If you had to name an inventor, would it be a woman? Like their male counterparts, women inventors represent all segments of American society, but their stories are often overlooked or undervalued. Picturing Women Inventors highlighted the distinctive motivations, challenges, and accomplishments of exceptional 20th- and 21st-century inventive women who are diverse both personally and professionally. Presented in bold wall murals, with text in English and Spanish, the exhibition illustrated the creativity of women inventors while inspiring young people (especially girls) to see themselves as future inventors.
Ophthalmologist and surgeon Dr. Patricia Bath (1942–2019) invented the Laserphaco Probe in 1981 to make cataract removal faster, easier, more accurate, and less invasive. Courtesy of Eraka Bath, MD
Woman with medical equipment
Marion O’Brien Donovan, around 1988, with one of her later inventions—the Big Hang-Up closet organizer. Marion O'Brien Donovan Papers, 1949-1996, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, AC0721-0000044
Woman displaying filing system
Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992), became one of the first programmers, writing code for the Mark I electromechanical computer. Grace Murray Hopper Collection, 1944-1965, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, AC0324-0000033
Twelve-year-old Alexis Lewis invented a rescue travois for families fleeing famine in Somalia in 2011. Photo by Michelle Fishburne
