Miriam Benjamin Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin (September 16, 1861 – 1947) was an American schoolteacher and inventor. In 1888, she obtained a patent for the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels, becoming the second African-American woman to receive a patent.
Who was Miriam Benjamin?
Miriam E. Benjamin was a school teacher living in Washington D.C. In 1888, Ms. Benjamin received a patent for an invention she called a Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels.
What did Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin invent?
On July 17, 1888, 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 chair (U.S. Patent number 386,289). At the time of her application, Benjamin was living in Washington, D.C., working as an educator in the city’s public schools.
What did Miriam Benjamin do for the invention of the gong?
Miriam Benjamin lobbied to have her Gong and Signal Chair adopted by United States House of Representatives, in order to signal pages. The system that was eventually installed there resembled her invention.
What did Harriet Benjamin invent in 1903?
After the 1888 patent of the Gong and Signal chair, Benjamin continued to obtain patents. When she returned to Boston in 1900, she referred to herself as a "solicitor of patents," and is listed as an attorney on her brother's 1893 patent application. In 1903, it was reported she patented a pinking device for dressmaking.
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What did Miriam Benjamin invent?
Cadira de trucada per a hotelsMiriam Benjamin / Inventions
When was the Gong and Signal chair invented?
1888Miriam 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.
What is a Gong and Signal chair?
Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels Benjamin's invention allowed hotel customers to summon a waiter from the comfort of their chair. A button on the chair would buzz the waiters' station and a light on the chair would let the wait staff know who wanted service.
What is a signal chair?
The Signal Chair is a contemporary, multi-purpose chair with sculptural simplicity and comfort, inspired by an ergonomic design approach.
Who was the second African American woman to receive a patent?
Sarah Elisabeth GoodeSarah Elisabeth Goode (1855 – April 8, 1905) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. She was the second known African-American woman to receive a United States patent, which she received in 1885. The first known African-American woman to receive a patent was Judy W. Reed in 1884.
Where was the gong invented?
Gongs likely originated in the Bronze Age in what is now Tibet. Archeologists have unearthed ancient gongs in present-day China, Indonesia, Burma, and the Annam region of Vietnam. The actual word "gong" is Indonesian, and gongs are common in the gamelan ensembles on the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali.
When was the gong invented?
The gong is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world. Archaeologists have unearthed gongs built almost four thousand years ago. No wonder when we hear a gong we feel like we are being touched in our soul. The earliest written mention of the gong was in China in the 6th century.
What does a gong symbolize?
In Asian families, the gong was an attribute of wealth and served as a status symbol. In rites, the gong was used in the evocation of ghosts and in the banning of demons. Touching a gong brought you fortune and strength. In rituals of the Far East, the gong has retained its special significance to this day.
What classification of instrument is gong?
PercussionPitched percussion instrumentOrchestral percussionGong/Instrument family
What is the purpose of a gong?
Gongs are depicted in Chinese visual art as of the 6th century CE, and were known for their very intense and spiritual drumming in rituals and tribal meetings. Traditionally, chau gongs were used to clear the way for important officials and processions, much like a police siren today.
What was Miriam Benjamin's invention?
Miriam Benjamin's career as an inventor did not end with her Gong and Signal chair. On December 4, 1917, she received U.S. patent no. 1,249,000 for her Sole for Footwear. This invention was intended to help with temperature regulation in the foot. Music historians believe she, under the gender-neutral pseudonym E.B. Miriam, also composed marches.
Where did Miriam Benjamin live?
In 1888, she was living at 1736 New York Avenue, N.W. in Washington. Miriam Benjamin briefly attended Howard University 's medical school, but after passing a competitive civil service examination and working as a government clerk in a number of federal departments, she enrolled in the law school at Howard University.
What was the name of the patent that Pinkerton Benjamin received?
On May 16, 1893, he received U.S. patent no. 497,747 for an improvement on "Broom Moisteners and Bridles.". Her younger brother Edgar Pinkerton Benjamin (1869–1972) graduated from Boston University 's law school and had a successful private practice in the city of Boston.
Who was the second black woman to receive a patent in the United States?
Inventor of the Gong and Signal Chair and second black woman to receive a patent in the United States. Miriam E. Benjamin (September 16, 1861 – 1947) was an American school teacher and inventor. On July 17, 1888 she obtained a patent for her invention, the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels.
Was Miriam Benjamin married?
Miriam Benjamin never married. For most of her life she lived with her widowed mother Eliza Jane (Hopkins) Benjamin (1840–1934) in the Boston area. She died in 1947.
Where was Miriam Benjamin born?
Born in Charleston, South Carolina on September 16, 1861, Benjamin was the oldest of five children. In the early 1870s, her mother, Eliza Hopkins Benjamin, moved the family to Boston, Massachusetts. Little information is available on Miriam Benjamin’s father, though an 1871 record from the United States Freedman’s Bank identifies him as Francis ...
Who was the second African American woman to receive a patent from the United States government for her invention?
On July 17, 1888, Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin became the second African American woman to receive a patent from the United States government for her invention ...
Where was Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin born?
Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin was born, a free Black woman, in Charleston, South Carolina, the oldest of five children of Francis Benjamin and Eliza (Hopkins) Benjamin. In 1873, the Benjamin family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she attended high school. She moved to Washington, D.C. where she taught in the segregated municipal school system. In 1888, she was living at 1736 New York Avenue, N.W. in Washington.
How many siblings did Miriam Benjamin have?
For most of her life she lived with her widowed mother in the Boston area. She had four siblings. Her sisters were Charlotte D. "Lottie" Benjamin and Eva S. Benjamin. Miriam Benjamin died in 1947, she never married.
Overview
Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin (September 16, 1861 – 1947) was an American schoolteacher and inventor. In 1888, she obtained a patent for the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels, becoming the second African-American woman to receive a patent.
Early life and education
Benjamin was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1861. She was the eldest of five children of Francis Benjamin and Eliza (Hopkins) Benjamin. In 1873, the Benjamin family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she attended the Girl's High School and graduated in 1881. After graduating, she accepted the position to become the Second Assistant at the Stanton Institute, Jacksonville, Florida. Benjamin was appointed by the Superintendent of Education for the County of Duval
Career
From 1888 to 1895, Benjamin was a teacher in Washington, D.C., in the segregated municipal school system. In 1888, she was living at 1736 New York Avenue, N.W. in Washington.
On July 17, 1888, she obtained a patent for her invention, the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels. As its name suggests, the chair had both a gong and signal connected to it. When the person in the chair pressed a small button on the side of the chair, it would ring a bell and display the red side …
Personal life
Her sisters were Charlotte D. "Lottie" Benjamin (1863–1928, m. Walter W. Sampson, 1889, no children) and Eva S. Benjamin (1867–73). Her brother Lyde Wilson Benjamin (1865–1916) was an attorney as well as an inventor. On May 16, 1893, he received U.S. patent no. 497,747 for an improvement on "Broom Moisteners and Bridles." Her younger brother Edgar Pinkerton Benjamin (1869–1972) graduated from Boston University's law school and had a successful private practi…
See also
• List of African-American inventors and scientists
• Timeline of United States inventions
Further reading
• Sullivan, Otha Richard (2001). African American Women Scientists and Inventors. CIP Wiley. ISBN 0-471-38707-X.
• Maggs, Sam (2016). Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History. Quirk Books. ISBN 9781594749261.