Marion Donovan

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Marion Donovan
BornOctober 15, 1917
Fort Wayne, Indiana
DiedNovember 4, 1998(1998-11-04) (aged 81)
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
Alma materRosemont College (BA)
Yale University (MArch)
Known forFirst waterproof diaper
AwardsNational Inventors Hall of Fame

Marion O'Brien Donovan (October 15, 1917 – November 4, 1998) was an American inventor and entrepreneur. She was one of the most prolific female inventors of her time,[1] having received 20 patents in total for her inventions. She was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2015.[2][3] Her most notable innovation is the invention of a reusable, leak-proof waterproof diaper cover in 1946 after many iterations. This led to her invention of the disposable paper diaper, which was eventually commercialized by Victor Mills, the creator of Pampers.[4] She also invented additional practical solutions to problems around the home.[4]

Early life and education[]

Marion Donovan was born on October 15, 1917 in South Bend, Indiana.[5] After her mother passed away when she was seven, she was raised by her father who invented an industrial lathe and ran the South Bend Lathe Works manufacturing plant with his identical twin brother.[3][5] Donovan spent a lot of time at the plant after school and her father, as an engineer and innovator himself, encouraged her to be innovative from a young age.[3] When she was in elementary school, she created a new kind of tooth cleaning powder with her father's help.[3]

In 1939, Donovan received a bachelor of arts in English from Rosemont College in Pennsylvania. In 1958, she received a master's degree in architecture from Yale University, where she was one of three women in her graduating class.[5]

After earning her B.A., Donovan worked for several years as an Assistant Beauty Editor at Vogue magazine in New York before resigning to start a family and move to Westport, Connecticut.[4] Donovan was first married to James F. Donovan in 1942 and later to John F. Butler in 1981, and she had three children.[5]

Inventions[]

Upon having kids Marion came across a frustrating problem that she believed many mothers shared. Diapers at the time were made out of cloth, so this meant that if a baby was napping and wet or defecated themselves, they would get their clothes and the bedding dirty as well. Donovan saw this inconvenience and decided to create a waterproof diaper that mothers could use to prevent these messes. After creating many prototypes with shower curtains, she finally landed on the Boater,[1] which was made out of nylon parachute cloth in order to minimize the problem of rashes which had plagued her other versions. Additionally, she replaced the safety pins that were used by traditional diapers with plastic straps, thus curbing the problem of poking babies or mothers when trying to put on diapers. As no manufacturers were interested in her product she decided to produce and manufacture it herself. In 1949 the Boater debuted at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and became an instant success. She was granted four patents for the boater in 1951 and later that year sold the rights to the boater to Keko Corporation for one million dollars.[5]

Donovan's next goal was to create disposable diapers, and she created prototypes using a special composition of paper that is both absorbent and able to pull moisture away from babies' skin to prevent rashes.[3] After much experimentation, Donovan designed a composition of sturdy, absorbent paper that did the job well. She toured the major U.S. paper companies and was roundly laughed at for proposing such an unnecessary and impractical item. It took nearly ten years for someone to capitalize on Donovan's idea: namely, Victor Mills, creator of Pampers.[4] While she was never able to find the right manufacturer, largely due to sexism, she is credited with innovations that eventually led to the creation of disposable diapers which were introduced in the U.S. by Procter and Gamble in 1961.[3]

Marion Donovan was instilled with an inventive spirit from a young age. She is the inventor of numerous practical solutions to home problems, and even designed her own house. Amongst her several inventions are a 30-garment compact hanger (the "Big Hangup"), a soap dish that drained into the sink, and the "Zippity-Do", an elastic cord that connected over the shoulder to the zipper on the back of a dress. Another product invented the DentaLoop, a flossing product that she again made and marketed herself.[3]

Donovan died on November 4, 1998, due to heart disease, at the age of 81 at Lenox Hill Hospital in the Manhattan section of New York City.[6]

Donovan was featured on the March 15, 2018 episode of "The Daily Show".[7]

Honors and awards[]

Donovan was elected to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2015 and has a picture on the Hall of Fame wall.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Matchar, Emily. "Meet Marion Donovan, the Mother Who Invented a Precursor to the Disposable Diaper". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Marion Donovan, Who Invented Diapers". www.invent.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "Marion Donovan (1917-1998), Inventor of the Disposable Diaper". America Comes Alive. 2013-03-07. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Marion Donovan | Lemelson". lemelson.mit.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Lemelson Center: Article: First Papers of a Woman Inventor Acquired by Archives Center". Invention.smithsonian.org. Archived from the original on 2010-03-11. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  6. ^ Mcg, Robert (1998-11-18). "Marion Donovan, 81, Solver Of the Damp-Diaper Problem – Obituary; Biography". NYTimes.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  7. ^ "Shafted: Marion Donovan's Trailblazing Diapers - The Daily Show with Trevor Noah | Comedy Central US". Comedy Central. Archived from the original on 2021-06-28. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
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