANADIAN PATENT
The patent duplicated on the following pages belongs to Kitchener, Ontario
inventor Patsy Winger. This first page, the cover; has been reduced in size,
and is actually 21 cm wide by 13 cm long. On the actual patent, the large
seal. on the bottom left comer; as well as the Government of Canada flag logo
and the patent number (1234525) are printed in red ink.
Consumer and
Corporate Affairs Canada
Patent Office
Consomation
et Corporations Canada
Bureau des brevets
Canadian Patent
Brevet canadien
1234525
To all to whom these presents shall come:
A tous ceux qui les présentes verront:
Whereas a petition has been presented to the Commissioner of
Patents praying for the grant of a patent for a new and useful
invention, the title and description of which are contained in
the specification of which a copy is hereunto attached and
made an essential part hereof, and the requirements of the
Patent Act having been complied with.
Considérant qu’une requête a été pésentée au Commissaaire
des brevets, demandant la déliverance d’un brevet,
demandant la délivrance d’un brevet pour une invention
nouvelle at utile, don’t le titre et la desciption appairaissent
dans le mémoire discriptif don’t copie est annexée aux
présentes et en fait partie essentielle, et que ladite requête
satisfait aux exigences de la Loi sur les brevets.
Now therefore the present patent grants to the applicant whose
title thereto appears from the records of the Patent Office and
as indicated in the said copy of the specification attached
hereto, and to the legal representatives of said applicant for a
period of seventeen years from the date of these presents the
exclusive right, privilege and liberty of making, constructing,
using and vending to others in Canada the invention, subject to
adjudication in respect thereof before and court of competent
jurisdiction..
Provided that the grant hereby made is subject to the
conditions contained in the Act aforesaid.
In testimony whereof, these letters patent bear the signature of
the commissioner and the seal of the Patent Office hereunto
affixed at Hull, Canada.
A ces causes, le présent brevet confère au demandeur don’t
le titre de proprieté audit brevet est établi d’apres les
dossiers du Bureau des brevets et est indiqué dans ladite
copie du mémoire descriptif ci-annexé, et aux représentants
l’gaux du dit demandeur, pour une période de dix-sept ans, à
compter de la date des présentes, le droit, la faculté et le
privilège excluzif de fabriquer, construire, exploiter et
vendre à d’autres au Canada l’invention, sauf jugement en
l’espèce par un tribunal de juridiction compètente.
La concession faite par le présentes étant soumise aux
conditions contenues dans la loi précitée.
En foi de quoi ces lettres patentes portent la signature du
Commissaire ainsi que le sceau du Bureau des brevets
apposé à Hull, Canada.
1. From Idea To Invention. Women Inventors Project Inc.
74
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
The first page of Patsy Winger’s patent for the PacifinderTM is also slightly
reduced. Its actual size is 19 cm wide and 28 cm long. The rest of the patent
(pages 2 through 9) are reprinted in their actual size.
Consumer and
Corporate Afairs Canada
Consommation
et Corporations Canada
(11) (A) No.
1 234 525
(45) ISSUED 880329
(52) CLASS 128-129
(51) INT. CL. A61J 17/00
(19) (CA)
CANADIAN PATENT
(12)
(54) Pacifier Holder for Infants
(72) Winger, Patricia A.,
Canada
(21) APPLICATION No.
510,530
(22) FILED
860530
No. OF CLAIMS
4
Canada
DISTRIBUTED BY THE PATENT OFFICE OTTAWA
CCA 274(11-82)
75
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
This invention relates to a holder for an infant pacifier,
soother, teething ring or the like, intended for attachment
around the infant's neck.
As parents of young children well know, pacifiers are
regularly dropped by infants, often under very inconvenient
circumstances. The pacifier may, for example, be dropped in a
public place, automobile, public transportation vehicle or other
location where recovery may be difficult or impossible. and where
the pacifier, if 10 recovered, may have to be washed before
further use, for obvious sanitary reasons.
There is therefore e need for a safe but simple device, by
which the pacifier may be retained so that its use is not
inhibited, but so that if the infant drops the pacifier it
remains nearby. Needless to say, a prime consideration in
designing any such device must be safety, particularly with
devices such as the one of the present invention where it is
intended that the device be fastened around the infant's neck.
The device must be designed in such a fashion that should the
pacifier or should any part of the device itself become snagged,
it will readily release from the infant's neck.
It is an object of the invention to provide such a device,
whereby a pacifier, soother, teething ring or the like may be
retained.
In the invention, there is therefore provided a
substantially Y-shaped pacifier holder, the arms of the Y2
76
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
shape constituting the attachment means which go around the
infant’s neck and fasten to each other, and the base of the Yshape constituting a retaining strap for the pacifier.
The end of the base leg is provided with VELCRO (trademark) hook
and pile fastening, or other suitable fastening means, so that a
loop may be formed in the leg material to engage the ring which
typically is provided as part of the pacifier.
The invention will now be described in greater detail, with
reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective of
the pacifier holder.
The pacifier holder 1 is sewn or otherwise assembled from
any suitable flexible material, such as terry cloth, cotton,
polyester/cotton, or the like, with or without a plastic backing.
The pacifier holder is substantially Y-shaped with the upper arms
2 of the Y-constituting the means for attaching the holder around
the infant’s neck. Fastening means such as VELCRO TM hook and
pile sections 3 and 4 respectively permit the distal ends of the
upper arms 2 to be attached to each other behind the infant’s
neck to position the holder around the infant’s neck with the
base leg 5 of the Y-shape hanging in front of the infant, on this
or her chest. In lieu of VELCRO, it should be obvious to the
reader that any other suitable fastening means, such as dome
fasteners or clips could be used, subject always to the condition
that the fastening means must be such that any strong force
applied to the holder will cause the fastening means to release,
for the
3
77
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
obvious safety reasons mentioned above.
