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 happened to Miriam in the book Miriam?
Miriams's Passing. Miriam died at the age of 126 (or 127) in Kadesh, and she was buried there.7 When she died, a strange thing happened. The well suddenly dried up, and the rock from which the water used to flow disappeared among the other rocks in the desert.
Was Miriam buried at Kadesh?
The Torah itself takes no special note of the significant fact that is reported directly before our story begins: “The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon (of the fortieth year), and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there ( Numbers 20:1 ).”
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When did Miriam Benjamin die?
1947Miriam Benjamin / Date of deathMiriam 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.
What is Miriam Benjamin known for?
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).
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 Colour hair does Miriam have?
Miriam is a tall, 13-year-old teenage girl with light skin, curly, auburn hair tied in braids, freckles on her face, and green eyes.
What is Miriam's ethnicity?
Miriam is a tall, 13-year-old teenage Jewish-Canadian girl with light skin, curly auburn hair tied in braids, freckles on her face and green eyes. She has stud earrings, as well as braces and a green tuque.
What are two things we know about Miriam?
Miriam is best known for helping to deliver Moses at the Nile River and leading the Hebrew women in singing, dancing, and playing drums after crossing the Red Sea. Later, she and her brother Aaron challenge the actions and authority of Moses. She understands leadership to embrace diverse voices, female and male.
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.
What is the oldest chair in the world?
The oldest chair is estimated to be almost 5,000 years old. Originating in Egypt, it was the earliest known four legged ancestor to our modern chair.
What is the oldest chair ever?
Rybczynski believes the oldest kind of chair was not a throne, but a folding chair. The earliest records of chairs appear in Egyptian tomb paintings and ancient Greek art. The oldest representation Rybczynski could find is a Greek sculpture from 3,000 B.C., which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Who invented the 1st chair?
Chairs are known from Ancient Egypt and have been widespread in the Western world from the Greeks and Romans onwards. They were in common use in China from the twelfth century, and were used by the Aztecs. In Sub-Saharan Africa, chairs were not in use before introduced by Europeans.
What is special about the tribe of Benjamin?
They were known for their courage, which is reflected in the blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49,27); despite being the smallest of all tribes, they played a vital role in the history of Israel, especially during the reign of Saul, who descended from the Tribe of Benjamin.
Why was Miriam a hero?
Miriam is a kind, beautiful, and brave young woman who, like her brother Moses, tries to help her fellow slaves and escape the cruelty from the Egyptians. She is also very hopeful and determined, putting her faith completely in God and her brother Moses.
What religion is the tribe of Benjamin?
Benjamin, according to biblical tradition, one of the 12 tribes that constituted the people of Israel, and one of the two tribes (along with Judah) that later became the Jewish people.
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.
When did Miriam Benjamin die?
Miriam Benjamin died in 1947. The circumstances of her death are not published.
Where was Benjamin born?
Benjamin was born as a free person in Charleston, South Carolina, on September 16, 1861. Her father was Jewish and her mother was Black. Her family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where her mother Eliza hoped to give her children access to good schooling.
Why did Miriam Benjamin want to have her Gong and Signal Chair adopted?
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.
Who is Mary Bellis?
Mary Bellis. Inventions Expert. Mary Bellis covered inventions and inventors for ThoughtCo for 18 years. She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. our editorial process. Mary Bellis. Updated June 19, 2019. Miriam Benjamin (September 16, 1861–1947) was a Washington, D.C.
Who invented the broom moistener?
Lude Wilson Benjamin, four years younger than Miriam, received U.S. Patent number 497,747 in 1893 for an improvement on broom moisteners. He proposed a tin reservoir that would attach to a broom and drip water onto the broom to keep it moist so it wouldn't produce dust as it swept.
When did Miriam die?
Miriam died on the 10th of Nissan in the year 2487—a year to the day before the Jewish people crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, under the leadership of Joshua. Aaron died on Rosh Chodesh Av, and Moses died on the 7th of Adar 2488.
