Elizabeth Bell (inventor)
Elizabeth Bell (fl.1803–7) invented a chimney sweeping machine and received patents for this chimney-sweeping method in 1803.[1][2]
Bibliography[edit]
Elizabeth Bell was a little-known inventor who was identified as a spinster in Hampstead, London, on her first patent. She is known to have invented a chimney sweeping machine and received patents for this chimney-sweeping method in 1803.[3] She was most likely motivated by a famous movement at the time to end the practice of using children as chimney sweeps.[4] The desire for a technical approach to the issue was at the heart of the effort, with awards given by the Society for Superseding the Need of Climbing Boys and the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce (both of which still exist today as the Royal Society of Arts). About her invention, Elizabeth developed two different apparatus: the first was a wooden prism with sufficient length with fixed ledgers on the sides. These ledgers would be fitted with brushes or brooms of hair. The second, which was better in her opinion, was an elastic sweeper egg-shaped. In 1807, Mrs. Bell submitted improvements top her sweeping machine (Patent 3109), suggesting that chimneys may be constructed with an iron top frame and composed with "two semicircles".[1][2]
We don't know whether Bell attempted to enter her inventions for the awards. But her remedy had to be profitable, so it was evidently worth the substantial cost of securing a new patent four years later on some minor device improvements. Finally, George Smart's "scandiscope" was the most effective chimney-sweeping device; unlike Bell's clunky frame, which had to be put above the chimney, Smart's "scandiscope" was more compact and lightweight, and could be worked from the warmth of the hearth.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cullingford, B. (2001). British Chimney Sweeps: Five Centuries of Chimney Sweeping. Rowman & Littlefield. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Phillips, George L. (1950). "The Abolition of Climbing Boys". The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 9 (4): 445–462. doi:10.1111/j.1536-7150.1950.tb01557.x. ISSN 0002-9246. JSTOR 3483549. Retrieved 6 April 2021 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Woodcroft, B. (1854). Titles of Patents of Invention, Chronologically Arranged: From March 2, 1617 (14 James I.) to October 1, 1852 (16 Victoriae). GE Eyre & W. Spottiswoode. Search this book on
- ↑ Slagle, Judith Bailey (2012). "Literary Activism: James Montgomery, Joanna Baillie, and the Plight of Britain's Chimney Sweeps". Studies in Romanticism. 51 (1): 59–76. ISSN 0039-3762. JSTOR 24247292 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Howes, A. (2017). 11 Forgotten Women who Invented the British Industrial Revolution. Retrieved 6 April 2021. Search this book on
This article "Elizabeth Bell (inventor)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Elizabeth Bell (inventor). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
