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Mary Elizabeth Anderson (February 19, 1866 – June 27, 1953)[1] was an American real estate developer, rancher, viticulturist, and most notably the inventor of what became known as the windshield wiper. On November 10, 1903 Anderson was granted her first patent for an automatic car window cleaning device controlled from inside the car, called the windshield wiper.[2][3] Her patent didn't get far as she got no manufacturing firms to agree to make her invention.
Mary Anderson | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Mary Anderson February 19, 1866 |
| Died | June 27, 1953 (aged 87) |
| Occupation(s) | Real estate developer, rancher, viticulturist, inventor |
| Known for | Invention of the windshield wiper |
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Mary Anderson was born in Burton Hill Plantation, Greene County, Alabama, at the start of Reconstruction in 1866. Her parents were John C. and Rebecca Anderson. Anderson was one of at least two daughters. The other daughter was Fannie, who remained close to Anderson all her life. Their father died in 1870, and the young family was able to live on the proceeds of John’s estate. In 1889 she moved with her widowed mother and sister to the booming town of Birmingham, Alabama. Anderson’s education is unknown. She never married nor had any children.[4][5]
In Birmingham, Anderson became a real estate developer soon after settling and built the Fairmont Apartments on Highland Avenue. In 1893, Anderson left Birmingham to operate a cattle ranch and vineyard in Fresno, California. In 1898, she returned to Birmingham to help care for an ailing aunt. Anderson and her aunt moved into the Fairmont Apartments with Anderson’s mother, her sister Fannie, and Fannie’s husband G. P. Thornton. Anderson’s ailing aunt brought a trunk with her that contained a collection of gold and jewelry. From that time forward, Anderson’s family lived comfortably.[5]
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In 1902,[6] she visited to New York City in the winter. Anderson sat in a trolley car on a frosty day. Anderson observed that the trolley car driver struggled to see past the windows because of the falling sleet. The trolley car’s front window was designed for bad-weather visibility, but its multi-pane windshield system worked very poorly. Therefore, to clear the sights, the driver needed to open the window, lean out of the vehicle, or stop the car to go outside in order to wipe the windscreen with his or her hands. Anderson, who was not an engineer but an entrepreneur, identified the problem and its opportunity. She envisioned a windshield wiper blade that the trolley driver could operate from the inside. At that time, it rarely occurred to anyone else to eliminate the problem. It was something drivers simply accepted and dealt with.[7][8]
When she returned to Alabama, she drew up a sketch for a wiper blade that could be operated from inside a vehicle and wrote up the description. She also hired a designer for a hand-operated device to keep a windshield clear and had a local company produce a working model. Her device consisted of a lever inside the vehicle that controlled a rubber blade on the outside of the windshield. The lever could be operated to cause the spring-loaded arm to move back and forth across the windshield. A counterweight was used to ensure contact between the wiper and the window. The device could be easily removed if desired after the winter was over. Similar devices had been made earlier, but Anderson's was the first windshield clearing device to be effective. Anderson’s simple mechanism and basic design have remained much the same, but unlike today’s windscreen wipers, Anderson’s could be removed when not needed.[9][8]
She then applied for, and in 1903 was granted, a 17-year patent for a windshield wiper. The patent application was filed on June 18, 1903. On November 10, 1903, the United States Patent Office awarded Anderson patent number 743,801 for her Window Cleaning device.[6][1]
In 1903 when Anderson applied for the patent, cars were not very popular. Henry Ford’s Model A automobile had not been manufactured yet. Therefore, when Anderson tried to sell the rights to her invention through a noted Canadian firm of Dinning and Eckenstein in 1905, they rejected her application. They argued, "we do not consider it to be of such commercial value as would warrant our undertaking its sale." Furthermore, many could not see the value of her invention and stressed the risk that the driver would be distracted by operating the device and the moving wipers.[9]
By 1913, the automobile manufacturing business had grown exponentially and windshield wipers were standard equipment.[9] In 1922, Cadillac became the first car manufacturer to adopt them as standard equipment.[8] However, Anderson never profited from her invention or was given an recognition.[6] Giving up on partnering with companies to manufacture her invention, the patent expiring in 1920.[10][1] According to the National Inventors Hall of Fame, her invention was simply ahead of its time, and other companies and entrepreneurs were able to profit off her original ideas.[10]
In 1917, Charlotte Bridgewood patented the “electric storm windshield cleaner,” the first automatic wiper system that used rollers instead of blades.[11][12] Like Anderson, Bridgewood never made any money from her invention. Sara-Scott Wingo, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Richmond, Va., and Anderson’s great-great niece suspect Anderson’s invention never went anywhere because Anderson was an independent woman. Wingo said in an interview with NPR News, “She didn't have a father. She didn't have a husband. And the world was kind of run by men back then.”[6]
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By the 1920s, Anderson’s brother-in-law had died, and Anderson was again living in the Fairmont Apartments in Birmingham with her sister Fannie and her mother. She continued to manage the Fairmont Apartments until her death at the age of 87. At the time of her death, she was the oldest member of South Highland Presbyterian Church. She died at her summer home in Monteagle, Tennessee. Her funeral was conducted by Dr. Frank A. Mathes at South Highland and she was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.[1][5]
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In 2011 Anderson was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[8] With minimal mention or recognition until 2011, thankfully Anderson’s sketch provides a glimpse of her entrepreneurial spirit and ambition. Rini Paiva, executive vice president at the National Inventors Hall of Fame said, "She was persistent, she was forward-thinking, and she had the drive to follow up on an idea."[10]
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