Mary+Anderson

Very little information is known about Mary Anderson, but from what I've found out, she invented the windshield wipers when she was 37. She got some of the money from her Aunt. When she was little her aunt would make her close her eyes and help her dig through a chest and pull out trays and jewels for her aunt to look at, but Mary couldn't look. When her aunt passed away part of what was in that chest went to Mary for being a "good little girl who kept her eyes shut." Mary Anderson invented the windshield wipers in 1903. She was motivated to invent this when she was driving her street car and noticed that people were constantly having to get out of their car to wipe off the snow and ice that kept building up on the windshield. People laughed at her when she said that she wanted to invent the windshield wipers, because people had tried before her and failed, but she showed them. In 1905 she got a patent for her invention, and by1916, windshield wipers were standard on most automobiles. Her first model of the windshield wipers was with a swinging arm device and a rubber blade that was operated by the driver from within the vehicle. Mary Anderson's invention saved many lives. The windshield wipers made life for drivers so much easier, even when it was just a swinging arm and rubber blade. It stopped car crashes and traffic. Her invention made a huge impact on life for everyone. There are windshield wipers on almost every automobile throughout the world. Now, when I think about it, I couldn't imagine a car without windshield wipers. Mary Anderson died at her summer home in Monteagle Tennessee. She died on Saturday June 27, her death was unexpected. The cause of her death was simply because of old age.
 * Born on 1866/ Greene County, Alabama
 * Died on June 27, 1953/ Saturday
 * [|written eulogy.pdf]
 * Religion: Unknown
 * There is very little information about whether Mary had a family of her own, but she did have a family. She had a mother, father, and one sister. Her father died before her mother, leaving her mom with two daughters and a lot of land. So her mom tried to make things easier and more simple, and moved the family to Birmingham, Alabama.

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Citation: "Mary Anderson (inventor)." __Wikipedia__. 25 Sep 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anderson_(inventor])>. Citation: "anderson mary inventors." __Birmingham Public Library__. 28 Sep 2008 