Beulah Louise Henry (1887-1973) was one of the most prolific inventors of the 20th century, although she had no training in mechanics or engineering.  She became known as “Lady Edison” for the number of inventions she produced. None of them were big or world-shaking. Instead she invented children’s toys and devices that made daily life easier.

She created her first prototype for an invention when she was nine: a belt with holder attached that made it possible to read a newspaper when your hands were full. As with many of her later inventions, it was the result of observing a problem—in this case seeing a man struggling to read a newspaper while carrying his groceries.—and looking for a solution.

Patent drawing for her ice cream freezer

Henry received her first patent in 1912 for a vacuum sealed ice-cream freezer that needed very little ice to work—a major improvement since ice was in short supply before freezers became widely available for home use. A year later, she received patents for a handbag and an umbrella with interchangeable covers, allowing a woman to coordinate them with her outfits (Which sounds like a nuisance to me.)

Creating the invention and getting the patent was the easy part; getting someone to make her inventions was harder. In 1920, Henry and her parents moved to New York from their home in North Carolina to give her access to model makers, patent attorneys and retailers.

After Henry pounded lots of pavements and knocked on lots of doors, she founded her own company to make her parasol. Despite all the men who had said it wouldn’t work and wouldn’t sell, the product became a success and her rate of innovation picked up.

Henry focused next on toys, drawing her inspiration in part from watching children in New York’s playgrounds. Among other things, she created a core structure of springs made stuffed toys more flexible and durable, a spinning top to replace dice in board games and the ““Kiddie Clock” which helped children learn to tell time.

From toys, she moved to typewriters. Her first typewriter patent was the “protograph,” a device to attach to a typewriter that produced four copies without messy carbon paper. As was often the case, the final product seemed simple, but the engineering challenge was complex. The device had to work smoothly with hundreds of typewriter models that were on the market, as well as standard paper and ink ribbons. Henry received another twelve patents for improvements to typewriters. She then created the first bobbinless sewing machine, aimed at commercial rather than domestic seamstresses.

Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s, Henry and her team averaged more than two patents a year. In 1941, when the United States entered the war, Henry put her patent development process on hold and joined a machine shop as part of the war effort, where she directed her innovations to the question of material shortages

When reporters interviewed her about her successes, “Lady Edison” told them she just looked at something and though “There’s a better way of doing that.” By the end of her career, Henry held a total of 48 patents—she received a 49th posthumously. Far more patents than any other woman at the time. She is credited with over 100 inventions.