Margaret A. Wilcox
Early Life and Education
Margaret A. Wilcox was born in Chicago[citation needed] in 1938.[1] She went to St. Lawrence College and was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon, a society that promotes mathematics.[2]
Wilcox was one of the few female mechanical engineers at the time and earned an engineering degree.[citation needed] One of her first inventions was a combination clothing and dishwashing machine which she patented in 1980.[3][4](p59) The machine could be set up to include a washboard and had a boiler to warm the water.[5](pp46-47)
The issue with this early creation was not necessarily the invention itself, but the reality that it was illegal for women to file for patents at the time of its creation. Because of this reality, she had to file the patent under her husband's name. Although the machine was said to be an efficient appliance, it did not turn out to be a success. It is said that this failure is what fueled Margaret to keep applying her knowledge to innovations that could make the world a better place.
Remember those frigid mornings when you get in the car and you're absolutely freezing? Well, you have Margaret A. Wilcox to thank. She was the woman who invented the car heater. It all started in her early twenties when Wilcox discovered a problem: the people who traveled in railway cars (which were the only "cars" available at the time) were suffering from freezing cold temperatures during transportation in the winter months. Margaret was able to develop a way to move air across the engine so that it could be heated and transferred into the cabin. At the time, the invention was considered to be genius and was unmatched by any male inventor at the time. Not only did the invention heat the interior at the time but her invention also made transportation safer. The induction of heat in the cabin also kept the windows free of frost which would create a film over the glass and block the vision of the driver and passengers. Although the concept was incredibly unique, there was one issue with the concept. She discovered how to heat the air and funnel it into the cabin, but eventually the cabin would become too hot as the ride went on. The only solution to this at the time was continuously turning the heater on and off.
The design was later put into use by Ford in 1929[8] and was called the Hot Engine Air Model.[citation needed]
In 1893, Margaret filed for a patent under her own name for a radiator and car heater.[9]
She presented her work at the 1893 World's Columbian Fair.[10] Her patents belonged to the Wilcox Water Heating Company of Chicago.[3][11]
Other patents
- 1896 patent with Robert J. Gibbons to improve how cars are started and stopped[12][13]
- 1903 patent with Harry S. Stewart[14]
- device to culture cells[15]
In 2020, Inventor's Digest named Wilcox's patent for car heater one of their top ten patents by women.[16]
References
- ↑ Pacific Outlook (July-Dec. 1907). California State Library. Search this book on
- ↑ "INITIATES". Pi Mu Epsilon Journal. 3 (1): 47–55. 1959. ISSN 0031-952X. JSTOR 24338101.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 McGaw, Judith A. (January 1997). Inventors and other great women: Toward a feminist history of technological luminaries. 38. Technology and Culture; Baltimore. pp. 214–231. Search this book on
- ↑ Autumn Stanley (1995). Mothers and daughters of invention. Internet Archive. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2197-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Jaffé, Deborah (2003). Ingenious women : from tincture of saffron to flying machines. Internet Archive. Stroud : Sutton. ISBN 978-0-7509-3030-7. Search this book on
- ↑ Blackstock, Elizabeth (April 10, 2021). "Meet Margaret Wilcox, The Woman Who Invented The Car Heater". Jalopnik. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ↑ Godin, Barb (2021-04-30). "Women of Interest---Margaret Wilcox". The Voice. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ↑ Margeit, Rob (2021-06-19). "Margaret A. Wilcox, keeping you warm and toasty in your car since 1893". Drive. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
- ↑ United States. Patent Office (1893). Annual report of the Commissioner of Patents for the year . Smithsonian Libraries. Washington : G.P.O. Search this book on
- ↑ Pilato, Denise E. (2016). "Illumination or Illusion: Women Inventors at the 1893 World's Columbian Fair". Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1998-). 109 (4): 374–399. doi:10.5406/jillistathistsoc.109.4.0374. ISSN 1522-1067. JSTOR 10.5406/jillistathistsoc.109.4.0374.
- ↑ Autumn Stanley (1995). Mothers and daughters of invention. Internet Archive. Rutgers University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-8135-2197-8. Search this book on
- ↑ Allen, James T. (James Titus) (1900). Digest of United States automobile patents from 1789 to July 1, 1899, including all patents officially classed as traction-engines for the same period. Chronologically arranged ... together with lists of patents in the classes of portable-engines, traction-wheels, electric locomotivs, and electric railway battery systems ... The Library of Congress. Washington, D.C. : H. B. Russell & Company. Search this book on
- ↑ The Horseless age. University of Michigan. New York : Horseless Age Co. 1895. Search this book on
- ↑ Electrical World and Engineer 1905-08-19: Vol 46 Iss 8. Internet Archive. McGraw Hill Publications Company. 1905-08-19. Search this book on
- ↑ The Journal Of The American Medical Association(47). Chicago, The American Medical Association. 1906. Search this book on
- ↑ "Patents by Women: Our Top 10 List". Inventors' Digest. 36 (9). September 2020. p. 35.
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