Who was Beulah Louise Henry? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Died At Age: 85

American Women Women Inventors & Discoverers

Died on: 1973

U.S. State: North Carolina

City: Raleigh, North Carolina

More Facts

education: Elizabeth College, Virginia

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

American Inventors & Discoverers

Childhood & Early Life

Beulah Louise Henry was born on February 11, 1887, in North Carolina, as the daughter of Walter R. and Beulah Henry. Both her parents were artistically inclined: her father was an authority on art while her mother was an artist. She was a direct descendant of Patrick Henry, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.

It is believed that Beulah had mild Synesthesia, a condition where the mind will assign sensory attributes to other senses, for instance associating colors to sounds. This is a condition often found in artistic and creative people.

Bright and inventive, she started tinkering with things as a young child and loved to create new objects.

She studied at the North Carolina Presbyterian College from 1909 to 1912.

Continue Reading Below

Later Years

It is said that she began inventing as a child but it was only when she was in her mid-twenties that she first applied for a patent. Her first one, in 1912, was for a vacuum ice cream freezer. Two other patents followed in quick succession the next year: one for a hand bag and the other for an umbrella.

The umbrella was a major early invention; it came with snap-on detachable cloth covers in a variety of colors. Following the success of her early inventions, she moved to New York City in 1919 where she found a huge market for her umbrellas.

In New York City, she lived in hotel apartments and continued designing newer inventions. The rights to her popular umbrella cover invention sold for $50,000 which enabled her to set up her own laboratory. She appointed mechanics, model makers, and draftsmen to turn her ideas into prototypes.

She founded two companies: the Henry Umbrella and Parasol Company, and the B. L. Henry Company of New York. Throughout the 1920s, she was awarded many new patents including the ones for a spring-limbed doll and sponges that held soap in the middle. She also designed the machine that produced the sponges.

She eventually turned her attention towards machines and made many improvements to sewing machines and typewriters during the 1930s and 1940s. The patents she received in this period include the ones for a double-chain stitch sewing machine, a feeding and aligning device for typewriters, a bobbin-less sewing machine, number of children´s toys, and another typewriter attachment for duplicating documents.

By the late 1930s she had earned the nickname of "Lady Edison" and was a very famous woman inventor. In 1939 she began working for the Nicholas Machine Works as an inventor, a position she held till 1955. She also served as a consultant for many companies like the Mergenthaler Linotype Company and the International Doll Company.

Major Works

Among her several popular inventions was an umbrella with a variety of different colored snap-on cloth covers which she patented in1924. The users of the umbrella could co-ordinate the color of the umbrella cover with their clothing. The product was a huge success and helped her earn considerable wealth with which she could establish her own laboratory.

Awards & Achievements

Beulah Louise Henry was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.

Personal Life & Legacy

Beulah Louise Henry never married. She had a wide variety of interests including writing and painting. She was also active in the Audubon Society, the League for Animals, and the Museum of Natural History.

She lived an active life till the very end and died in 1973.

Beulah Louise Henry Biography