Miriam E. Benjamin
(September 16, 1861 – 1947)
The first black woman who practiced as a patent attorney.
Second Black woman to receive a patent, she invented the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels
Education: Howard University, Howard University Law School
Awards: Patent number 386,289
Miriam was born on September 16, 1861, in Charleston, South Carolina, Her parents were Francis Benjamin and Eliza Benjamin. 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 a better overall life. She was the eldest of five children.
She moved to Washington, D.C. where she was a schoolteacher in the segregated municipal school system. In 1888, she was living at 1736 New York Avenue, N.W. in Washington. During that time she created her invention On July 17, 1888, she obtained a patent for her invention, the Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels. The chair would “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.” The chair worked when the person sitting would press a small button on the back of the chair which would then send a signal to a waiting attendant. A light would illuminate as well, allowing the attendant to see which guest needed help.
Her second invention was Benjamin’s invention was the precursor to the flight attendant call button, a key tool for customer service in the airline industry.
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 Howard University Law School; upon graduation, she set herself up in business as a “solicitor of patents.” The system was eventually adopted by the United States House of Representatives and was a precursor to the signaling system used on airplanes for passengers to seek assistance from flight attendants.
In 1920, she returned to Boston, where she lived and worked with her brother, Boston attorney Edgar P. Benjamin.
later, her technology was modified for use on airplanes and was adopted by the United States House of Representatives. Benjamin’s invention was a precursor to airplanes’ signaling system used when passengers want to notify flight attendants for assistance. Her invention was also aimed at many other industries including health care, theatres, and government agencies. It was featured in various newspapers within the country. She also invented a pinking device for dressmaking and a medication delivery system that was supposed to be inserted through a shoe’s sole. She patented it in 1917 (U.S. Patent Number 1249, 000).
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT HER OTHER TALENTS AS AND INNOVATOR AND PIONEER
Miriam was Lyde’s attorney on his patent applications.
Music historians believe she, under the gender-neutral pseudonym, E.B. Miriam, Miriam composed for piano and band. John Philip Sousa’s band performed one of her marches, “The Boston Elite Two Step”. Theodore Roosevelt used one of her compositions. “The American Bugle Call” in his 1904 presidential campaign.
FAMILY TREE OF INVENTORS NOT MENTIONED
Apart from Miriam Benjamin, her two brothers were inventors, too. Edgar Benjamin invented a Trouser-shield or bicycle clip. Her other brother, Lyde W. Benjamin, was also a Boston attorney and patented an improved Broom Moisteners and Bridle.
Miriam Benjamin lived with her mother in Boston. She never married, and she didn’t have any children. She died in 1947 at the age of 85 years old. Her death is still yet unknown.
