{"id":97718,"date":"2018-02-28T15:40:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T15:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=97718"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:38:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:38:24","slug":"5-women-whose-inventions-changed-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-women-whose-inventions-changed-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"5 women whose inventions changed the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thursday 8th March is Women\u2019s Day. To celebrate, we want to share some of the greatest female minds of our time, whose discoveries and inventions have the changed the world in positive ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of the women on this list fought prejudice and other adversity during their careers, and it\u2019s testament to their determination and extraordinary talent that we can recognise their achievements today. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>5 inspiring inventors who were women<\/h2>\n<h3><b>1.\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Patricia_Bath\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Patricia Era Bath<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-97722\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Patriciabath-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Patriciabath-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Patriciabath.jpg 307w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Patricia Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe in 1981 \u2013 a device for quickly and painlessly removing cataracts while simultaneously lubricating the eye. Cataracts are a common ailment of the elderly, causing confusion and stress. In 2000, Patricia received another patent for her invention, this time for the use of Ultrasound in cataract treatment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a black woman growing up in Harlem, she fought a predominately white, male-dominated field to help provide eye-care to racial communities, returning independence to their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center; width:100%; margin:12px 0;\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n  google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-8132844949421936\";\r\n  var google_ad_slot = '9677578764';\r\n  if (window.innerWidth <= 470) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 300;\r\n    google_ad_height = 50;\r\n  }\r\n  else if (window.innerWidth < 1360) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 468;\r\n    google_ad_height = 60;\r\n  }\r\n  else {\r\n    google_ad_width = 728;\r\n    google_ad_height = 90;\r\n  }\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>2.\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grace_Hopper#UNIVAC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Grace Hopper <\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-97721\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/grace-hopper-1-300x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/grace-hopper-1-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/grace-hopper-1.jpg 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grace Hopper revolutionized early computing. She programmed one of the first computers (IBM\u2019s Mark 1), which helped solve mathematical problems for The Manhattan Project (subsequently ending WWII), and created the first compiler \u2013 a system for converting English into machine code. Her work also inspired COBOL, one of the first programming languages which are still in use today.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As a woman who favored new ideas and approaches, she was often challenged and discouraged by her peers. But through skill and ingenuity, \u201cAmazing Grace\u201d, as she came to be known, shaped modern computing into what it is today.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3.\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rosalind_Franklin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Rosalind Franklin<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-97723\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/rosalind-franklin-300x276.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/rosalind-franklin-300x276.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/rosalind-franklin-768x706.jpg 768w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/rosalind-franklin.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins have largely taken credit for the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. But without Rosalind Franklin, who contributed vital image data (specifically image 51) to the project, the trio might never have won the Nobel Prize. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Franklin only received recognition for her contributions after she passed away. Since then, it\u2019s been argued that Wilkins showed image 51 to Crick and Watson without Franklin\u2019s permission and that she might\u2019ve deduced the structure of DNA on her own. Controversies, aside, there\u2019s no doubt that Franklin\u2019s work on DNA has helped to underpin a whole new branch of science. It\u2019s just a shame that Nobel doesn\u2019t allow posthumous awards.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center; width:100%; margin:12px 0;\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n  google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-8132844949421936\";\r\n  var google_ad_slot = '9677578764';\r\n  if (window.innerWidth <= 470) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 300;\r\n    google_ad_height = 50;\r\n  }\r\n  else if (window.innerWidth < 1360) {\r\n    google_ad_width = 468;\r\n    google_ad_height = 60;\r\n  }\r\n  else {\r\n    google_ad_width = 728;\r\n    google_ad_height = 90;\r\n  }\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n<h3><b>4.\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marie_Curie\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Marie Curie<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-97719\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/436px-Marie_Curie_c1920-218x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/436px-Marie_Curie_c1920-218x300.png 218w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/436px-Marie_Curie_c1920.png 436w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only woman to have been awarded one twice, Marie Curie has left an indelible mark on the world of science. She has been pivotal in our understanding of radioactivity, invented mobile X-Ray machines for use in the field during WWI, and discovered Polonium (named after her home country of Poland) and Radium. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Having been denied a place at Krakow University because she was a woman, Marie Curie overcame incredible odds to become one of the most important scientific figures in history. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>5.\u00a0<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Caresse_Crosby\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><b>Caresse Crosby<\/b><\/a><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-97720\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Caresse_Crosby_and_her_whippet-218x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"218\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Caresse_Crosby_and_her_whippet-218x300.jpg 218w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2018\/02\/Caresse_Crosby_and_her_whippet.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 218px) 100vw, 218px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Caresse Crosby improved the comfort of women everywhere by inventing the modern bra. Sick of the lung-crushing restriction of whalebone corsets, she strung together some handkerchiefs and realized the potential of a lighter, more flexible design. She was awarded the patent in November 1914, and women have been breathing easier ever since.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While it\u2019d be impossible to list all the women who\u2019ve changed the world in this post, I hope these five have inspired you to celebrate the many others who overcame incredible odds to make the world a better place for all of us.<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align:center;width:100%\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\nvar google_ad_client = \"ca-pub-8132844949421936\";\r\nvar google_ad_slot = '9677578764';\r\nvar google_ad_width = 300;\r\nvar google_ad_height = 250;\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"\r\nsrc=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\r\n<\/script>\r\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thursday 8th March is Women\u2019s Day. To celebrate, we want to share some of the greatest female minds of our time, whose discoveries and inventions have the changed the world in positive ways. Many of the women on this list fought prejudice and other adversity during their careers, and it\u2019s testament to their determination and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/5-women-whose-inventions-changed-the-world\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;5 women whose inventions changed the world&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9103,"featured_media":97856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":1},"categories":[],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-97718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328231,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97718\/revisions\/328231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97718"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=97718"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=97718"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=97718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}