March is National Women’s History Month, and we are proud to honor the many women who affect our lives every day. Throughout history, women have contributed to the strength and growth of this country in a multitude of social, economic and cultural ways and have been leaders in every important movement, from Abolitionism to Civil Rights. This month, we celebrate and thank the generations of women who have pushed boundaries, challenged inequality, and shown the spirit, courage and determination necessary to change the world.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, this booklet highlights many of the inventions, achievements, discoveries and innovations that have been brought to us by women. You might be surprised to learn that some of the following ingenious inventions came from the minds of women! It is important to keep in mind that up until the early 1800s, women were not allowed the equal rights of property ownership necessary to obtain a patent, so many applied for patents under a man’s name, making it impossible to know how many inventions can truly be attributed to them.

Click Here to download the Booklet.

- From the Minds of Women »

- Did you Know? »

• 21-year-old architect Maya Lin won a national competition in 1981 to design and build the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, DC
  
  
• The first African-American woman to enter space was Mae Jemison when she was a crewmember of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, September 1992.
  
  
• Paleontologist Sue Hendrickson made headlines for finding the largest, most well-preserved T-Rex yet discovered.
  
  
• Gertrude Eliot won the Nobel Prize for inventing a drug that fights leukemia, and was the first woman inventor to be inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame.
  
  
• Up until the 1960s, newspapers published their want ads in two parts – one for men and another for women.
  
  
• The first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848.
  
  
• Toni Morrison was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993.
  
  
• While some contest the validity of her nomination, many cite Victoria Woodhull as the first woman to run for President of the United States in 1872.
  
  
• In 1910, Elinor McGrath and Florence Kimball were the first women to graduate veterinary school. They were among the first to specialize in pet care.
  
  
• Kevlar, the material used in bullet-resistant body armor and aerospace equipment, was invented by Stephanie Kwolek in 1966.