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Year:1888​

Who: Miriam E. Benjamin (1861-1947)​

Where: Washington, DC​

What: In 1888, Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin made history as the second African American woman to receive a U.S. patent, revolutionizing service industries with her invention of the gong and signal chair. Born in 1861 in Charleston, South Carolina, Benjamin later moved to Boston with her family before establishing herself in Washington, D.C. There, she worked as an educator, a government clerk, and an inventor, blending her diverse talents with her desire to create practical solutions.

The gong and signal chair, her most renowned invention, featured a notification system that allowed a seated individual to press a button, triggering a gong sound and raising a visible red flag to summon assistance. This ingenious device aimed to improve efficiency and comfort in hotels, theaters, and healthcare facilities. Benjamin even lobbied for its use in the U.S. House of Representatives, where its design inspired later systems for paging attendants. Today, echoes of her invention can be seen in the signaling systems used on airplanes.

Benjamin’s inventive spirit extended beyond her chair. In 1917, she patented a system for delivering medication through inserts placed in shoe soles, demonstrating her foresight in healthcare innovation. These achievements were all the more remarkable given the challenges she faced as a Black woman in post-Reconstruction America. Miriam Benjamin’s legacy is a testament to her ingenuity, resilience, and ability to imagine a better world.

Sources:

Journal Articles:

  • Swanson, K. W. (2022). Centering Black women inventors: Passing and the patent archive. Stanford Technology Law Review, 25, 305.

Websites:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US386289A/en​


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Johns Hopkins University
2800 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21218

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