The Inventive Mind of Margaret E. Knight

Mar 25, 2024

Discover the inventive journey of Margaret E. Knight, from childhood tinkering to patenting revolutionary inventions like paper bags and machinery. Explore her legal battles, lesser-known creations, and celebrate her induction into the Inventors Hall of Fame.

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Introduction

00:00 • 3min

Innovative Beginnings

02:42 • 7min

Innovations in Paper Bag Production and Music History Highlights

09:43 • 6min

Margaret E. Knight's Legal Battle Over Invention

15:43 • 9min

Margaret E. Knight: Innovations Beyond Bags

24:21 • 6min

Margaret E. Knight: Innovator and Patents Discrepancy

30:22 • 8min

Exploration of a Stunning Carousel with Unique Animal Carvings

38:33 • 4min

Margaret E. Knight was an ingenious woman. She started tinkering with things when she was still just a tiny child, and the first invention that really improved the lives of those around her came about at the age of 12.

Research:

“A Lady in a Machine Shop.” Woman’s Journal, December 21, 1872. Accessed online: https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:48852547$409i
Bedi, Joyce. “Margaret Knight.” Lemelson Center, Smithsonian. March 22, 2021. https://invention.si.edu/node/28532/p/609-margaret-knight
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Margaret E. Knight". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-E-Knight
“Gained Fame as Inventor.” The Boston Globe. Oct. 13, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430883835/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“The Inspiring Story of Margaret E. Knight.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/margaret-e-knight-paper-pag
Knight, M.E. “Clasp.” U.S. Patent Office. Oct. 14, 1884. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/1d/93/e6/029e560778fcd4/US306692.pdf
Knight, Margaret E. “Bag Machine.” U.S. Patent Office. July 11, 1871. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/8b/67/0a/1fa1f5f32874bc/US116842.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Improvement in Paper Bag Machine.” U.S. Patent Office. Oct. 28, 1879. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bb/4b/1a/218335d174188c/US220925.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Rotary Engine.” U.S. Patent Office. January 6, 1903. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/de/9a/87/cea123cb8ba55a/US717869.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Skirt Protector.” U.S. Patent Office. Aug. 7, 1883. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/3a/cc/e8/cf6943b96a868f/US282646.pdf
Knight, Margaret E. “Sole Cutting Machine.” U.S Patent Office. Sept. 16, 1890. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/19/16/34/0c57840da89f4c/US436358.pdf
“Margaret E. Knight, ‘Woman Edison,’ Dead.” The Sun. Oct. 15, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/145292345/?clipping_id=31861882
“Patent Model for Paper Bag Machine.” Smithsonian – National Museum of American History. https://www.si.edu/object/patent-model-paper-bag-machine%3Anmah_214303
“Patented By Women.” Pittsburgh Dispatch. April 10, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image/76571393/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
PETROSKI, HENRY. “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag.” The American Scholar, vol. 72, no. 4, 2003, pp. 99–111. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41221195
Sisson, Mary, and Doris Simonis, ed. “Inventors and Inventions.” Marshall Cavendish. 2007.
Smith, Ryan P. “Meet the Female Inventor Behind Mass-Market Paper Bags.” Smithsonian. March 15, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-female-inventor-behind-mass-market-paper-bags-180968469/
“The Ames Manufacturing Company … “ Boston Evening Transcript. Oct. 17, 1873. https://www.newspapers.com/image/734890555/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“Women As Inventors.” The Philadelphia Times. April 10, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image/52506300/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“Women Who Are Inventors.” New York Times. October 19, 1913. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/10/19/100654443.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

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