The base leg of the Y-shape is a strap 5 which hangs down
in front of the infant when the holder is attached to the
infant’s neck. One side of the strap 5 is provided with VELCRO
pile and hook tabs 7 and 8
Respectively, spaced apart slightly so that the strap 5 may be
bent back onto itself to mate the VELCRO tabs, thereby forming a
loop 9 in the strap. The loop 9 can be used to hold a pacifier,
soother, teething ring or the like, as illustrated by the ghosted
pacifier 10 in the drawing.
As with the fastening means at the distal ends of the upper
arms, it should be obvious to the reader that any suitable means
other than VELCRO could also be used satisfactorily.
For aesthetic reasons, the VELCRO hook and pile tabs are
preferably provided on the rear of the strap 5, so that the
distal end of the strap loops back onto the back of the strap,
rather than onto the front. From a functional viewpoint, however,
the tabs could just as easily be on the front surface of the
strap, and therefore such an arrangement is considered to be
clearly part of the present invention.
As with bibs or other such devices, of course the upper
arms 2 of the Y-shape could not be too long, so that the fit of
the holder is not overly loose around the infant’s neck, for
safety reasons. Similarly, the strap 5 should not be too long, so
that the likelihood of it snagging or tangling with something is
minimized. In the
4
78
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
versions being prepared by the inventor for marketing, in the
overall length of the strap 5, measured from the margin closest
to the infant’s neck down to the end of the strap, is
approximately seven inches. With the loop 9 formed, the dimension
down to the bottom of the loop is approximately five inches.
These have been found to be suitable dimensions, although
obviously the dimensions could be varied somewhat. However, if
overly shortened, then of course the infant would not have access
to the pacifier because the strap would not be too taut. On the
other hand if the strap was too long, not only would this be
unnecessary and therefore wasteful of material, but also the
pacifier might be too free to contact the floor or other
unsanitary spots, or too free to tangle in, for example, carriage
wheels.
For comfort, the upper arms 2 of the Y-shape are preferably
up to one and half inches in width, as it is the width of the
strap 5. Obviously, the upper arms 2 need not have this width,
and could for example be made in the manner of conventional bib
strings. Similarly, the strap portion need not have the suggested
width, although it is convenient to have some width at the loop 9
so that the strap is not overly loose in the ring of the pacifier
10.
It will be appreciated that there are a number of obvious
variations on the invention as described above. For example, it
should be appreciated that the actual choice of materials is
generally not relevant to the invention,
5
79
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
although materials which are relatively inflexible should be
avoided for obvious reasons. Obvious variations on the invention
as described above are considered to be within the scope of the
invention as claimed, whether or not expressly described above.
80
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY
OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1.
A holder for a pacifier or the like, substantially Y-
shaped, the upper arms of the Y-shape constituting attachment
means for fastening the holder around an infant’s neck, the
distal ends of said upper arms being provided with fastening
means for fastening each to the other, and the base leg of the Yshape constituting a retaining strap for the pacifier or the
like, fastening means near the distal end of said retaining strap
being provided whereby said distal end may be formed back onto
itself to form a loop for engaging the ring of the pacifier or
the like.
2.
A holder as recited in claim 1, in which said fastening
means near the distal end of said retaining strap comprises
respective hook and pile fastener tabs spaced apart on one side
of said retaining strap.
3.
A holder as recited in claim 1, in which said fastening
means near the distal end of said retaining strap comprises
respective hook and pile fastener tabs spaced apart on one side
of said retaining strap, and in which said fastening means on the
distal ends of said upper arms comprises hook and pile fastener
tabs, a hook tab being positioned at the distal end of said upper
arms, and a pile tab at the distal end of the other said upper
arms.
81
9D
Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
4.
A holder as recited in either of claims 1, 2 or 3, in which
the length of said retaining strap, measured from the upper
margin of the central junction of the Y-shape to the end of said
loop when said loop is formed is roughly five inches.
82
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Patents and Other Legal Protection for Inventions
1234525
83
Eli Whitney
COTTON GIN
Patented March 14, 1794
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
To all to whom these Letters Patent shall come:
Whereas Eli Whitney a Citizen of the State of Massachusetts, in the United States,
Hath alleged that he has invented a new and useful improvement in mode of Ginning
Cotton, which improvement has not been known or used before his application, has made
an oath, that he does verily believe, that he is the true inventor or discoverer of the said
Improvement, has paid into the Treasury of the United States, the sum of thirty dollars,
delivered a receipt for the same, and presented a petition to the Secretary of State,
signifying a desire of obtaining an exclusive property in the said Improvement, and
praying that a Patent may be granted for the purpose: These are therefore, to grant
according to law to the said Eli Whitney, his heirs, administrators or assigns, for the term
of fourteen years from the sixth day of November last, the full and exclusive right and
liberty of making, constructing, using and vending to others to be used the said
improvement, a Description whereof is given in the words of the said Eli Whitney
himself in the Schedule hereto annexed, and is made a part of these presents.
(Seal of the
United States)
In testimony whereof, I have
caused these Letters to be made
Patent, and the Seal of the United
States to be hereunto affixed.
Given under my hand, at the
City of Philadelphia, this fourteenth
day of March, in the year of our
Lord, one thousand seven hundred
and ninety four, and of the
Independence of the United states of
America, the Eighteenth.
Geo: Washington.
By the President
Edm: Randloph
City of Philadelphia to wit:
I do hereby certify, that the foregoing Letters Patent were delivered to me on the
fourteenth day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety
four to be examined; that I have examined the same and find them conformable to law.
And I do hereby return the same and find them conformable to law. And I do hereby
return the same to the Secretary of State, within fifteen days from the date aforesaid; to
wit, on this same fourteenth day of March in the year aforesaid.
WM. BRADFORD, Atty Gen. U.S.
1. From U. S. Patent Office; Washington, D. C.
84
9D
(Patent document, second sheet)
The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent & making part of the same,
containing a Description in the words of the said Eli Whitney himself of an improvement
in the mode of Ginning Cotton.
