Sarah Goode First Black Woman In America To Get Patent

Meet Sarah Goode, the first African-American woman to be given a patent for her invention.

In April 1885 Sarah E. Goode became the first black woman to be given a US patent ( a legal document that gives the holder exclusive rights to an invention, product, or process for a set period). She received a Patent for her invention, which she called The Cabinet Bed which helped people who lived in tight  apartment or housing to utilize their space efficiently.

Worthy of note, prior to this invention, Blacks getting apartment or homes in America was difficult has there were not much homes available, hence people shared spaces and corners just to have a place to sleep and keep their belongings.
Sarah Elisabeth Goode ( 1855-April 8, 1905) was an African-American inventor born in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio, daughter to Oliver and Harriet Jacobs. Goode’s initial name was Sarah Elisabeth Jacob.

When she was young her father worked as a waiter and her mother served as an organizer for the Ohio anti-slavery society in Toledo, which was a stop on the Underground Railroad. There’s only little information about Goode’s early life but before 1870 Goode and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois, her father began working in carpentry. There she met her husband Archibald Goode and had children with him. Archibald worked as a stair builder and an upholsterer, and he and Sarah opened a furniture store.
Prior to Sarah’s innovative creation, African and Americans faced a lot of barriers when applying for patent right. However, Sarah was one of the few African American and the first Black woman to get her innovation Patent.