Sarah E. Goode – African American History Month 2018 #BlackHistoryMonth

Sarah E. Goode was the first African-American female to receive a United States patent. Her invention (US 322177 A) was named the Cabinet Bed, because the bed was encased inside a cabinet-like structure that contained drawers for storage as well. Her invention was the precursor to the more widely-known Murphy bed, which received its patent 15 years after hers. Sarah ran a furniture store along with her carpenter-husband Archie, and today a STEM-focused public high school on Chicago’s south side bears her name.

This picture is attributed to her, I assume from her earlier years:

And here’s a picture of her later in life alongside some of the drawings from her patent:

Read more here on Wikipedia and see her patent here.