Born: 12 December 1826, United States
Died: 9 July 1904
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.
Martha Coston worked for 10 years to perfect and then patent her late husband’s idea for a pyrotechnic flare. Working off only a rough sketch, Coston was the one who made the idea a reality in every sense, developing an elaborate system of flares that would allow ships to communicate at night. Yet on the patent, she was listed only as “administratrix,” with her long-dead husband credited as inventor. The U.S. Navy bought the rights, and her work helped save lives and win battles. In 1871, she was granted a patent in her own right for an improvement on the system.
Read more (Wikipedia)
Read more (How Stuff Works)
Read more (History of American Women)