A Short Description of the machine invented by the Subscriber for
Ginning Cotton.
The principal parts of this machine are lst, The frame, 2d, The cylinder, 3d, The
breastwork, 4th, The dearer, & 5th, The hopper. 1st. The frame, by which the whole work
is supported and kept together, is of a square or paralldogramic form and proportioned to
the other parts as may be most convenient.
2d. The cylinder is of wood, its form is perfectly described by its name, and its
dimensions may be from six to nine inches diameter, and from two to five feet in length.
This cylinder is placed horizontally across the frame, leaving room for the clearer on one
side, and the hopper on the other. In the cylinder is fixed an iron axis which may pass
quite through, or consist only of gudgeons driven into each end.
There are shoulders on this axis, to prevent any horizontal variation, and it
extends so far without the frame as to admit a winch at one end by which it is put in
motion, and so far at the other end as to receive the whirl by which the clearer is turned.
The surface of the cylinder is filled with teeth, set in annular rows, which are at such a
distance from each other as to admit a cotton seed to play freely in the space between
them. The space between each tooth in the same row, is so small as not to admit a seed,
nor half a seed to enter it. These teeth arc made of stiff Iron wire, driven into the wood of
the cylinder. The teeth are all inclined the same way and in such a manner, that the angle
included between the tooth and a tangent drawn from the point into which the tooth is
driven, will be about 55 or 60 Degrees. The gudgeons of the cylinder run in brass boxes,
each of which is in two parts, one of which is fixed in the wood of the frame and the
other is confined down upon the axis with screws.
III. The breastwork is fixed above the cylinder, parallel and contiguous to the
same. It has transverse grooves or openings through which the rows of teeth pass as the
cylinder revolves and its use is to obstruct the seeds while the cotton is carried forward
through the grooves by the teeth. The thickness of the breastwork is two and half or three
inches, and the under side of it is made of Iron or brass.
4th. The clearer is placed horizontal with and parallel to the cylinder. Its length is
the same as that of the cylinder, and its diameter is proportioned by convenience. There
are two, four or more brushes or rows of bristles, fixed in the surface of the clearer in
such a manner that the ends of the bristles will sweep the surface of the cylinder.
Its axis and boxes are similar to those of the cylinder. It is turned by means of a
band and whirls, moves in a contrary direction from the cylinder by which it is put in
motion, and so far outruns it, as to sweep the cotton from the teeth as fast as it is carried
through the breastwork. The periphery of the whirls is spherical and me band a broad
strap of Leather.
85
9D
5th. One side of the hopper is formed by the breastwork, the two ends by the
frame, and the other side is movable from and towards the breastwork, so as to make the
hopper more or less capacious.
The cotton is put into the hopper, carried thro’ the breastwork by the teeth,
brushed off from the teeth by the clearer and flies off from the clearer, with the assistance
of the air, by its own centrifugal force. The machine is turned by water, horses or in any
other way as is most convenient.
There are several modes of making the various parts of this machine, which
together with their particular shape and formation are pointed out and explained in a
Description with Drawings, attested as the Act directs and lodged in the Office of the
Secretary of State.
Eli Whitney
Signed in presence of
Chauncey Goodrich, Counsellor at Law Hartford
John Allen, Counsellor at Law Litchfield
Note: The foregoing is the text of the patent document issued to Eli Whitney, the
original of which is lost. The following pages give the text of the specification of
the patent and a copy of the drawing. This is the first publication in printed form by
the Patent Office of the original specification and drawing of the patent issued to Eli
Whitney for the Cotton Gin. At the time of the issue of this patent, the specification
and drawing were not attached to the patent document but remained in the office,
nor were attached to the patent document but remained in the office, nor were they
published in printed form. These original records were burned in the Patent Office
fire of 1836. A copy of the patent (made from the office record copy), and of the
specification and drawing (made from the originals), certified by the Secretary of
State, had been made in 1803, was recorded here is based on these two copies. The
original spelling, punctuation, and capitalisation have been retained, with selection
from one or the other in case of variations in these respects in the two texts; a few
copying errors in one or the other have also been reconciled. The drawing presented
here is copied from the certified copy of the original drawing made in 1804 and
filed in the court records; in making the copy for reproduction the figures have been
spread over two sheets to avoid undue reduction in size; the various figures have
been placed in some order, the heavy shading and crosshatching in the original have
been made a little lighter, and the heading has been added. The patent document
handed to the inventor consisted of a formal granting part and an attached short
description written on two parchment sheets. These papers are included in this
publication for their inherent interest, the text being derived from the same two
sources noted.
UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE, August 1959
86
9D
Eli Whitney
COTTON GIN
Patented March 14, 1794
87
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Eli Whitney
COTTON GIN
Patented March 14, 1794
88
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Eli Whitney
COTTON GIN
(Specification and drawing filed November 6, 1793)
A Description of a New Invented Cotton Gin; or
Machine for cleansing and separating Cotton from
its Seeds.
This Machine may be described under five divisions, corresponding to its five principal parts: viz:
1, The Frame; 2, The Cylinder; 3, The Breastwork;
4, The Clearer; and 5, The Hopper.
I. The frame, by which the whole work is supported and kept together, ought to be made of well
seasoned timber, so that it may be firm and steady,
and never become loose in the joints. Scantling four
inches by three, will perhaps be stuff, of a square or
parallelogramic form, the width must answer to the
length of the cylinder and the height and the length
may be proportioned as circumstances shall render
convenient.
In the drawing annexed, Fig. 1, is a section of
the Machine. A represents the cylinder, B, the
Breastwork, C, the clearer, and D, the Hopper.
II. The Cylinder is of wood; its form is perfectly
described by its name, and its dimensions may be
from siz to nine inches diameter, and from two to
five feet in length. This cylinder is placed horizontally across the frame, in such a manner as to
give room for the clearer on one side of it, and the
hopper on the other, as in Fig.1.
