Invention and Engineering
Women have a rich history in engineering and invention, often as women have been at the forefront of manual labour. The early inventors on this list were, in the majority, inventors due to necessity, rather than enjoyment (although there is no reason why the two need to be mutually exclusive).
Some of the women in this section are known for the invention or engineering of one particular device (such as a corset or telephone wire), others have over 100 different patents in their names).
Moving to the modern era, a significant proportion of the women here have progressed their engineering careers to become astronauts, and thus should also be remembered as women who have often taken a step into a deep, dark, and inhospitable universe.
17th-18th century
Sybilla Masters (1675 – 1720) – American Inventor
Maria Christina Bruhn (1732 – 1802) – Swedish Chemist and Inventor
Mary Dixon Kies (1752 – 1837) – American Inventor
Catharine Littlefield Greene (1755 – 1814) - American Inventor
Hannah Slater (1774 – 1812) – American Inventor
Tabitha Babbitt (1779 – 1853) – American Inventor
19th century
Mary Brush (fl.1815) – American Inventor
Martha Jane Coston (1826 – 1904) – American Inventor
Mary Walton (c.1827 - ?) - American Inventor
Hanna Hammarström (1829 – 1909) - Swedish Inventor
Maria E. Beasley (1836 – 1913) - American Inventor
Margaret E. Knight (1838 – 1914) - American Inventor
Josephine Garis Cochrane (1839 – 1913) - American Inventor
Emily Warren Roebling (1844 – 1903) – American Civil Engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge
Ellen F. Eglin (c.1848 – 1890) - American Inventor
Hertha Marks Ayrton (1854 – 1923) – English Engineer and Inventor
Ida Henrietta Hyde (1857 – 1945) – American Physiologist and Inventor
Elizabeth Bragg (1858 – 1929) – American Structural Engineer
Kate Gleason (1865 – 1933) - American Engineer
E. Lilian Todd (1865 – 1937) – American Airplane Designer
Mary Anderson (1866 – 1953) – American Inventor
Elmina T. Wilson (1870 – 1918) – American Structural Engineer
Florence Parpart (1873 – 1930) - American Inventor
Alda H. Wilson (1873 – 1960) – American Structural Engineer
Raymonde de Laroche (1882 – 1919) – French Engineer and Pilot
Alice Jacqueline Perry (1885 – 1969) – Irish Civil Engineer
Alice H. Parker (1895 – 1920) - American Inventor
20th century - present
Maria Telkes (1900 – 1995) - Hungarian Inventor
Irmgard Flugge-Lotz (1903 – 1974) – German Mathematician and Engineer
Elsie MacGill (1905 – 1980) – Canadian Aeronautical Engineer
Mary Golda Ross (1908 - 2008) - American Aerospace Engineer
Florence van Straten (1913 – 1992) – American Aerological Engineer
Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler (1914 – 2000) - Austro-Hungarian Inventor
Ruth Benerito (1926 – 2013) – American Inventor and Chemist
Mary Jackson (1921 – 2005) - American Engineer
Giuliana Tesoro (1921 - 2002) - Italian-American Chemist
Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922 – 1999) - American Inventor
Bette Nesmith Graham (1924 – 1980) - American Inventor
Frances Hugle (1927 – 1968) – American Engineer and Inventor
Evi Nemeth (1940 – 2013) – American Engineer
Valerie Thomas (1943 - ) – American Inventor
Mary Cleave (1947 - ) – American Environmental Engineer
Bonnie J. Dunbar (1949 - ) – American Engineer and Astronaut
Ann Dowling (1952 - ) – British Mechanical Engineer
Frances Arnold (1956 - ) – American Chemical Engineer
A. Catrina Coleman (1956 - ) – Scottish Electrical Engineer
Mae Jemison (1956 - ) – American Engineer and astronaut
Susan Helms (1958 - ) – American Engineer and astronaut
Ellen Ochoa (1958 - ) – American Engineer and Astronaut
Arati Prabhaker (1959 - ) - American Engineer
Kalpana Chawla (1962 – 2003) - Indian-American Aerospace Engineer
Mandy Chessell (1965 - ) – British Engineer and Computer Scientist
Anousheh Ansari (1966 - ) - Iranian-American Engineer and Astronaut
Claire F. Gmachi (1967 - ) – Austrian Electrical Engineer
MiMi Aung (1968 - ) - Burmese-American Engineer
Christina Koch (1979 - ) - American Electrical Engineer and Astronaut
Sirisha Bandla (1988 - ) - Indian-American Aeronautical Engineer
Katie Bouman (1989 - ) – American Engineer and Computer Scientist
Lauren Gardner (fl.2000s) - American Engineer
Salinee Tavaranan (fl.2000s) – Thai Mechanical Engineer