Miriam Benjamin

Contribution: Invented the Gong and Signal chair

Age: 86 (1861 - 1947)

Mini Bio:

In 1888. Miriam Benjamin invented the Gong and Signal chair, this chair meant customers at hotel’s could for the first time push a button which would switch a light on to let hotel staff that they needs something, this is now used in many places including parliaments across the world and aeroplanes. Next time you’re on a plane and you signal for some more pretzels remember Miriam Benjamin!

Miriam Benjamin was a schoolteacher in Washington, D.C., more than 100 years ago when she got the idea for her invention. Some restaurants in the city were large, and Miriam wanted to make it easier for people to call a waiter without having to wave or snap their fingers. She designed a chair with a button to buzz the waiters’ station, and a light to show which guest needed help. Miriam’s signal system was even used in the U.S. House of Representatives. 

• Miriam was born in Charleston during the Civil War, but her family moved to Boston when she was 12. 
• Miriam was the second African American woman to receive a patent, in 1888. 
• Miriam’s brothers were also inventors. Her brother Edgar invented the bicycle clip. 
• Her invention led the way for the buttons used to call flight attendants on airplanes.

Further Reading:

• Wikipedia
• ThoughtCo
• BlackPast