Its height, if the machine is worked by Hand
should be about three feet four inches; otherwise it
may be regulated by convenience. In the cylinder is
fixed an Iron axis, so large as to turn in the lathe
without quivering. The axis may pass quite thro’ the
cylinder or consist only of gudgeons, driven with
cement into each end. There must be a shoulder at b,
Fig. 2, on each side the bearing or box to prevent
any horizontal variation in the cylinder. The bearing of the axis, or those parts which rest on the
boxes must be rounded in a lathe, so that the centre
of the axis, so that the centre of the axis may
coincide with the centre of the cylinder. One end of
the axis should extend so far without the frame as to
admit the winch, by which it is turned, to be
connected with it at C, and so far at the other end as
to receive the whirl designed for putting the clearer
in motion.
The brass boxes, in which the axis of the
cylinder runs, consist each of two parts, c, & d, Fig.
7. The lower part, d, is sunk into the wood of the
frame to keep it firm and motionless; and the upper
part, c, is kept in its place by 2 small iron bolts, H,
H, headed on the lower end at, H. These bolts are
inserted into the underside of the rail or scantling of
the frame and continued up through both parts of
the box. A portion of the bolts, as H, a. should be
Patented March 14, 1794
Square, to prevent them from turning. The upper
part of the box, c, is screwed down close, with a nut
on the end of each bolt. At, e, is a perforation for
conveying oil to the axis.
After the cylinder, with its axis, is fitted and
rounded with exactness, the circular part of its surface is filled with teeth set in annular rows. The
spaces d, e, f, h, Fig. 2, between the rows of teeth
must be so large as to admit a cotton seed to turn
round freely in them every way: and ought not to be
less than seven sixteenths of an inch. The spaces k,
l, m, n, & c, Fig. 1, between the teeth, in the same
row, must be so small as not to admit a seed or a
half seed. They ought not to exceed one twelfth of
an inch; and I think about one sixteenth of an inch
the best.
The teeth are made and set in the following
manner. Take common iron wire*, about No. 12,
13, or 14. Draw it about three sizes less without
nealing, in order to stiffen it. Cut it into pieces four
or five feet in length and straighten them. Then with
a machine, somewhat like that used for cutting nails,
cut the wire into pieces about an inch long. In the
jaws of this machine at, o, Fig. 10 are fixed the two
pieces of steel, d, d, which are pressed together, as
may be observed from the figure, by the operation
of a compound lever. These pieces of steel are so set
in, that approaching surfaces, meet only on the side
next to, d, d, leaving between them a wedge-like
opening, which enlarges as the distance from the
place of contact increases. On the side, d, d, about
an inch distant from the place of contact, is fixed a
gauge. The wire is inserted on the side, d, d, cut
smoothly and transversely off, and the end of the
other part flatted like a wedge. The flatted end is
then trust forward to the guage and the same
operation is repeated. In this manner the teeth are
cut of equal length, with one end flatted and the
other cut directly off. Flatting one end of the wire is
beneficial in two ways: 1, The flatted ends of the
teeth are driven into the wood with more ease and
exactness; and 2, it prevents them from turning after
they are set. To prevent the wires from bending,
while driving, they are holden with pliers the jaws
of which ought to be about half an inch in width,
with a corresponding transverse groove in each jaw.
Thus holden the teeth are with a light hammer,
driven, one by one, into the cylinder, perpendicular
to its axis. Then with a
____________
* Steel wire would perhaps be best if it were not
too expensive.
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Tool, like a chissel or common screw driver each
tooth is inclined directly towards the tangent to that
point of the circle into which it is set, till the
inclination be greater, the teeth will not take
sufficient hold of the Cotton, if it be less there will
be more difficulty in disengaging the Cotton from
the teeth, after it is separated from the seeds.
When the teeth are all set they should be cut of
an equal length. In order for this take a crooked
gage, Fig. 8, having two prongs, q, r, the curvature
of which corresponds with that of the cylinder. This
gage is merely a crooked fork, the thickness of
whose prongs or tines, as represented between, s, &
t, Fig. 9, equalizes the length of the teeth, and is
applied to the cylinder with one tine on each side of
an annular row. With a pair of cutting pliers, cut the
teeth 1, 2, 3, &c, off even with the gage, then slide it
along to 6, 7, 8, &c, and so proceed till you have
trimmed all the teeth to a kind of angular point,
resembling a wire flatted and cut obliquely. After
the teeth are brought to a proper shape, smooth them
with a polishing file and the cylinder will be
finished.
Remark. Though the dimensions of the cylinder
may be varied at pleasure, yet it is thought that
those described are the best, being more easily made
and kept in repair, than those of a larger size. The
timber should be quarter stuff, i.e. a quarter of the
trunk of the tree, otherwise it will crack in
seasoning. It must also be wood of an equal density,
such as beech, maple, black birch &c. In oak and
many other kinds of wood are not so hard as the
grains themselves; and the teeth driven into those
spaces would not stand sufficiently firm, while the
grains are so hard as to prevent the teeth from being
driven without bending.
III. The breastwork, Fig. 11, and B, Fig. 1, &
Fig. 2, is fixed above the cylinder, parallel and
contiguous to the same. It has trasverse grooves or
openings 1, 2, 3, 4, &c, through which the rows of
teeth pass as the cylinder revolves; and its use is to
obstruct the seeds while the Cotton is carried
forward through the grooves by the teeth. That side
of the breastwork next the cylinder should be made
of Brass or Iron, that it may be more durable. Its
face or surface, a, x, Fig. 1 ought to make an angle
with the tangent, x, z, less than 50 Degrees. A tooth
in passing from k up to the breastwork B, fastens
itself upon a certain quantity of Cotton, which is
still connected with its seeds. The seeds being too
large to pass thro’ the breastwork are there stopped,
while the cotton is forced thro’ the groove and
disengaged from the seeds. Now if the point of the
tooth enters the groove before the root,
or that part next the cylinder, it carries through all
which it has collected in coming from k; but if the
root of the tooth enter the groove before the point,
part of the cotton fastened on it, will slide off, and
this latter case is preferable as it helps to give the
Cotton a rotary motion in the hopper. The thickness
of the breastwork, or the distance from, a, to I, Fig.
