inventor of the windshield wiper blade (1866–1953)

MaryAnderson(inventora).jpg
Mary Elizabeth Anderson (February 19, 1866 – June 27, 1953) was an American inventor and entrepreneur credited with inventing the first operational windshield wiper. She was born in Greene County, Alabama, and … Wikipedia
Factsheet
Born Mary Anderson
February 19, 1866
Greene County, Alabama
Died June 27, 1953(1953-06-27) (aged 87)
Monteagle, Tennessee
Factsheet
Born Mary Anderson
February 19, 1866
Greene County, Alabama
Died June 27, 1953(1953-06-27) (aged 87)
Monteagle, Tennessee
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mary_Anderson_(inventor)
Mary Anderson (inventor) - Wikipedia
2 weeks ago - According to later retellings, the aunt brought with her a large trunk filled with gold and jewelry, and the sale of these valuables allowed the family to live in considerable comfort while Anderson continued to manage the apartment building and pursue her business interests. In 1903, it rarely occurred to anyone that rain on a moving vehicle’s windshield was a problem that could be eliminated. It was something drivers simply accepted and dealt with in their own ways, usually by stopping every once in a while and manually scraping off the windshield moisture that was causing them to see poorly while they were driving. Mary Anderson changed all of that with her invention of the windshield wiper, an idea that leapt into her mind as she traveled from Alabama to New York City.
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Kiddle
kids.kiddle.co › Mary_Anderson_(inventor)
Mary Anderson (inventor) facts for kids
They didn't think about inventing a solution. When Mary returned to Alabama, she hired someone to design her idea. She wanted a hand-operated device to keep the windshield clear. A local company then made a working model of her invention. Mary applied for a patent for her invention. On November 10, 1903, the United States Patent Office gave her patent number 743,801.
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Arklu
lottie.com › blogs › strong-women › mary-anderson-biography-for-kids
Mary Anderson Biography for Kids
Mary Elizabeth Anderson was best known as the inventor of the first effective windshield wiper. She was an American rancher, real estate developer, and viticulturist and she lived from February 19, 1866, to June 27, 1953.
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Lemelson
lemelson.mit.edu › resources › mary-anderson
Mary Anderson | Lemelson
At the time she applied for her patent, cars were not very popular. Henry Ford’s Model A automobile had not even been manufactured yet, and he would not create his famed Model T vehicle until 1908. Anderson, meanwhile, was teased and laughed at by many people because of her idea for the windshield wipers.
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Encyclopedia of Alabama
encyclopediaofalabama.org › home › science & technology › scientists and inventors › mary anderson
Anderson, Mary - Encyclopedia of Alabama
November 7, 2025 - Alabama native Mary Anderson (1866-1953) is credited with inventing the first operational windshield wiper. In her 1903 patent, she called her invention a window cleaning device for electric cars and other vehicles.
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ThoughtCo
thoughtco.com › mary-anderson-inventor-of-the-windshield-wiper-1992654
Biography of Mary Anderson, Inventor of the Windshield Wiper
July 29, 2019 - ... Mary Anderson (February 19, 1866–June 27, 1953) was hardly a likely candidate to invent the windshield wiper—especially considering she filed her patent before Henry Ford even started manufacturing cars.
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National Inventors Hall of Fame
invent.org › inductees › mary-anderson
Mary Anderson │ The National Inventors Hall of Fame
While touring New York City in a trolley car on a snowy day in the early 1900s, Mary Anderson conceived her idea of a windshield wiper blade that could be operated from the inside by the trolley driver.
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HISTORY
history.com › home › this day in history › november-10 › mary anderson patents windshield wiper | november 10, 1903 | history
Mary Anderson patents windshield wiper | November 10, 1903 | HISTORY
743,801 to a Birmingham, Alabama woman named Mary Anderson for her “window cleaning device for electric cars and other vehicles to remove snow, ice or sleet from the window.” When she received her patent, Anderson tried to sell it to a Canadian ...
Published   May 27, 2025
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KidsKonnect
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Mary Anderson Facts, Worksheets & Early Life For Kids
June 18, 2021 - Mary Anderson was an inventor, real estate developer, rancher, and viticulturist from Alabama. She devised the first operational windscreen wiper in 1903. If you have ever been on a road trip and hard rain falls down from the sky, or if you ...
