This article first appeared on our blog in March 2019. Whilst recording the many histories of millers in our collections, I came across a very flowery yet fascinating obituary for a man named Alfred Jermy, “The Old Miller of Sidestrand and Poppyland” by Jessie Robinson, published in the Great Eastern Railway Magazine. Reading through the article,…
“The only sound knowledge I possess is the realization of my own little worth” Betty Julia Sullivan was a female pioneer in the field of chemical engineering, where she won several prestigious awards against strict competition. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (31 May 1902), Betty was by all accounts quite an all-round character, often seen playing…
Ella Cora Hind was born in Toronto in 1861 to parents Edwin and Jane, with Huguenot and English stock on one side and Irish Loyalist on the other. She and her two younger brothers lost both parents at an early age. After their mother’s death they moved to Artemesia, Grey County, Ontario, to live with…
Born in Lexington, Massachusetts, Amy Smith is an inventor, teacher and founder of MIT D-Lab and Senior Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. She has also been described in an interview, admittedly as long ago as 2006 as an inventor, “a practitioner of humanitarian engineering, who wants to solve everyday problems for rural families in…
Margaret was born in York, Maine – one of a large family and was, according to historian Henri Petroski, known around town for making toys for her brothers, such as kites and sleds which she built by hand. Her father died when she was still a child which meant the family relocating to New Hampshire.…
Hannah Wilkinson Slater (15-12-1774 – 02-10-1812) Hannah Wilkinson Slater was an early American pioneer and inventor. She grew up in a Quaker family, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; one of 8 children of Lydia and Oziel Wilkinson. Oziel was a successful businessman and was a business partner of Moses Brown – who introduced him to another…
Sybilla Righton Masters can lay claim to being the first person living in the American colonies to be awarded an English patent – two in fact, and possibly the first female machinery inventor in America. Of course, as a woman these patents could not be registered in her own name but in that of her…
An interesting candidate for this archive – her links to milling are somewhat tenuous – the link being green energy and its storage. This is also a problem for wind power and waterpower users. Maria is best known for her invention of the solar water distiller and the first solar-powered heating system designed for residences. …
Maria Christina Bruhn was Sweden’s first female inventor in the field of military technology. Born in Stockholm in 1732, she was the eldest of three daughters of the book printer/bookkeeper (sources differ) Johan Bruhn who had died during their childhood in 1742. Three weeks after his death her mother Inga Christina was awarded a licence…
Countess Eva Ekeblad née Eva De La Gardie (10/07/1724 – 15/05/1786) was born into the Swedish aristocracy, and was a salon hostess, scientist and agronomist. She was married to politician Count Claesson Ekeblad at the age of 16 and they had 7 children in all. She became known as an agronomist – “An expert in…