1, should be about 21/2 or 3 inches, in proportion to
the length of the Cotton. It should be such that the
Cotton which is carried thro’ by the teeth may be
disconnected from that which is left in the hopper
before it leaves the grooves; otherwise that which is
carried partly through the breastwork will by the
motion of that with which it is connected in the
hopper become so collected and knotted at i, as to
obstruct and bend the teeth.*
The under part of the breastwork next the cylinder ought, as has before been observed, to be made
of Iron or brass. It may be cast either in a solid piece
and the openings for the passage of the teeth cut
with a saw and files; or in as many parts as there are
spaces between the several rows of teeth in the
cylinder and in form of Fig. 12, and the pieces set,
by means of a shank or tenon, in a groove running
lenghtwise along the wooden part of the breastwork.
The breastwork described, if properly constructed, will it is thought answer every valuable
purpose. But I shall mention one of different
construction which I have used with success, and is
made in the following manner. Form a breastwork
of the same shape and dimensions as the one before
described, entirely of wood. Place a bar of wood
one inch bellow the cylinder and parallel to it. Then
with straps or ribs of iron, brass or tin plate, connect
the breastwork of wood with the bar below. The ribs
or straps must be so applied as to sit close to the
surface of the cylinder between the wooden
breastwork and the bar, and of a width that will
permit them to work freely between the annular
rows of teeth. That end of each strap which is
fastened to the breastwork should divide widthwise
into two parts, one of which should pass along the
lower surface of the breastwork and the other run up
its front. In Fig. 14, B, is the wooden breastwork; D,
the bar below the cylinder; the dotted circle b, b, the
cylinder; e, e, the strap; c, the place where the strap
divides; and a, a, a, wood screws or nails with
which the strap is made fast to the bar and
breastwork.
IV. The clearer, C, Fig. 1, is constructed in the
following manner. Take an iron axis perfectly similar to that described as extending through the cylinder, except that it need not be so large nor fitted for
the application of a winch. Frame together
________
*If a perforation about 3/16ths of an inch be made thro’ the
breastwork at the upper part or end of each groove, the metal part
need not be more than 3/8ths of an inch thick.
90
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Crosswise at right two pieces of timber of suitable
size and of a length about equal to the diameter of
the cylinder, so as to make the four arms equal in
length, and insert the axis thro’ the centres of two
crosses of frames of this kind. Let their distance
from each other be this kind of the length of the
cylinder and make them fast on the axis. The arms
of the two crosses are then connected by four
pieces, of the same length of the cylinder:
equidistant from the axis, and parallel to the same,
to each other. In each of the parallel pieces, on the
outside or side opposite the axis, a channel is made
lengthwise for the reception of a brush. The brush is
made of hog’s bristles, set in a manner somewhat
similar to that of setting the reeds in a manner
somewhat similar to that of setting the reeds in a
Weaver’s Sleigh. Between two strips of wood about
1/8 of an inch in thickness and half an inch in
breadth, is placed a small quantity of bristles; the a
strong thread or twine is wound round the sticks
close to the bristles; then another quantity of bristles
is inserted, &c, till a brush is formed equal in length
to the cylinder.* The bristles on the side a, a, Fig. 6,
are smeared with pitch or rosin and seared down
with a hot iron even with the wood, to prevent them
from drawing out. On the other side they are cut
with a chissel to the length of about an inch from
the wood. A brush of this kind is fixed in each of
the before mentioned channels.
The boxes as well as axis of the clearer, are like
those of the cylinder. The clearer is placed horizontal with the cylinder, parallel to it and at such a
distance, that while it revolves the ends of the
bristles strike with a small degree of friction on the
cylinder’s surface. Its use is to brush the cotton from
the teeth after it is forced thro’ the grooves and
separated from its seeds. It turns in a direction
contrary from that of the cylinder, and should so far
outrun it, as completely to sweep its whole
surface.+
A clearer with two brushes may be made by
simply screwing upon the axis the board K, Fig. 4,
and another similar board on the opposite side,
which leaves spaces for the insertion of the brushes
s, s. The clearer may be also formed of a cylinder
with grooves running lengthwise in it for the
reception of the brushes or in any other way, which
may be found convenient.
The number of brushes in the clearer is not
material; but let it be observed that the distance
from, e, to e, Fig. 1, between the brushes must be at
least 4, or 5 inches; otherwise the cotton will end up
round the clearer. The surface of the clearer moving
__________
*Perhaps nailing these strips together would be better than
winding them with twine. +The brushes may be fixed in a stock
which is movable by screws so as to bring them nearer or carry
them farther from the cylinder.
much faster than that of the cylinder, the brushes
sweep off the Cotton from teeth. The air put in
motion by the clearer and the centrifugal force of
the Cotton disengage it from brushes. Note, it is best
to set the brushes in the grooves in such a manner,
that the bristles will make an angle of about 20 or
25 degrees, with the diameter of the clearer, in the
direction, e, o, Fig. 1. By that means the bristles fall
more perpendicularly on the teeth, strike them more
forcibly, and clear off the cotton more effectually.
The clearer is put in motion by the cylinder, by
means of a band and whirls. These whirls are plain
wheels of solid wood, about 21/2 or 3 inches thick.