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Fox News
foxnews.com › lifestyle › meet-american-invented-windshield-wipers-mary-anderson-alabama-entrepreneur
Meet the American who invented windshield wipers, Mary Anderson, Alabama entrepreneur | Fox News
There is no indication that Anderson ever trained as a mechanic or engineer. But she emerged with a clever mechanism that displayed many of the hallmarks of windshield wipers today.
Published   May 31, 2024
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IMDb
imdb.com › name › nm0027156
Mary Anderson | Actress
March 16, 2019 - Actress: Lifeboat. Mary Anderson was born on 3 April 1918 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. She was an actress, known for Lifeboat (1944), Gone with the Wind (1939) and Wilson (1944). She was married to Leon Shamroy and Leonard Marion Behrens.
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National Inventors Hall of Fame
invent.org › blog › inventors › mary-anderson-windshield-wipers
Mary Anderson: The Unheralded Inventor of the Windshield Wiper | National Inventors Hall of Fame®
November 2, 2020 - When Anderson returned home to Birmingham, Alabama, she thought about how there had to be a more efficient way of cleaning a windshield than what she had witnessed on her trip to the Big Apple. She sat down and began to sketch out a design for a wiper blade that could be operated from inside the vehicle. After finalizing the details of her idea, she filed a patent application for her creation on June 18, 1903. A few short months later, on Nov. 10, 1903, Anderson was awarded a patent for her “Window Cleaning Device.” In the patent application, Anderson explains that by operating a lever ins
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MY HERO
myhero.com › M_Anderson_mead_US_2011_ul
Mary Anderson | MY HERO
Another characteristic about Mary is she was very helpful because when she was in New York she saw drivers having a hard time to see and she wanted to improve their vision. That shows that she very helpful and that she wanted to help others. A last characteristic about Ms. Anderson is she never gives up because when she was trying to produce her device to the Canadians and they rejected it, she didn’t give up - she keep modeling her design.
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V-hr
v-hr.com › blog › historical-figures-in-engineering-mary-anderson
Historical Figures in Engineering: Mary Anderson
Invented by Mary Anderson, the windshield wiper made the car significantly safer, allowing it to operate under adverse weather conditions and maintain good visibility.
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Timetoast
timetoast.com › timelines › mary-anderson-by-xavier
Mary Anderson by Xavier timeline | Timetoast Timelines
Mary Anderson was born in greene country alabama in july 28th 1859 · Apr 15, 1889 · Her family and her moved to Birmingham Alabama · Aug 18, 1893 · Her and her family moved to Gresno, California · Jun 23, 1898 · She Operated a cattle ranch ...
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Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › entertainment & pop culture › actors
Mary Anderson | Theatrical Star, Broadway, Comedic Roles | Britannica
July 20, 1998 - The next year she married Antonio Fernando de Navarro and settled with him in Broadway, Worcestershire, England. Her public appearances thereafter were rare. ... July 28, 1859, Sacramento, Calif., U.S. (Show more) ... May 29, 1940, Broadway, Worcestershire, Eng. (aged 80) (Show more) ... Anderson published two volumes of autobiography, A Few Memories (1896) and A Few More Memories (1936).
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Amazingwomeninhistory
amazingwomeninhistory.com › home › who invented windshield wipers? mary anderson
Who Invented Windshield Wipers? Mary Anderson
October 25, 2022 - Forgetting about the sights around her, Mary started thinking about how the driver could stay warm inside the vehicle without worrying about the snow piling up on his windshield. As soon as she went back home, she started working out her idea for the first windshield wipers. Mary Anderson envisioned a device that would attach to the outside of the car, with a long spring-loaded arm with a rubber blade.
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EngineerGirl
engineergirl.org › 27069 › Windshield-Wipers
EngineerGirl - Windshield Wipers
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903, years before Henry Ford industrialized automobile production.
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FactRepublic.com
factrepublic.com › facts › 34163
Mary Anderson | Fact# 34163 | FactRepublic.com
August 25, 2020 - Mary Anderson was the inventor of the windshield wiper. She got a 17-year patent for it in 1903. She tried to sell the rights in 1905 but was rejected by a firm saying "we do not consider it to be of such commercial value as would warrant our ...