Women have always been behind the scenes of the car industry, and history has revealed yet another case of female brilliance gone unrecognized. In the early 1920’s, owning a car was a luxury as well as a symbol of independence. However, cars were still relatively new and one major flaw that had not been commercially addressed was a lack of turn signals. I imagine cars must have been messily crashing into each other like a giant version of bumper cars. Enter Florence Lawrence.
Lawrence was born in 1886 in Hamilton, Ontario to an actress named Charlotte Bridgewood. Sound familiar? Her mother was a little known inventor herself, who patented the ‘Electric Storm Windshield Cleaner’ and was highlighted in a previous Fueled by Females blog! Lawrence also herself became an actress and due to her success in the film industry, was able to buy herself a car. In 1914, Lawrence invented the automated signal arm.
The design was quite simple: when the driver pushed a button, a sign would go up on the bumper to let other drivers know their intention. She even invented a braking system that had a stop sign rise on the bumper when the driver would push on the brake.
Florence failed to get the device patented and was not largely recognized in her lifetime for this necessary invention. Much like her mother, her design fell through the cracks only to be brought up later in history!
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