Their periphery is a spherical surface selling at the
centre, and sloping off at the edges. To give them
the proper shape, take a perfect globe of the same
diameter as your intended whirl; inscribe upon it a
circle dividing it into two equal parts; then cut the
globe on each side, parallel to the plane of this
circle, and at the distance from it of half the
thickness of your whirl. On these whirls runs a
leather band, the breadth of which answers to the
thickness of the whirls. The band may be broader or
narrower and the whirls thicker or thinner in
proportion as the resistance to be overcome is
greater or less. The reason for giving the whirls this
shape is to secure them the better from being
unbanded. A band of this kind always inclines to the
highest place on the whirl, and is much less liable to
be cast off from the work, when it turns on a
spherical surface, than when it runs in a groove in
the periphery of the whirl.
The whirls are four in number, and must be so
arranged as to make their central planes coincident.
The whirl E, Fig. 3, is fixed upon the end of the axis
of the cylinder without the frame, and the button A,
Fig. 5, is screwed on with the screw driver B, to
keep the whirl in its place. L, is put upon the axis of
the clearer in the same manner. P, Q, whose axes
are pivots made fast in the frame, are false whirls
added for two purposes; 1, to make the clearer turn
in a contrary direction from the cylinder; 2, for the
purpose of doubling the band more completely
round the small whirl L, so as to bring a greater
portion of the whirl’s surface into contact with the
band, increase the friction and consequently turn the
whirl more forcibly. The first of these purposes
might be accomplished by the addition of one false
whirl, but the second not so fully without two. The
dotted line, w, v, represents the band. The diameters
of the whirls E, L, should be so proportioned as to
produce a proper degree of velocity in the clearer.
The axis of the whirl Q, is fixed in a plate of Iron,
which is movable in a groove in the side of the
frame, and the band is made thither or looser by
moving the plate. This.
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arrangement of whirls produces the same movement
as a cog wheel and pinion, with much less friction
and expence, and without the rattling noise which is
always caused by the quick motion of cog wheels.
V. One side of the hopper is formed by the
breastwork, the two ends by the frame, and the other
side is movable so that, as the quantity of Cotton put
in at one time, decreases, it may slide up nearer the
cylinder, and make the Hopper narrower. This is
necessary in order to give the seeds a rotary motion
in the hopper, by bringing them repeatedly up to the
cylinder, till they are entirely stripped of cotton. D,
Fig. 1, is a section of the movable part of hopper.
The part from H to I, should be concave on the side
next the breastwork, or rather it should be a portion
of a hollow cylinder. Between H and y, is a crate of
wire thro’ which the sands and the seeds, as soon as
they are thoroughly cleansed, fall into a receptacle
below. The crate may be either fixed in the frame or
connected with the moveable part of the hopper.
The wires of which the create is made should be
large and placed perpendicular to the cylinder, that
the Cotton may turn the more easily in the hopper.
A few additional remarks will sufficiently show
the construction, use and operation of this machine.
The Cotton is put into the hopper, I, D, H, k, a,
u, s, Fig. 1, in as large a quantity as the cylinder will
put into motion. Some of the seeds become stripped
sooner than others. If it be black seed cotton, the
seeds, being smooth, will most of them fall through
the crate as soon as they are clean, but a
considerable part of the green seeds, which are thus
denominated from being covered with a kind of
green coat, resembling velvet, will continue in the
hopper. It will not answer therefore to supply it
gradually as the quantity in it diminishes, because
the seeds will soon grow cumbrous and by their
constant intervention prevent the teeth from
attaching themselves to the Cotton so fast as they
otherwise would: but one hopper full must be
finished, the moveable part drawn back, the hopper
cleared of seeds and the supplied with cotton anew.
There is a partition y, w, under the cylinder, on the
left hand of which, or the side beneath the hopper,
the seeds fall, and the clean cotton on the other side.
There may be a receptacle for the clean cotton in the
frame; but it is best to have an opening through the
wall or partition into a contiguous room, then place
the end of the machine against
this opening and let the cotton fly into a close room,
or it may fall through an opening in the floor into a
room below. This machine may be turned by horses
or water with the greatest ease. It requires no other
attendance than putting the Cotton into the hopper
with a basket or fork, narrowing the hopper when
necessary, and letting out the seeds after they are
clean. One of its peculiar excellencies is, that it
cleanses the kind called green seed cotton, almost as
fast as the black seed. If the machinery is moved by
water, it is thought it will diminish the usual labour
of cleaning the green seed cotton at least forty nine
fiftieths.
The foregoing is a Description of the machine for
cleansing cotton, alluded to in a Petition of the
Subscriber, Dated Philadelphia, June 20th, 1793,
and lodged in the Office of the Secretary of State,
alledging that he the Subscriber is the inventor of
said Machine, and signifying his desire of obtaining
an exclusive property in the same.
Eli Whitney
Signed in presence of
Chauncey Goodrich, Counsellor at Law Hartford
John Allen, Counsellor at Law Litchfield
State of Connecticut, ss. City of New Haven.
I, Elizur Goodrich, Esq. Alderman for said City,
and Notary Public, by lawful authority admitted and
sworn, residing in caid City, and by law authorized
to administer Oaths, Do hereby certify, declare and
make known to whom it doth or may concern:
That, at said City on this twenty eight day of
October one thousand seven hundred and ninety
three, Eli Whitney, of the County of Worcester in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, now resident
in said City, personally appeared before me, the said
Alderman and Notary, and made solemn Oath, that
he does verily believe that he said Whitney is the
true inventor and discoverer of the machine for
Ginning Cotton, a Description whereof is hereto
annexed by me the said Alderman and Notary by
my Seal Notarial, and that he the said Whitney
verily believes that a machine of similar
construction hath never before been known or used.
In Testimony whereof I the said
Alderman and Notary have hereunto
Said my Hand and Seal at the City
(L.S.)
Aforesaid on the day abovesaid.
Elizur Goodrich
Alderman & Not. Public
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CREATE YOUR PATENT
Date
Names
Block
Using the patent information on Handout 9D, create a patent for your invention.
The patent should have:
a) A title page with your name, the name of your invention, the date and a big red seal.
b) A written description of the background of your invention and of the "prior art" or
similar items that have been patented recently. Please include the following
information in your written description.
