Margaret E. Knight
Margaret E. Knight was a female inventor in the 19th century. She faced many difficulties, but those little difficulties never stopped her from doing what she loved most. Inventing. Young Knight was a lovely girl, she would tinker with woodworking tools, trying to create all these amazing things. One day, when she was around the age of 12 she went to her brothers cotton mill. Some say when she was there she witnessed a man being killed by a machine malfunction. Knight decided that she would help, at the age of 12 Margaret designed a mechanism that made the machine turn off if something bad were to happen. Of course, young Knight had no idea of what a “patent” was and she never profited from her invention, but the mechanism
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was adopted by cotton mills across the nation. Young Knight certainly made a difference in the world. Early life + Childhood Margaret was raised in Manchester, but was born in York, Maine on February 14, 1838. Not a lot of information was stated about her “early life or childhood” but from my understanding, she had a pretty straight forward education and she had three siblings, two brothers and a sister. Growing up Knight always had a knack for creating things. She loved to tinker with woodworking tools and try to create all sorts of things. Some say at the age of twelve she went to visit her brothers at their job on a cotton mill, there she witnessed a worker being killed from a machine malfunction. That death sparked the idea of a mechanism that would turn off a machine if something was about to go wrong. At the age of twelve Margaret E. Knight had made a mechanism that was adopted by cotton mills across the nation. Adulthood and Hometown/country There are no records of her going to college or anything like that. She instead worked on a cotton mill from the ages twelve to eighteen and then proceeded to move to Springfield, Massachusetts. Once she moved to Springfield, Knight started working for the paper bag industry. While Knight worked at the paper bag factory she discovered the discomfort of hand folding flat-bottom paper bags. Knight soon found out how to create a machine that would produce flat-bottomed paper bags. Her invention was stolen by Charles Annan who received a patent for the machine before she could. Later on she filed an application for a lawyer. Around a month later she received the patent. Knight’s adulthood was her time in the spotlight. She also created many different things, such as: Dress and skirt shield – 1883 Clasp for robes – 1884 Reel for spinning or sewing machine – 1884 Barbecue Spit – 1885 Several sole-cutting machines for shoemaking – 1890 Numbering machine – 1894 Window frame and sash – 1894 Achievements, Later Life and Legacy Knight created many things and received many different awards in her lifetime.
She was decorated by Queen Victoria, she received 27 patents in her lifetime, a huge achievement for a female inventor in the 19th century. Her later life wasn’t too big of a deal. She died at the age of 76, on October 12, 1914, and was later buried in Newton, Mass. She died of pneumonia and gallstones. When she died she had an estate valued at less than 300$. Although she had many brilliant inventions, most of them were not taken seriously due to the fact that she was a female inventor in the 19th century. Her most significant invention was definitely the machine that created ‘flat-bottomed’ paper bags. Needless to say, Margaret Knight was quite successful and had quite the interesting life. She is definitely remembered to the world today as one of the first woman to ever receive a patent, nonetheless 27.
Margaret Knight was an amazing inventor, although she wasn’t treated as a ‘true inventor’ back at home many still thought her inventions were revolutionary. Just because she wasn’t adored by everyone didn’t stop her from doing what she does best, inventing. She always tinkered with woodworking tools growing up and grew up loving to build things. Knight was born on February 14, 1838 and died October 12, 1914. Margaret E. Knight will always be
remembered.
In "A Lady in a Machine-Shop," Susan Bivin Aller uses creativity, determination, and confidence to demonstrate how they led Margaret Knight to succession as an inventor. Knight and her family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire when she was at a young age. At the age of twelve, Knight witnessed a mill worker injured by a steel-tipped shuttle. This motivated her to create a safety mechanism, her first invention, to prevent any further injuries in cotton mills.
Clarissa Harlowe Barton, born on December 25, 1821, in North Oxford, Massachusetts. Carissa (Clara) was born the youngest of five children to Sarah and Steven Barton. Clara received all of her schooling and life training from her parents, brothers and sisters. Her father who was a once a captain in a war, taught Clara all he knew about the battlefield. Her mother taught her to sew and cook. Her two older sisters Sally and Dorothy taught her to read before she was four years old. Her brother Stephen taught her arithmetic and David her eldest brother taught her everything else; for instance, how to ride anything on anything with four legs, how to shoot a revolver, how to balance and how to take care of and nurse animals. (OTQEF, 1999, p.1) When Clara was 11 years old her favorite brother David, fell from the roof of the barn while trying to fix it, he was seriously injured and was not expected to live. Clara offered to help him and stayed by his side for three years. Her brother recovered thanks to Clara’s help. These learning experiences gave Clara the drive and determination to achieve anything she set out...
Clara Barton was born during 1821 in Massachusetts. As a young child, Barton learned a great deal of schooling from her older siblings; she learned a wide variety of different subjects. She seized every educational opportunity that she was given and she worked hard to receive a well rounded-education. Clara Barton would later use her education to create her own school and eventually help start an organization that is still used today. As a young child, Clara was extremely shy; nevertheless, after many years she was able to overcome this. Even as a young child Clara thrived helping others. She tended to her sick brother who was severely injured by a roofing accident on a regular basis. The skills she learned from helping her brother proved to be used again when she was on the front-line of the Civil War helping wounded soldiers.
