Miriam e benjamin biography
- Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin became the second African American woman to receive a patent from the United States government for her invention of a gong and signal.
- Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin (September 16, 1861 – 1947) was an American schoolteacher and inventor.
- Miriam Benjamin (September 16, 1861–1947) was a Washington, DC school teacher and the second Black woman to receive a patent in the United States.
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Biography of Miriam Benjamin, Inventor of a Signal Chair
Miriam Benjamin (September 16, 1861–1947) was a Washington, D.C. school teacher and the second Black woman to receive a patent in the United States, given to her in 1888 for an invention she called a Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels. This device might seem to be a bit quaint, but its successor is still used daily—the flight attendant call button on commercial aircraft.
Fast Facts: Miriam Benjamin
- Known For: Second Black woman to receive a patent, she invented the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels
- Born: September 16, 1861 in Charleston, South Carolina
- Parents: Francis Benjamin and Eliza Benjamin
- Died: 1947
- Education: Howard University, Howard University Law School
- Awards: Patent number 386,289
- Notable Quote: From her patent application:The chair would serve "to reduce the expenses of hotels by decreasing the number of waiters and attendants, to add to the convenience and comfort of guests and to obviate the necessity of hand clapping or calling aloud to obtain the services of pages."
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VocalEssence
On this episode we celebrate Miriam E. Benjamin, an American school teacher and inventor who invented the “Gong and Signal Chair” for hotels, adopted by the United States House of Representatives and a pre-cursor to the flight attendant signaling system on modern airplanes. Our musical pairing is “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Steve Cropper and Otis Redding.
Miriam E. Benjamin (1861-1947)
Notable Achievements: The second Black woman to ever be awarded a patent.
Learn More
Sponsor Thank You
This episode of 28 Days of Black Excellence is available for sponsorship. See below for details.
Sponsor Black Excellence
Each episode and blog post take $250 to create and produce. Consider sponsoring a day or even a week of these amazing entrepreneurs. Episodes will be included in the FREE online WITNESS Portal for teachers around the world. Sponsors will be named in the blog posts on the VocalEssence website. You are encouraged to sponsor in honor of a loved one or a beloved organization. Just add their name in the Dedication se
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Miriam Benjamin
“Be it known that I, MIRIAM E.
BENJAMIN, a citizen of the United States
of America, residing at Washington, in the
District of Columbia, have invented certain
new and useful Improvements in Gong
and Signal Chairs for Hotels, Restaurants,
Steamboats, Railroad-trains, &c.”
Being a lady inventor is difficult, sure. But being a lady inventor of color in nineteenth-century America compounded that difficulty by a factor of a very large number. Fortunately for history, Miriam Benjamin was the kind of resourceful, intelligent lady who liked a challenge.
Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin had inspiring female role models right from the start. The oldest of five siblings, Miriam was born in 1861 (though she liked to say 1868, which I respect) to a Jewish dad and a Black mom. By all accounts, her mother rocked. Miriam’s younger brother Edgar called her “the best mother that ever lived,” a woman who raised her children “single-handed and alone to fight climate and privation so that her children might ‘
VocalEssence
On this episode we celebrate Miriam E. Benjamin, an American school teacher and inventor who invented the “Gong and Signal Chair” for hotels, adopted by the United States House of Representatives and a pre-cursor to the flight attendant signaling system on modern airplanes. Our musical pairing is “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Steve Cropper and Otis Redding.
Miriam E. Benjamin (1861-1947)
Notable Achievements: The second Black woman to ever be awarded a patent.
Learn More
Sponsor Thank You
This episode of 28 Days of Black Excellence is available for sponsorship. See below for details.
Sponsor Black Excellence
Each episode and blog post take $250 to create and produce. Consider sponsoring a day or even a week of these amazing entrepreneurs. Episodes will be included in the FREE online WITNESS Portal for teachers around the world. Sponsors will be named in the blog posts on the VocalEssence website. You are encouraged to sponsor in honor of a loved one or a beloved organization. Just add their name in the Dedication se
•
Miriam Benjamin
“Be it known that I, MIRIAM E.
BENJAMIN, a citizen of the United States
of America, residing at Washington, in the
District of Columbia, have invented certain
new and useful Improvements in Gong
and Signal Chairs for Hotels, Restaurants,
Steamboats, Railroad-trains, &c.”
Being a lady inventor is difficult, sure. But being a lady inventor of color in nineteenth-century America compounded that difficulty by a factor of a very large number. Fortunately for history, Miriam Benjamin was the kind of resourceful, intelligent lady who liked a challenge.
Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin had inspiring female role models right from the start. The oldest of five siblings, Miriam was born in 1861 (though she liked to say 1868, which I respect) to a Jewish dad and a Black mom. By all accounts, her mother rocked. Miriam’s younger brother Edgar called her “the best mother that ever lived,” a woman who raised her children “single-handed and alone to fight climate and privation so that her children might ‘
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