Black History Month: Past, Present & Future (Sarah E. Goode)

FEB 4th - SARAH E. GOODE (1855-1905)
Entrepreneur and inventor Sarah E. Goode was the first African American woman to receive a United States patent. Born into slavery in 1850, inventor and entrepreneur Sarah E. Goode was the first African American woman to be granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (patent number 322,177), for her invention of a folding cabinet bed in 1885.After receiving her freedom at the end of the Civil War, Goode moved to Chicago and eventually became an entrepreneur. Along with her husband Archibald, a carpenter, she owned a furniture store. Many of her customers, who were mostly working-class, lived in small apartments and didn't have much space for furniture, including beds. Goode wanted to make it possible for people living in small homes to have furniture that fit in restricted space.As a solution to the problem, Goode invented a cabinet bed, which she described as a "folding bed," similar to what nowadays would be called a Murphy bed. When the bed was not being used, it could also serve as a roll-top desk, complete with compartments for stationery and other writing supplies.Today, there’s a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education school in Chicago named after Sarah E. Goode. Her legacy lives on in many ways today with the idea of utilizing one's space by making items multi-purpose. Cheers to Sarah E. Goode!