In her time, she was called "the most famous woman inventor,” but today, chances are, you’ve never even heard of Margaret Eloise Knight. It’s unfortunate, because If you do any grocery shopping, you have her to thank for making it so much easier. Her invention created a product that is as unassuming as it is ubiquitous.

A self-taught engineer, Margaret Knight invented the machine to produce flat-bottomed paper bags, and then founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870, creating paper bags for groceries very similar to the ones used today.

During her lifetime, as a woman-inventor during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, she overcame a surprising amount of adversity to achieve both her goals and the recognition she deserved—at a time when few women held intellectual property. Here is her story…

Early Years and Early Inventions

Margaret E. Knight was born in York, Maine on February 14, 1838 to Hannah Teal and James Knight. After her father died, “Mattie,” as her parents nickna...

Susanna Madora Salter was born today, March 2, 1860. In 1887, Salter, a 27-year old temperance activist, became the first woman in the United States to be elected to the position of mayor. The town was Argonia, Kansas, a small Quaker village with a population of less than five hundred that had only incorporated two years previous, in 1885. She was nominated, without notification, by men intent upon embarrassing and defeating temperance. Local Republicans uncovered the plan early on election day. They asked if she would serve, if elected. Salter agreed and with the support of Republicans and Prohibitionists, she was elected with a two-thirds majority.

Salter's family was respected, and her father had served as Argonia's mayor and her husband had been selected as town clerk--so Salter knew a great deal about politics. She had four children and was pregnant at the time of her election. Even opponents of woman suffrage were won over, however, by her reputation and her commitment to te...