The Industrial Revolution was an era between 1780 and 1850 where new inventions and machinery flourished, replacing human labor with machines in the production and manufacturing of goods. The Cottage Industry helped give rise to the Industrial Revolution with its inventions such as the flying shuttle, spinning jenny, water frame, and spinning mule, all of which were mainly operated by women. This opened new opportunities for women in the working industry but this also introduced working class injustices, gender exploitation, and standard-of-living issues. Women 's experiences in factories reflected the profound social changes of the revolution and continuities with traditional working-class ways of life through their poor working conditions, demoralization, and little reward for their hard work.
Although the world refers to her as Molly Brown, those who really knew her called her “Maggie”. Margaret ‘Maggie’ Tobin Brown became well known around the world for her actions during the Titanic tragedy when the press first dubbed her the “Unsinkable Molly Brown”. Margaret’s other achievements in her life a lot of times go unnoticed, but this woman led a very accomplished life. Margaret was born in Hannibal, Missouri to Irish immigrants John and Johanna Tobin in July of 1867. The Tobin’s had strong progressive views that valued education, so Margaret went to school until she was 13 years old when she began work in a factory stripping tobacco leaves at Garth’s Tobacco Company in Hannibal.
Clara Barton is a very important health pioneer. Clara Barton started the Red Cross in America which is still in operation today. She overcame many obstacles throughout her life and many people telling her she couldn’t do it. She is an inspiration to everyone. She grew up and her life began in North Oxford, Massachusetts, she was inspired by Florence Nightingale, she helped during and after wars, she helped with her ill family and battled her own depression, she started the Red Cross after much hard work and even after all that resigned and still made an impact (Cobb, 2014).
All fields of science affects the lives of many people, but the inventors are left out. Inventors make many lives more comfortable and convenient. George Edward Alcorn, Jr. was a not so well-known inventor, but he...
...the Civil War. She stood up for the lot of injured soldiers, and imbued in them a ripple of hope. “She was perhaps the most perfect incarnation of mercy the modern world has known,” said the Detroit Free Press after her death in 1912 (Manning 122). She struck out injustices, as she advocated for equal rights and compensation for women, as well as women’s suffrage. She was persistent and stood up for her ideal of the necessity of the American Red Cross and the ratification of the Geneva Convention. Clara Barton is the true epitome of a hero, as her heroic acts and beliefs serve as an inspiration for others, and continue to have a lasting impact on the world to this very day. The New York Globe’s
The industrialization of the nineteenth century was a tremendous social change in which Britain initially took the lead on. This meant for the middle class a new opening for change which has been continuing on for generations. Sex and gender roles have become one of the main focuses for many people in this Victorian period. Sarah Stickney Ellis was a writer who argued that it was the religious duty of women to improve society. Ellis felt domestic duties were not the only duties women should be focusing on and thus wrote a book entitled “The Women of England.” The primary document of Sarah Stickney Ellis’s “The Women of England” examines how a change in attitude is greatly needed for the way women were perceived during the nineteenth century. Today women have the freedom to have an education, and make their own career choice. She discusses a range of topics to help her female readers to cultivate their “highest attributes” as pillars of family life#. While looking at Sarah Stickney Ellis as a writer and by also looking at women of the nineteenth century, we will be able to understand the duties of women throughout this century. Throughout this paper I will discuss the duties which Ellis refers to and why she wanted a great change.
19th-Century Women Works Cited Missing Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail, as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so. One of the most common expectations for women is that they are responsible for doing the chore of cleaning, whether it is cleaning the house, doing the laundry.
She used this to address the issue of women’s rights to work the same job as men. She also wrote several articles in which she discussed the struggle for women in the workplace. In the 1880s and 90s, the State Department selected her to be a delegate at a gathering in Switzerland called the Congress of Charities. For several years to come she spoke on world peace, and in 1912 she retired from practicing law. A few years before her death she traveled to Europe to give on last speech to women, encouraging them to continue her life’s work of obtaining women’s rights in a male dominated world. After nearly 40 years of advocation for women and practicing law she passed away in 1917, just three years shy of seeing women obtain the right to vote.
When most people think of the Scientific Revolution, they think of scientists such as Galileo, Newton, Brahe, and Boyle. However, many people do not even know about the many women who played a vital role in the scientific advancements of this period. Even when these women were alive, most of society either ignored them or publicly disapproved their unladylike behavior. Because of this, these women were often forgotten from history, and very little is known about the majority of them. Although their names rarely appear in history books, the female scientists of the Scientific Revolution still impacted the world of science in several ways. In fact, all of the scientists listed above had a woman playing an influential role assisting them in their research. However, assisting men in their studies was not the only role open to women; several women performed experimentation and research on their own, or advancing science in some other way, even though the society of the time looked down upon and even resisted their studies.
see her work was not in vain. And that the revolution she and other ladies of
During the 1800s, society believed there to be a defined difference in character among men and women. Women were viewed simply as passive wives and mothers, while men were viewed as individuals with many different roles and opportunities. For women, education was not expected past a certain point, and those who pushed the limits were looked down on for their ambition. Marriage was an absolute necessity, and a career that surpassed any duties as housewife was practically unheard of. Jane Austen, a female author of the time, lived and wrote within this particular period. Many of her novels centered around women, such as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, who were able to live independent lives while bravely defying the rules of society. The roles expected of women in the nineteenth century can be portrayed clearly by Jane Austen's female characters of Pride and Prejudice.
Margaret was no luckier than others. She deserved it. Margaret Thatcher, nicknamed “The Iron Lady”, was later known to the whole world as the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the leader of the Conservative Party. Nothing is impossible. Her...