•
•
•
•
•
Why is this item / product needed?
What similar products are available?
What is wrong with them?
Why is your product better?
How is your product different?
c) A clearly labelled drawing and written description of your invention.
d) A claims section which describes the specific features of your invention that are new.
Your patent will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Organization
Creativity
Attention to detail
Appearance
10
10
5
10
_____
35 marks
93
ACTIVITY TEN : IRÈNE'S STORY : A CASE STUDY
Goal: To use a case study to examine the effect of gender on the recognition of
achievement in science.
Length of Activity: 55 minutes
Materials Needed:
Handouts 10A and 10B
Teacher Preparation:
1.
Photocopy a class set of Handout 10A.
2.
Photocopy a class set of Handout 10B.
Class Procedure:
1.
Teacher distributes Handout 10A.
2.
Students read the case study and ask any questions they need for clarification of
concepts.
3.
Teacher divides the class into groups of three or four and distributes Handout
10B.
4.
Class discussion may follow.
Suggestions for Evaluation:
1.
Research the life of Marie Curie, Irène Joilet-Curie, or another famous woman
scientist or discoverer. Write a series of seven diary entries describing one week
in their lives.
2.
Make a poster for a university recruitment featuring Marie Curie as a graduate.
3.
With a group, produce and perform a short play based on Irène's discussion with
her mother.
94
10A
IRÈNE'S STORY
Irène sat anxiously on the bench outside the meeting room where the institute's board was
meeting. She twisted her handkerchief into a tight coil, untwisted it, and started again.
This was the most nerve-wracking experience she had ever been through. There were so
many things to consider: What should she say if they offered her a position? What should
she say if they did not? What would they expect of her? What more could she have done
to ensure her own success? Having a famous mother was one thing. Being expected to
be as good as her mother was something else.
Irène Curie had heard the arguments before in reference to other women. "Yes, she has
done well in her studies, but look at Marie Curie." "Marie Curie's marks were much
higher. We have young men anxious for a position in this lab who have done just as
well." "Does a woman who can look to the rewards of a husband and children really need
a research position?" It seemed as though women seeking placements in science labs had
to be at least as good as Irène's mother had, even to be considered. Not all could measure
up to those standards, even those women who were clearly more qualified than the men
who did get the jobs.
Irène knew that she could do the job. She and her husband had received the Nobel prize
ten years before and no one doubted her contribution. She knew that for her husband,
such a position would have been assured. For her, though, there was uncertainty. She
knew that she had to show that she was more qualified than any other male applicant to
be assured the directorship.
As she waited nervously for the university board to decide her fate, Irène remembered a
time when, at fifteen, she asked her mother whether she should go to university as her
mother had.
"Certainly, I want you to go to university, dear," Marie Curie had told her daughter. "I
certainly hope, though, that you don't go there the way I did."
"What do you mean, Mama? Papa told me you were a wonderful student. That's what
the newspapers said last year when you got your second Nobel Prize. They had a whole
column about the wonderful work you had done there."
"They aren't talking about the university I am thinking of, but even the one they meant
looked very different to me, from the inside," Irène's mother had explained. "When I
grew up in Poland, it was illegal for girls to go on studying after they had left school.
Poland was completely under Russian influence and they had very oppressive laws about
women as well as about education. The Russian police were always on the lookout for
people who might be getting too educated. Men would often get beaten up for letting
their wives or daughters read too much. A woman could be sent away to prison camp to
die if anyone found out she was well educated or teaching others too much."
"How did you go to university, then?" Irène wanted to know.
"We had a secret university. It was very dangerous, but there was so much to know and
so many new and exciting things going on in the rest of Europe that a number of us,
young men and women, would meet in a room somewhere. One of us would stand guard
and the rest would discuss what we had read since the last meeting."
Irène had been amazed. "How could you ever learn like that? Weren't you scared?"
95
Her mother had smiled. "Yes, often I was scared, but the discussions with all of those
talented young minds prepared me for persuading others about the discoveries your father
and I made."
Irène couldn't help smiling as she remembered her mother's next remark and how well it
paralleled her own present situation.
"Besides," Marie Curie had whispered, "it prepared me for persuading the Sorbonne to
let me in."
"What do you mean?" Irène had asked.
"During my secret university days, I worked as a governess and at night I studied
everything I could about science and saved everything I possibly could for university fees.
Of course, I was also the only lab assistant my dear father could afford and learned much
about chemistry in his lab. I tried to teach myself the same things I would have learned
for a bachelor's degree as well as perfect my French so that I could come to the Sorbonne
to study. As now it was the finest university in the world and it was far enough away
from Poland to seem absolutely free of Russian influence. I didn't know that no other
woman had before even been admitted to the Sorbonne. To us, you see, with so little
news from the outside, the assumption that the rest of Europe was free with equality for
all, men and women, peasant and noble, was universal."
"But you were admitted to the university. Things were more free," Irène remembered
pointing out.
"Yes, I was admitted. Society was more free, but there wasn't perfect equality. Perhaps, if
I had known that I was going to a school that had never admitted a woman, or how skilled
they would require that I be in order to stay, I would have been intimidated. In some
ways my ignorance of how I would be thought of gave me the courage to go ahead."
"Mama, Papa said you were the most brilliant university student. He said that you
graduated at the top of the class in science and one year later received a second degree in
mathematics, third in your class. I could never do that," Irène had lamented.
"Of course you can do anything you put your mind to," was her mother's response. "I had
to convince all of the older men, and many of my own age, that women could do just as
good a job at research and study. Things are changing for women, now. You will have
an easier time of it. You will see."
