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Mary Kies
Weaving
- The Patent Act of 1790
allowed anyone in the United States to protect their invention
with a patent.
- It was 19 years before a woman would apply for and receive a
patent. At a time when women were not even allowed to own
property except through their husband, this Connecticut woman
claimed her place in American history.
- Mary Kies was the first American woman to receive a U.S. patent on May 15th, 1809 for
a method of weaving straw with silk.
- Her invention was said to have helped replace goods lost
when America stopped trading with Europe.
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