By Garry Blanson
So, whose name comes to mind when you think about who was the first Black female inventor to receive a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office?
Well, her name was Sarah Elizabeth Goode. Around 1870, Sarah and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois.
In Chicago, she met and fell in love with a man named Archibald Goode. After they were married, they opened Goode’s Furniture Store (Sarah attended the store while Archibald repaired the furniture). Since most apartments at that time were pretty small, many customers would often come into their store asking about small beds.
When Sarah would get home, she would think of ideas of coming up with a bed that would solve this problem. After months of working at it, she was able to put her design in writing. Sarah’s invention was a folding cabinet bed that folded into a roll-top desk that had compartments for writing supplies and stationery. Her folding cabinet bed was the precursor to the “Murphy hide-away bed.” Next, she decided that she would apply for a patent for her bed idea. In 1885, Sarah Elizabeth Goode was granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and became the first Black female to receive a patent in the United States of America!
Sarah Elisabeth Goode passed away in Chicago, Illinois, on April 18, 1905. Also, in 2012, the Sarah E. Goode S.T.E.M. Academy, a science and math-based school, was opened on the Southside of Chicago to honor her contributions to the world.
The school’s emphasis is on S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The school hopes to help prepare students for their future careers.
The Sarah E. Goode S.T.E.M. Academy is also a “P-TECH” school, which stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School.
In closing, as we enter the start of Black History Month, it would be great if Black grandparents, parents, and their children could take a “deep-dive” into their own family’s history; they might find a few Sarah Goodes in their own household.