Who was Miriam's father?
Having been born at the time when the bitter enslavement began, her parents named her “Miriam” (from the Hebrew word meaning “bitterness”). Her father, Amram, was the grandson of Levi, the son of our patriarch Jacob. He was the leader and head of the Jewish people.
How long did Moses wait to cure Miriam?
Moses prayed to G d for her that she be cured, but G d ordered that she be placed outside the camp for seven days, and then she would be cured. With all that, the people did not lose their respect and love for Miriam. All the people waited patiently until Miriam was cured, and then they continued their journey.
What did Miriam do to save the baby?
Disregarding her father’s order, she decided to save the baby and adopt him as her own. At that moment Miriam approached the princess and boldly offered to bring a Jewish nursing mother to nurse the baby. The princess readily agreed, and Miriam went and called her mother.
Why was Hur killed?
Hur was murdered by the worshippers of the Golden Calf when he opposed them and tried to prevent them from committing that grievous sin.
What is the meaning of the word "miriam"?
Miriam was a prophetess, as the Torah states clearly. 1 Our sages tell us that the spirit of prophecy came to her when she was still a child. Her earliest prophecy was that her mother was going to give birth to a son who would free the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage. This is one of the reasons why she was also called Puah, meaning “Whisperer,” for she was whispering words of prophecy. 2 At that time she and her mother were the chief Hebrew midwives, who went by the names of Shifrah and Puah. King Pharaoh instructed them to kill, at birth, any baby boy born to a Jewish mother. But they did not carry out the king’s cruel order; on the contrary, they helped save them. 3 Needless to say, the G d-fearing mother and daughter risked their lives in doing what they did, and they were to be rewarded with the two most distinguished “houses” (dynasties) of the Jewish people: that of kehunah (priesthood), bestowed upon Yocheved ’s son Aaron; and that of royalty, bestowed upon David, who was a descendant of Miriam. Miriam was only five years old when she became her mother’s helper in delivering Jewish babies, but she was already quite competent. 4
Who were Miriam and Lashon Hara?
Miriam and Lashon Hara. Miriams's Passing. Miriam, the daughter of Amram and Yocheved, and older sister of her two famous brothers, Aaron and Moses, was born in Egypt just when the Jewish people were reduced to slavery, oppression and hard labor. This was in the year 2362 (after Creation), eighty-six years before the liberation.
Early Life
Education and Career
- Miriam attended high school in Boston. She later moved to Washington, D.C. and was working as a schoolteacher when she received her patent for the Gong and Signal Chair in 1888. She continued her education at Howard University, first attempting medical school. These plans were interrupted when she passed the civil service exam and got a federal job as a clerk. She later gra…
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. Her patent notes that this invention would serve "to reduce the expenses of hotels by decreasing the number of waiters and attendants, to add to the convenien…
The Inventive Benjamin Family
- Miriam was not alone in her inventiveness. The Benjamin family made use of the education their mother Eliza valued so highly. Lude Wilson Benjamin, four years younger than Miriam, received U.S. Patentnumber 497,747 in 1893 for an improvement on broom moisteners. He proposed a tin reservoir that would attach to a broom and drip water onto the broom to keep it moist so it woul…
Legacy
- Benjamin was the second African American woman to receive a United States patent, after Sarah E. Good, who invented the folding cabinet bed three years prior in 1885. Benjamin's invention was the precursor to the flight attendant call button, a key tool for customer service in the airline industry.
Sources
- Brodie, James Michael. Created Equal The Lives and Ideas of Black American Innovators. William Morrow and Co. Inc., 1993
- Mahoney, Eleanor. “Miriam E. Benjamin (1861-1947) • BlackPast.” BlackPast, 14 Mar. 2019.
- Miriam E. Benjamin: African American Inventor. MyBlackHistory.net.