Beulah Henry

Beulah Henry (1887 – December 22, 1973) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who earned the nickname 'The Lady Edison' for her prolific career. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, Henry displayed an aptitude for mechanics and invention from an early age. Over her lifetime, she was credited with over 100 patents, an extraordinary achievement for any inventor, let alone a woman in the early 20th century when female participation in technical fields was severely limited. Her inventions included the vacuum ice cream freezer, a typewriter ribbon vibrator, the Protograph (an early duplicating machine), and various improvements to existing technologies. Henry established her own company, Beulah Henry Manufacturing, and worked tirelessly to commercialize her innovations. Though many of her inventions did not achieve widespread commercial success, her determination and ingenuity challenged contemporary gender norms and demonstrated that women possessed equal capacity for technical innovation. Her legacy remains an important example of female entrepreneurship and invention during a period when such achievements were rare and often unrecognized.