In the 1930s, Beulah Louise Henry was one of America’s most prolific inventors. Her brilliant ideas materialized into more than 100 inventions, including the machine to make ice cream in less time and the bobbinless sewing machine. And although her inventiveness led her to be nicknamed “Lady Edison,” the truth is that she was a genius on her own: a self-taught scientist and inventor who succeeded in the world of technology and made a living at it.
Beulah Louise Henry was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. As a child, she showed a great talent for music and drawing, and she was also extremely inquisitive: like many girls, she asked why everything was happening. And then she would think of ways to improve the way things that already existed worked. At the age of 25, she received her first patent, an ice cream machine that included a freezing chamber, surrounded by an insulating structure, with which it was possible to make ice cream with minimum waste of ice and also cooled water quickly.
Her inventions were often designed to make women’s lives easier. She invented the curling iron, a beauty case, a rubber sponge soap holder, and a handbag with interchangeable covers. That way, women who used it didn’t have to buy many that matched their outfit, but just one that they could easily adapt. She was also present in children’s toys: she did not invent dolls, but Beulah did invent a method to stuff them and make them weigh much less.
Beulah Louise Henry invented several umbrellas. One of them could fold up and take up minimal space (or, at least, much less compared to the parasols of the time), plus its detachable handle doubled as a makeup case. Another of his patents, from 1924, was similar to that of the bag with interchangeable covers: a parasol with canopies that could be changed to combine indistinctly and, in addition, prevented the passage of water. All these were marketed through her company, Henry Umbrella & Parasol Company, in which she earned a lot of money and was named one of the most outstanding scientists by Scientific American magazine.
In addition to beauty products and multiple useful umbrellas, Beulah Louise Henry invented toys for girls and boys, such as waterproof dolls that could change position (and immediately return to the original position), dolls that could open and close their eyes and change color, or radio dolls that could “talk.” Also, a game called Cross Country, in which a spinning top was used on a map to traverse the railroad lines of a country (a way for children to learn about geography and train routes).
Beulah Louise Henry passed in 1973, but she left a legacy of inventions that several companies used and for which she did receive credit. She also became an inspiration to all women who, like her, wanted to learn for themselves and find solutions to everyday problems.
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
