How did Mary Anderson come up with the windshield wiper?

While touring the city of New York 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.

Who came up with windshield wipers?

Mary Anderson
Gladstone Adams
Windscreen wiper/Inventors

When did Mary Anderson invent windshield wipers?

1903
On November 10, 1903 Anderson was granted her first patent for an automatic car window cleaning device controlled from inside the car, called the windshield wiper.

Who invented the windshield wiper in 1902?

On a snowy day in 1902, National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) Inductee Mary Anderson was riding in a streetcar in New York City and observed how frustrated the vehicle’s driver was becoming as he struggled to remove the snow from the windshield.

Did Mary Anderson invent anything else?

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.

Why did Mary not sell her invention?

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 manufacturing firm, but the company refused: The device had no practical …

What did Mary Anderson invent?

Windscreen wiperMary Anderson / Inventions

How were wipers invented?

Windshield Wiper Origins In the end, American inventor Mary Anderson received credit for the first operational windshield wiper, back in 1903. Anderson’s “window cleaning device” used a rubber squeegee blade on an arm, operated via a hand-cranked lever from inside the vehicle.

What was before windshield wipers?

Charlotte Bridgwood invented the “Storm Windshield Cleaner” in 1917. The new invention used rollers instead of blades, and were powered by the engine to provide automatic wiping action. Another 1917 wiper modification used a single wiper with a rubber blade that reached across the windshield to improve visibility.

Did the first car have wipers?

The history of the windshield wiper began with the invention of the automobile. Most transportation vehicles did not have wipers. Horse-drawn carriages and trucks moved at slow speeds, and glass was not needed to protect the driver or passengers or to act as a windbreak. The first windshield wipers were brushes.

What did people use before wipers?

Most transportation vehicles did not have wipers. Horse-drawn carriages and trucks moved at slow speeds, and glass was not needed to protect the driver or passengers or to act as a windbreak. The first windshield wipers were brushes.

Is flash of genius a true story?

Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper and spent 12 years suing the big Detroit automakers for stealing his idea. “Flash of Genius” is a true story based on a New Yorker magazine article.