Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner once said, “ When she was growing up, all the scientific heroes and geniuses she learned about were men. Or more specifically, white men”.
Thus, she set out to become the only African American woman in history to have filed the most number of patents. She was only six years old when she tried her hands on inventing things.
Mary comes from a family of inventors, hence her love for inventing things didn’t come as a surprise to many people.
Her maternal grandfather had invented a tricolour light signal to guide trains, and her sister, Mildred Davidson Austin Smith, grew up to patent her own family board game and sell it commercially.
She mostly occupied herself with activities such as drawing models and patterns of new inventions from dawn to dusk every day.
She is an inspiration because she went through so many hurdles in life before realizing her dream, but she didn’t allow any of the challenges that came her way to deter her from pursuing her dreams.
In 1957 she filed a patent for her first-ever patent: a belt for a sanitary towel. eventually, she filed five patents in total, more than any other African-American woman in history.
She is also credited with inventing a serving tray and a soft pocket that is attached to walking frames. She believed anyone could become an inventor once they are determined to do so.
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