Anna Dormitzer (née Essroger; 1830–1903) was an inventor, mother to seven children and a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She received sixteen patents in her lifetime making her part of fifteen percent of women inventors to receive multiple patents.[1]
Anna Dormitzer | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 5, 1830 Prague |
| Died | May 2, 1903 (aged 72) New York City |
| Burial place | Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York |
| Occupation(s) | Inventor, Suffragette |
| Spouse | Henry Dormitzer |
Early life
edit
Dormitzer was born in Prague, Czech Republic on May 5, 1830. She emigrated to the United States arriving in New York at the age of 20 years in 1850. She married her husband, Henry Dormitzer the same year and they settled in Hoboken, New Jersey where Henry made his fortune in the tobacco business. After retiring the couple moved to New York City where they were both became active in politics. Dormitzer was a suffragette, a member of the National-American Woman Suffrage Association and the Sorosis Society.[2]
Professional career
editWhile the Dormitzers were rich enough that they could afford to hire servants to do household tasks such as cleaning windows, Anna Dormitzer was sensitive to the precarious dangers of cleaning, particularly window-cleaning so much so that starting in 1878, she registered twelve patents for a variety of window washing devices. These included chairs and stepladders and a combination of both. Dormitzer included very precise and detailed drawings with her applications since all but her first application included a model.[3][4][5]
- Window-Cleaning Step-Chair, Aug. 13, 1878[6]
- Window-Cleaning Chair, Sept. 2, 1878[7]
- Window-Cleaning Chair, July 12, 1881[8]
- Combined Window Cleaning Chair and Fire Escape, Apr. 18, 1882[9]
- Window Cleaning Chair, Feb. 12, 1884[10]
- Window Cleaning Chair, June 9, 1885[11]
- Window Cleaning Chair, Feb. 2, 1886[12]
- Ornamental Step Ladder, Feb. 16, 1886[13]
- Paint and Brush Bucket, May 25, 1886[14]
- Safety Watch Pocket, Mar. 27, 1888[15]
- Step Ladder, Feb. 25, 1890[16]
- Step Ladder, Apr. 7, 1891[17]
- Ornamental Step Ladder, Jan. 3, 1893[18]
- Chair for Washing Windows, May 30, 1893[19]
- Napkin Holder, Sept. 24, 1895[20]
- Napkin Holder, May 5, 1896[21]
Death and legacy
editAnna Dormitzer died on May 2, 1903, in New York City. Her husband Henry died several years later in 1911 and they are both buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.[citation needed]
Collections
edit- Patent Model - Window-Cleaning Step-Chairs, 1878, Patent no. 206,936, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE
References
edit- ^ Kahn, B. Zorina (2005). The Democratization of Invention: Patents and Copyrights in American: Patents and Copyrights in American Economic Development, 1790-1920. Boston, MA: Cambridge University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780521811354.
- ^ "National Council of Women of the United States, report of its Tenth Annual Executive and its Third Triennial Sessions" (PDF).
- ^ Sample, Hilary (2016). Maintenance Architecture. MA: MIT Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780262335362.
- ^ Stanley, Autumn (1993). Mother and Daughters of Invention. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. 307, 315. ISBN 0-8135-2197-1.
- ^ Khan, B. Zorina (1996). "Married Women's Property Laws and Female Commercial Activity: Evidence from United States Patent Records, 1790-1895". The Journal of Economic History. 56 (2): 356–388. ISSN 0022-0507.
- ^ "US206936A - Improvement in window-cleaning step-chairs - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US219234A - Improvement in win dow-clean ing chai rs - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US244203A - Window cleaning chair - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US256654A - Anna dobmitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US293428A - Akista dormitzeb - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US319683A - dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US335215A - Anna doemitzee - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US336219A - Anna doemitzee - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US342431A - Anna dobmitzeb - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US380279A - dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US421914A - Anna dokmitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US449846A - Anna dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US488990A - Anna dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US498464A - dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US546658A - Anna dormitzer - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
- ^ "US559517A - Ljtho - Google Patents". Patents.google.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.