Maria Beasley was born in Philadelphia, the exact date of her birth is unknown, as well as who her parents were, where she went to school or if she did and so on. However for this post none of that is important as the rest of the story.
What I can tell you is that in 1865 she married and held various jobs over the course of her lifetime, one of those was a dressmaker. Between 1891to 1896 the Chicago directories listed her occupation as an inventor, which of course is the rest of the story.
She was granted her first patent in 1878. She had invented a barrel-hooping machine which she showed at the World Industrial and Cotton Exposition in 1884. While there she showed another invention, which was an improved life raft, patented in 1882. Among some of her other inventions included a foot warmer, cooking pans and an anti-derailment device for trains.
What you may not know about Maria Beasley is that her design of the life raft was used on the Titanic, thus now you know the rest of the story. Until tomorrow keep a smile on your face and a penny in your pocket
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