Ellen F. Eglin (before 1849 – after 1890) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

inventor who revolutionized the chore of laundry with the invention of the clothes wringer for washing machines and, in the process, made her mark on African Americans and women's history.

Personal

Little has been recorded about Eglin's early life, which was a common theme among many early Black women inventors. Ellen F. Eglin was born in the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in February 1836, according to the 1880 Census. At some time, she and her family moved to

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, where Eglin made her living as a housekeeper and a

government employee The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

. She is unlisted in 1850 - 1870 census records. Later records show her to have been born in

, in 1849, although some experts disagree, labeling her birth in

in 1836. As a young adult, she worked as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

in the local census office and also spent time as a domestic. As a housekeeper, Eglin passed several hours engaged in backbreaking laundry work. The task of scrubbing clothes by hand on a washboard and then wringing out the water afterwards ignited Eglin's desire to improve the laundry process, which sparked the idea of a new invention.

Invention

In 1888, Eglin invented her groundbreaking device, a special type of clothes-wringer, which was a machine that had two wooden rollers attached to a crank; after being washed and rinsed, wet clothes were fed between these rollers and an immense amount of water was squeezed out. The clothes were then hung to dry, a process which took significantly less time due to the wringer. Although the design was perceived as a popular product well into the 20th century, Eglin received almost no credit or financial success of her own invention. At the time, few

innovators Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entity ...

could claim the rights to their inventions and Eglin's race further complicated her success. For the April 1890 issue of The Women inventor, a short-lived magazine for highlighting female inventors that was by feminist reformer Charlotte, a reporter asked Eglin why she sold the rights of the invention at such a minimal cost. Eglin stated, "You know I am Black and if it was known that a negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the

wringer A mangle or wringer is a mechanical laundry aid consisting of two rollers in a sturdy frame, connected by cogs and (in its home version) powered by a hand crank or by electricity. While the appliance was originally used to wring water from wet ...

. I was afraid to be known because of my color in having it introduced to the market that is the only reason."” Eglin's knowledge that racial bias would prevent the clothes-wringer's success caused her to sell the design to an unknown white agent for $18. The buyer went on to reap considerable financial awards. By 1900, Eglin's invention found a home with the American Wringer Company. The company grew rich from profits earned from Eglin's invention. Eglin's wringer is still used for mops today.

Later work

After selling her clothes-wringer, Eglin was planning on creating another invention and planned to

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

it in her own name. She wanted that "the invention will be known as a black woman's," something that would inspire African American women of the upcoming generation. Although she wanted to exhibit the new model at the Women's International Industrial Inventors Congress (WIIIC), where, anyone was invented regardless of race, she never went on to patent it. Unfortunately, Eglin never appeared at the WIIIC and the mystery invention was never documented. It is rumored that she went on to work as a clerk in a census office.

Last years

Little is known about the later stages of Ellen Eglin's life, including the place or date of her death. Ellen Eglin appears to have spent the rest of her life in Washington, D. C. In 1890, she was employed by the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

as a

charwoman A charwoman (also chargirl, charlady or char) is an old-fashioned occupational term, referring to a paid part-time worker who comes into a house or other building to clean it for a few hours of a day or week, as opposed to a maid, who usually ...

in the

Census Office The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

She appeared in the local city directories from about 1888 living at 1929 11th Street, N. W. with her brother Charles, a

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

veteran who was a

teamster A teamster is the American term for a truck driver or a person who drives teams of draft animals. Further, the term often refers to a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a labor union in the United States and Canada. Origi ...

. Charles Eglin died in July 1896, leaving his estate divided between his three siblings, including Ellen."Will of Charles Eglin," (Washington) ''Post'', August 2, 1896, 2 Ellen Eglin last appears in the Washington city directories in 1916.

References

External sources

Patent of a Clothes Wringer from 1888

Magazine showcasing Ellen Eglin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eglin, Ellen People from Washington, D.C. African-American inventors 19th-century American inventors Women inventors 1916 deaths 1836 births 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women