Inspiring Women
The Story of 5 Women and Their Incredible Inventions
Their amazing stories …and the men who stole all the credit.
Lillian Gilbreth
Lillian Gilbreth is known for many things, but perhaps most of all as one of the first women to “have it all” – a career as well as twelve children. It’s Lillian Gilbreth you have to thank for inventions such as the foot-pedal trash can and refrigerator door shelves. Also known as the mother from Cheaper by the Dozen, we’re guessing her 12 kids had something to do with her desire to make everything efficient.
She and her husband wrote several books together (we’re guessing she did most of the writing), however, Lillian was never named co-author because the publishers were concerned about the credibility of the books should it be known that a woman was one of the authors – despite the fact that Lillian had a doctorate and Frank had not attended university.
When her husband died suddenly of a heart attack at age 56, she became a single mother. Her attempt to forge on with the couple’s consulting business was put in jeopardy, as some companies refused to do business with a woman. Not one to be discouraged, she forged on and became quite successful.
Lillian is not only an inventor, but also a psychologist, management consultant, known as the ‘Mother of Modern Management’, and became the first female professor at Purdue’s engineering school. During her lifetime, this brilliant woman received many awards and honors, including twenty honorary degrees. She was the first female member of the Society of Industrial Engineers, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the first woman to receive the Hoover Medal for distinguished public service by an engineer, and was the first female psychologist to have a United States postage stamp issued in her honor.
Cindy Frazier
Maria Beasley is a life saver. Thanks to you, you saved a lot of lives!
Karla Alvarez
I will let my daughter read this. This should be at school too. A lot of people doesn’t have any idea who these women are, and men are underestimating women. This is a proof that women are not that easy.
Kelly Osborne
Informative article. Keep posting articles like this because we learn a lot from this. Some of these can’t be taught at school.
Myron Stephens
Women of Ancient Mesopotamia?? They are the inventors of the beer?!! Hail to them!!
Jodi Thornton
Those men should’ve known better! They took a big piece of those women’s lives! Let’s all be aware on who invented these amazing things. Thank you to those women who shared their ideas to the world. They could have improved their lives and lived it easy if those men didn’t steal their inventions.
Marsha Reed
There should be more originality in people. They need to stop stealing ideas.
Maggie Lawrence
I didn’t know this until today. Honesty is the best policy.
Lydia Erickson
At least we all know now that those ideas weren’t from those men.
Patricia Mann
They just oppressed these women because of their lack in decency!
Maxine Hanson
It’s so hard to be original nowadays as other people may have had that idea already. But then directly stealing other people’s ideas whilst fully aware that you are about to steal them is a different story.?
Catherine Lewis
Those men just ranaway with the money those women deserved. Sometimes it’s not even just because of money, it’s the act itself that’s disappointing!
Bernadette Garza
Wow, that’s a lame move. Women are so creative that men had to steal their ideas.
Pam Reyes
Isn’t it easier to be nice? And just acknowledge good deeds and not steal people’s ideas? I don’t get it.
Michele Adkins
Their ideas were awesome in general, which is why those men felt the need to steal their inventions.
Tara Norman
Now we know what they did and that’s even funnier.
Myra Sullivan
Informative stuff! Some of us need to be aware that this still happens nowadays.
Terri Ferguson
It does and it’s really sad that we keep on going back to the roots of evil. Just sad.