Landmarks of Human Thought I - Catalog - Page 26
Mary
Anderson
Windshield
Wiper
National Inventors Hall of Fame®
U.S. Patent No. 743,801
Inducted in 2011
Born Feb. 19, 1866 - Died Jun. 27, 1953
W
hile touring the city of New York in a trolley
car on a snowy day in the early 1900s, Mary
Anderson conceived her idea of a windshield
wiper blade that could be operated from the
inside by the trolley driver.
Anderson observed that streetcar drivers often had
to open their windows in order to see during
inclement weather, sometimes even stopping the
streetcar to go outside to clear the window. Her idea
consisted of a lever inside the vehicle that
controlled a spring-loaded arm with a rubber blade.
The lever, with a counterweight to keep the wiper in
contact with the window, could move the blade
across the windshield, removing rain or snow. With
her 1903 patent, Anderson's invention proved to be
the first windshield-clearing device to be effective.
As driving became more and more common, the
windshield wiper was eventually adapted for
automotive use. In 1922, Cadillac began installing
the wiper as a piece of standard equipment on its
cars.
During her lifetime, Anderson established herself as
an entrepreneur. In addition to building and
managing an apartment building in Birmingham,
Alabama, she operated a cattle ranch and vineyard
in Fresno, California.
Mary Anderson was inducted into
the National Inventors Hall of Fame®
for this U.S. Patent No. 743,801.
Reference: National Inventors Hall of Fame (2024, 23. February)
Inductee: Mary Anderson Invented Windshield Wiper.
NIHF. https://www.invent.org/inductees/mary-anderson
