Beulah Louise Henry
3/28/2023 | 59sVideo has Closed Captions
The Raleigh inventor Beulah Louise Henry owned 49 patents.
Beulah Louise Henry from Raleigh was known as North Carolina’s “Lady Edison” thanks to her 110 inventions and 49 patents.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians is a local public television program presented by PBS NC
This series was produced with support from the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.
Beulah Louise Henry
3/28/2023 | 59sVideo has Closed Captions
Beulah Louise Henry from Raleigh was known as North Carolina’s “Lady Edison” thanks to her 110 inventions and 49 patents.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
How to Watch The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians
The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[intriguing music] - [Presenter] You've probably heard of the inventor, Thomas Edison, but have you heard of North Carolina's own Lady Edison?
Raleigh's remarkable Beulah Louise Henry had 110 inventions and 49 patents.
Her first patent in 1912 was for a vacuum ice cream freezer.
Included in her many other inventions are a hair curler, a writing machine and a can opener.
In 1937, she received a patent for her double-chain-stitch sewing machine.
Beulah started two companies, one of which was the Henry Umbrella and Parasol Company which produced a snap-on parasol so women could change their parasol's pattern to match their outfit.
Later, when asked why she was an inventor, she replied, "I invent because I cannot help myself."
Support for PBS provided by:
The Uncommon Story: Notable North Carolinians is a local public television program presented by PBS NC
This series was produced with support from the NC Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.