Elizabeth Magie: 

Elizabeth Magie had many careers over her lifetime; she was an engineer, writer, and news reporter. However, her most successful product was what’s now known as the board game Monopoly. She originally created the game to play among friends before applying for a patent in 1903 and releasing the game in 1906 after moving to Chicago, IL. However, the Parker Brothers Co. published her card game, Mock Trial. But there was no evidence that it was protected by a British patent, and she did not receive any money from the profits. In addition to that, in 1932, Monopoly was published by The Adgame Company from Washington, D.C.  

Lise Meitner: 

Lise Meitner’s nuclear fission research officially began in 1926, twenty years after she became the second woman to receive a doctorate degree at the University of Vienna. While Meitner was residing in Germany, antisemitism skyrocketed, forcing her to flee to Sweden, leaving all of her belongings and findings. In 1938, Lise Meitner met with Otto Han and Fritz Strassman to further the two men’s hypothesis of nuclear power. After meeting with them and performing tests over time, Meitner discovered that the uranium nucleus had split in two and coined the term “nuclear fission.” Unfortunately, the story ends the same way, Otto Hahn received the Nobel Peace Prize in Chemistry, and yet again, a woman did not receive the credit she deserved. 

Ada Lovelace:

The current computer algorithm base that we use every day was originally created in 1842 by Ada Lovelace. Ada Lovelace was educated by private tutors in her youth and later educated herself further in science and mathematics. Ada Lovelace became fascinated with Charles Babbage’s concepts of a computer and computer program. The concept originally came from Charles Babbage; however, it was Ada Lovelace who designed and altered the Analytical Engine so it could compute Bernoulli numbers. Although Ada Lovelace designed some essential parts to the Analytical Engine, it is Charles Babbage who is credited as the “father of computers.”

Sarah Mather:

 Much is unknown about Sarah Mather, due to the fact that women and their contributions were often neglected in society during the 1850s. However, what we do know is that in 1845, Sarah Mather earned a patent for the invention of the submarine telescope. Although it was originally invented for safely and clearly cleaning ships’ hulls it was later used in submarines during wartime to be able to see underneath the water. Later, in 1864, she applied for an improvement patent for the submarine telescope. Not much is known about what improvements were made. However, it is speculated that they were for light refraction and clearer sight. Again, through all of this, Sarah Mather was overlooked, and the credit went to her son, who although he worked on the invention, mainly assisted.

Florence Parpart:

Prior to 1913, households in the USA used iceboxes to refrigerate items in the kitchen. However, there were many problems with this; for example, ice melts and can damage the cabinet and food inside. So Florence Parpart, who was trained in stenography and was working for an Eastern sanitary company, decided to improve the icebox. Electricity had recently become known with the invention of the lightbulb, however, Florence Parpart didn’t know much about it, so she decided to have her husband teach her. Through trial and error, she built a prototype that would be the first electric refrigerator. This device entailed water being cooled by electricity, which then ran around the sides of the box to keep the air inside cool. Even though she had done at least half of the work, most likely more, it was still her husband that received the fame and money for it.

Maria Anne Mozart:

Wolfgang Mozart is well known for his many compositions; however, not many know about his sister, the true child prodigy. At only thirteen years old, she went on a three-year grand tour of northwestern Europe, having already been well known at the time as a child prodigy. However, at seventeen, her music career came to an end. Even though her father claimed it was because she had fallen ill many times on the tours, historians speculate that it was because she had reached marrying age. She officially married at age thirty-three, and her brother went on to be in history books. 

Sacagawea: 

During the Lewis and Clark expedition, Sacagawea was responsible for navigation through the Montana and Idaho areas due to the fact that she grew up inside the Shoshone and Hidatsa tribes that resided in the area. While she was not responsible for navigation of the whole expedition, she also translated, foraged, and acted as a healer for the men in the expedition party. However, even though she helped Lewis and Clark map out the areas of two states, negotiated and provided food and supplies for the party, ultimately it was only her husband who got paid and Lewis and Clark who got the credit. 

Hedy Lamarr: 

Hedy Lamarr was most well known for her beauty and acting roles in the 20th century; however, her beauty overshadowed her genius innovations and inventions in many areas. She designed a new type of plane wings for pilot and businessman Howard Hughes in addition to many other innovations. Her most notable invention was a communication system with the idea to guide torpedoes during battles; this system used frequency hopping from one radio wave to another. Even though her invention was almost foolproof, the navy rejected her offer. But she continued to help by selling war bonds. Even though her invention was never used in the war or for torpedoes, it became the base for modern-day Wi-Fi. With no man to steal her credit, her own fame and beauty overshadowed her innovations.