Born: 15 August 1866, United States
Died: 12 September 1927
Country most active: United States
Also known as: NA
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women creator Allison Tyra’s book Uncredited: Women’s Overlooked, Misattributed, and Stolen Work.
Many women inventors have fallen into obscurity because they could not secure investment to initiate production. Isaac K. Shero is credited as the inventor of the first patented hair straightener—but an African-American woman beat him to it by more than fifteen years. The first patent for a hair straightener was filed on November 3, 1893 by Ada Harris, who lived in Indianapolis—home of the famed African-American beauty product inventor and business mogul Madame C. J. Walker. Although she tried to find investors to support her product, it never got off the ground. Unlike Walker, Harris was never able to sell her invention, and Shero patented his own version of the product in 1909.