10 Overlooked Inventors of the Gilded Age

The Gilded Age is an often romanticized period of American history that lasted from around the 1870s to the late 1890s. While the Gilded Age is often celebrated as a time of tremendous industrial expansion and societal progress, it was also a time of widespread corruption and abuse.

Caught in the middle of it all were the many overlooked inventors of this age. While numerous inventors made a lasting name for themselves during that time of rapid expansion, various societal factors often led to other notable inventors of that era being marginalized and often forgotten to this day. However, their inventions remain some of the most notable contributions to a complex time that resonates today.

Related: 10 Inventors Who Personally Demonstrated Their Product’s Safety

10 Margaret E. Knight – The Paper Bag Machine

Margaret E. Knight’s flat-bottom paper bag machine may not sound like the most exciting Gilded Age invention. However, as is the case with many overlooked inventors of that era, the devil is in the often-forgotten details.

Before Knight’s invention, paper bags were common but were typically too flimsy to do anything more than carry a few items a short distance. Knight’s flat-bottom paper bag machine allowed for uniform, sturdier paper bag designs that greatly improved the overall shopping experience and closely resemble the paper bag stores use to this day. While Knight had to fight for recognition, she eventually became one of the first women to receive a U.S. patent.^[1]

9 Alexander P. Ashbourne – The Biscuit Cutter

Baking, especially commercial baking, used to be a bit of a nightmare. Having to shape all those baked goods by hand was not only physically demanding but often resulted in products that were uneven in size and quality. Alexander P. Ashbourne was particularly troubled by how that problem affected his favorite baked good: biscuits.

So Ashbourne invented a spring-loaded biscuit cutter designed to speed up the baking process and ensure that each biscuit was as uniform as possible. It was a game-changer for commercial kitchens and enabled rapid progress in corners of the culinary world. If you’ve ever used a pastry or cookie cutter, you’ve essentially used a version of Ashbourne’s incredible device.^[2]

8 Jan Matzeliger – The Shoe Lasting Machine

As late as the 1880s, many shoes were still made largely by hand. It was a very expensive and highly inefficient way to produce a product that everyone needed. Those inefficiencies often impacted working-class people the most. Those who most needed durable footwear at reasonable prices often had the least access to them. Quality shoes became one of those essential items that often subtly separated the classes.

That is until Jan Matzeliger invented a device known simply as the shoe lasting machine. Matzeliger’s invention automated the process of attaching the upper part of a shoe to the sole. It allowed factories to produce hundreds of pairs of shoes daily rather than the dozens of shoes they were previously limited to. While Matzeliger died before his intention really took root, it eventually helped make quality shoes cheaper and more accessible.^[3]

7 Lewis Latimer – An Improved Light Bulb Filament

The history of the light bulb is often understandably dominated by Thomas Edison. However, as revolutionary as Edison’s design was, it was also wildly inefficient. Early light bulbs were expensive and typically burnt out too quickly to be much more than a luxury.

That was until Lewis Latimer invented a special carbon filament that made lightbulbs last longer, shine brighter, and cost less. Latimer’s innovation led to the creation of what you may consider to be the “modern” lightbulb. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Latimer also helped Alexander Graham Bell secure a patent for the telephone. Sadly, Latimer received little recognition for his efforts during his time, largely because he was one of the few prominent black inventors of the Gilded Age.^[4]

6 Mary Walton – Various Pollution Control Systems

While the Gilded Age was a time of tremendous industrial growth, much of that growth resulted in a rapid rise in pollution. At a time when the very idea of pollution reduction was barely a topic, much less a major concern, Mary Walton came along and designed a remarkable solution.

In 1879, Walton patented a device that diverted smokestack pollution into water tanks until the emissions could safely be diverted into sewage systems. Not satisfied with helping to manage dangerous emissions, she also patented a device that greatly reduced the noise pollution generated by elevated trains. Her work was revolutionary, though Walton (and other female inventors of the era) sadly struggled to receive proper recognition for their work in their time.^[5]

5 Josephine Cochrane – The Dishwasher

All it takes is a little time without a dishwasher to appreciate what a remarkable device it is. Dishwashers expedite a necessary household task while generally making it easier to cook at home and enjoy the many benefits that come with that process. However, while the dishwasher remains a luxury staple of many modern homes, the person who essentially invented that device is often forgotten.

Haunted by the loss of heirloom dishes that were damaged while being washed, Cochrane designed a new dishwashing device that used water pressure to clean dishes rather than mechanical scrubbing devices. While Cochrane struggled to sell her dishwasher to individual homes that lacked the resources required to run and purchase them, she soon found that restaurants and hotels saw her device as something of a miracle. It took several more decades for Cochrane’s invention to become a household staple.^[6]

4 William Purvis – The Fountain Pen Tube

Pens are obviously far older than the Gilded Age, and even fountain pens were introduced and innovated in the decades leading up to that period. However, a major, often overlooked step in the evolution of the fountain pen didn’t occur until 1890 when William Purvis patented an ink reservoir.

If you’ve ever used a pen, you’re undoubtedly familiar with some version of the plastic tube that Purvis invented, allowing a pen’s ink to be evenly distributed between the nib and the reservoir. That tube greatly improved the efficiency, affordability, and accessibility of the basic pen. It represented a massive leap forward in the adoption of the pen as a daily, portable writing instrument.^[7]

3 Thomas Elkins – The Modern Toilet and Improved Refrigeration

Thomas Elkins’ Gilded Age patents included improvements to the basic refrigeration units at the time and improvements to commodes that eventually formed the basis of modern bathroom fixtures. Taken on their own, they were impressive upgrades to objects that were rapidly becoming increasingly important parts of everyday life.

However, Elkin’s broader contributions are arguably more important than his specific inventions. As a surgeon, dentist, and pharmacist, Elkins focused on engineering improvements that enhanced daily hygiene and food safety. Those areas were often tragically underserved then, and Elkins helped pave the way for a better and safer future.^[8]

2 Elijah McCoy – Automatic Engine Lubrication System

Locomotives were a crucial component of the Gilded Age era, but the trains at that time featured several notable design flaws. Perhaps most notably, trains had to come to a complete stop before their engines could be lubricated. It was a common nuisance that Elijah McCoy helped solve when he patented the automatic lubricator in 1872.

That device was capable of automatically oiling steam engines, which greatly improved their efficiency and reliability. It was such a game changer for railroads that other manufacturers soon began making their own, often lesser versions of the device. Reportedly, the phrase “real McCoy” comes from those asking for McCoy’s invention by name to distinguish it from lesser products.^[9]

1 Ellen Eglin – The Clothes-Wringer

Like many housekeepers at the time, Ellen Eglin grew to despise the laborious process of washing and drying clothes by hand. So she invented an early version of a device you’re almost certainly familiar with: the clothes-wringer. This crank-operated rolling machine made it significantly easier to dry wet clothes faster than ever. It improved the daily lives of countless people, and it should have made Eglin a legend.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen during Eglin’s lifetime. She actually sold her patent to the clothes-wringer for a mere $18. Why? Well, Eglin worried that it would be difficult for a black woman to secure a patent at that time. She also feared that white households would not want to purchase the device if they knew a black woman had invented it.^[10]