But Irène had not had an easier time of it in some ways. Women had gained many more
rights and freedoms in the years since her mother had studied but it was still difficult to
convince them of your ability to contribute if you were a woman. Having a mother who
was the only person in history to win two Nobel prizes didn't seem to make much
difference. Many university boards and professors felt that you had to be as smart as
Marie Curie if you were a woman. Men were still judged on how well they had done
themselves. Now Irène was being considered for a challenging and exciting position as
director of the Radium Institute that her mother had founded. She wondered if after all
the successes she and her mother had enjoyed, if she would still have the same
opportunity a man would have had.
The door opened and a clerk said, "Madame Joilet-Curie, would you step this way
please."
96
10B
IRÈNE'S STORY : A CASE STUDY
Please discuss and answer the following questions:
1.
As you understand it, what is Irène's largest concern in obtaining the position she
is seeking? What things prevent a person from getting a job they want? What
kinds of things help a person get the things they want?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2.
How do you think things were different for a woman of Irène's mother's time as
compared with Irène? How are things different for women today as compared
with either of these?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3.
Irène grew up with a famous mother. What is your understanding of the effect of
a parent's fame on their children?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4.
How would you explain your society's evaluation of people's abilities based on
their gender? On their race? On their age?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5.
What is your understanding of the process by which scientists receive recognition
for their efforts, discoveries and inventions? What data supports your ideas?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
97
RESOURCES
VIDEOS
1.
2.
Video:
What If?
16 minutes 1/2" VHS colour 1990.
Cost: $49.95.
Summary of Video:
Seven successful female inventors are profiled in their
workplaces.
Recommended for:
This video is recommended for early and late
Intermediate Social Studies and Science courses.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project, Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario, M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax:
1-416-243-0688
Video:
Women Inventors.
15 minutes 1/2" VHS colour 1988.
Cost: $34.50.
Summary of Video:
Successful women inventors are interviewed
about their inventions.
Recommended for:
Science
This video is recommended for late Intermediate
and Marketing courses.
3.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario, M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax:
1-416-243-0688
Video:
Thingumajigs (Trouvailles ou bizarreries).
6 min. 16mm Sound film without words
1976.
Summary of Video:
ride
This is a film about creations, and the inventors who
them, drive them, row them, and look at them.
Unpredictable, the creations sometimes develop minds
of
their own.
Available from:
National Film Board,
1045 Howe Street, Suite 100,
Vancouver, B. C. V6Z 2B1
Telephone: 1-604-666-0716
Fax:
1-604-666-4647
98
RESOURCES
VIDEOS
4.
5.
Video:
This is My Invention.
22 min. 16 mm film
1967.
Summary of video:
An entertaining history of invention, showing how
Canadian inventors protect their brain children through
Canada's Patent and trade Mark Institute. The film
illustrates what a patentable invention is, and how it is
investigated to ensure that it is really new. Some recent
Canadian inventions that have found world markets are
shown. A film for all who invent things and all whose
lives are improved by new inventions.
Available from:
National Film Board,
1045 Howe Street, Suite 100,
Vancouver, B. C. V6Z 2B1
Telephone: 1-604-666-0716
Fax:
1-604-666-4647
Kit:
1993.
Canadian Women: Risktakers and Changemakers,
Poster, interactive computer database game and book.
Cost: $39.95
Summary of Kit:
This kit celebrates the lives and achievements of 158
Canadian Women Inventors.
Recommended for:
This kit is recommended for early and late intermediate
Social Studies and Science courses.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario, M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax: 1-416-242-0688
99
BOOKS FOR STUDENTS
1.
Marie Curie.
Lepscky, Ibi.
New York : Barron's,
1990. $5.95.
ISBN 0 8120 6340 6
Summary of Book:
2.
This book describes the childhood of Marie Curie,
discoverer of radium.
Inventing Women : Profiles of Women Inventors.
Panabaker, Janet.
Waterloo : Women Inventors Project,
1991 $10.70.
3.
Summary of book:
This book profiles modern women inventors.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax:
1-416-243-0688
Mothers of Invention : From the Bra to the Bomb, Forgotten Women and Their
Unforgettable Ideas.
Summary of book:
This book describes past and present women inventors.
Vare, Ethlie Ann and Ptacek, Greg.
New York : Quill William Morrow,
1987. $15.95.
ISBN 0 6880 8907 0
100
BOOKS FOR TEACHERS
1.
From Idea to Invention : Course Material For Teaching Invention and Inventors.
Barker, Susan and Beauchamp, Shelley and James, Ed.
Etobicoke, Ontario : Women Inventors Project,
1992. $32.10.
ISBN 0 9218 0806 2
2.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario. M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax:
1-416-243-0688
Summary of book:
From idea to invention, contains ideas and activities
about inventing and inventors.
Daughters of Invention : An Invention Workshop for Girls.
Etobicoke, Ontario : Women Inventors Project,
1988. $10.70.
3.
Available from:
Women Inventors Project Inc.,
1 Greensboro Drive, Suite 302,
Etobicoke, Ontario. M9W 1C8
Telephone: 1-416-243-0668
Fax:
1-416-243-0688
Summary of book:
Daughters of inventions is a handbook for planning an
inventor's workshop for girls.
Feminine Ingenuity : Women and Invention in America.
MacDonald, Anne L.
New York : Ballantine,
1992. $28.95.
ISBN 0 3453 5811 2
Summary of book:
4.
Feminine Ingenuity is a historical achievement of
American women inventors and the barriers they faced.
A Guide to Patents.
Available from:
Consumer and Corporate Affairs,
800 Burrard Street, Suite 1400.
Vancouver, B. C.
Telephone: 1-604-666-5007
FREE on request
Summary of book:
patent.
This book outlines the procedures for obtaining a
101
WOMEN INVENTORS EXHIBITION
EVALUATION FORM
1.
What did you like about this unit?
2.
What would you revise or change?
3.
What activities were the most or least successful?
4.
In what other areas of the curriculum would you like to see the contributions of
women developed?
Please mail to:
Judith Coffin, Teacher Librarian
Elgin Park Secondary School
13484 - 24th Avenue
Surrey, B. C. V4A 2G5
102