Sarah E. Goode

Sarah E. Goode
Patent issued to Sarah E. Goode for the cabinet bed
Born Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs
1855
Toledo, Ohio
Died April 8, 1905
Chicago, Illinois
Nationality American
Occupation Inventor
Entrepreneur
Known for First African-American woman to receive a United States patent.

Sarah Elisabeth Goode (1855 – April 8, 1905) was an entrepreneur and inventor. She was the second African-American woman to receive a United States patent, which she received in 1885.[1] The first African-American woman to receive a patent was Judy W. Reed on September 23, 1884, but Reed only signed her patent with her mark (an X) and not her signature.[2]

Biography

Goode was born as Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio, although she would sometimes say that she was born in Spain.[3] Sarah Goode was the second of seven children of Oliver and Harriet Jacobs, both described in public records as mulattos. Oliver Jacobs, a native of Indiana was a carpenter.[4] When the American Civil War ended the family moved to Chicago, Illinois where she met and married Archibald "Archie" Goode, who was originally from Wise County, Virginia; they would have six children, of whom three would live to adulthood.[5][6] He described himself in the records as a "stair builder" and as an upholsterer; she opened a furniture store.[7]

Goode invented a folding cabinet bed which helped people who lived in tight housing to utilize their space efficiently. When the bed was folded up, it looked like a desk, with room for storage. She received a patent for it on July 14, 1885.[8][9][10]Her invention was the precursor to the Murphy bed, which was patented in 1900[11]. Her goal was to balance out the weight of the folding of the bed for it to be easily lifted up, folding and unfolding and to secure the bed on each side so that when folding the bed it would stay in its place. She provided supplementary support to the center of the bed when it is unfolded.[12]

Goode died on April 8, 1905 at the age of 50. It is unknown how she died.[12]

Examples

Legacy


In 2012, the Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy, a science and math-focused high school was opened in her honor on the south side of Chicago[13].

References

  1. ↑ "Goode, Sarah E. (c.1855?-1905)". The Black Past. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  2. ↑ "USPTO recognizes inventive women during Women's History Month". US Patent and Trademark Office. March 1, 2002. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ 1880 Federal Census for Cook County (Illinois) Enumeration District 2, Sheet 43, Lines 19-26; 1900 Federal Census for Cook County (Illinois) Enumeration District 76, Sheet 12, Lines 97-100 and Sheet 13, Lines 1-3.
  4. ↑ 1860 Federal Census for the Third Ward of the City of Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio, p. 203.
  5. ↑ 1870 Federal Census for the Second Ward, city of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, p. 148.
  6. ↑ 1880 Federal census for Cook County (Illinois) Enumeration District 2, Sheet 43, Lines 19-26.
  7. ↑ "Sarah E. Goode". Inventors. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  8. ↑ Hiphopucit (February 27, 2011). "Black History: Sarah E. Goode – Inventor Of The Cabinet Bed". Hip Hop U-C-IT. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  9. ↑ US patent 322177, Sarah E. Goode, "Cabinet-Bed", issued July 14, 1885
  10. ↑ Full patent image (12 pages) 322177 - Folding Beds - Sarah E. Goode at National Archives
  11. ↑ "Mothers of Invention: Sarah E. Goode (Cabinet Bed)". Digging History. March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  12. 1 2 1941–, Sullivan, Otha Richard (2002). African American Women Scientists and Inventors. Haskins, James, 1941–2005. New York: Wiley. ISBN 047138707X. OCLC 46456247.
  13. ↑ Foroohar, Rana (February 24, 2014). "The School That Will Get You a Job". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
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