As a group, moms are an inventive bunch. After all, we constantly have to innovate to raise our kids and keep our lives together (or at least make it look like our lives are together). It's no wonder that there are a lot of moms out there who have ended up creating life-changing inventions or who have broken glass ceilings — we do tend to have a lot of drive and motivation, after all, whether or not our accomplishments have to do with our kids.
Over the years, woman and mothers haven't gotten a fair shake, and we still have a long way to go — after all, we did only win the right to vote a century ago, and we're still fighting for parental leave and to close the pay gap. But despite the obstacles that mothers have had in their way throughout history, they've still managed to crush boundaries and go where no woman or person has gone before.
From the first female senator to the women who invented baby care products, toys, and even household appliances, here are the women who did it first. Moms can do anything, and this is proof.
Ruth Wakefield
We owe Ruth Wakefield a lot, because this is the woman who invented chocolate chip cookies. A chef and mother of two, Ruth created the original Toll House cookie recipe in the 1930s while working at Massachusetts' Toll House Inn.
Marion Donovan
Of course it was a mom who invented disposable diapers! A mom of three, Marion Donovan invented the first waterproof disposable diapers in the 1940s when she was tired of dealing with diaper rash, wet crib sheets, and the inconvenience that came with cloth diapers and rubber pants.
Shirley Ann Jackson
Shirley Ann Jackson was the first Black woman to earn a PhD from MIT — a seriously impressive feat for anyone — in 1973. She was also the first Black woman to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering, and was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2016, all while being mom to her son, Alan.
Valentina Tereshkova
A full 20 years before Sally Ride ever left the atmosphere, Russian astronaut and mother Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman and mother to ever go to space. She turned her passion for parachutes into a whole new career, and ended up setting a record all on her own.
Elle Rowley
Babywearing has seriously taken off, and we owe some of the popularity to mom Elle Rowley. She invented the much beloved Solly Baby Wrap, which is named after her son, Solomon.
"I started Solly Baby with a pregnant belly and a $50 Craigslist serger back in 2010," Elle's bio says on the Solly Baby website. "I made one simple wrap for myself and a friend and, after having my son, Solomon (Solly for short), we both quickly fell in love with the experience."
Marie Curie
Marie Curie is one of the most famous scientists in history, since she was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in 1903 for physics, along with her husband, before winning the award on her own in 1911 for chemistry. She was also a mother to two daughters, Irene and Eve.
Sojourner Truth
Abolitionist Sojourner Truth certainly made her mark on history — including when she escaped slavery in 1826 with an infant in tow — and in 2009, she became the first Black woman to have her own statue at the Capitol in Washington, DC. She also happened to be the first Black woman to successfully sue a white man when she went to court to get her son back who had been illegally sold to a slave owner.
Candy Lightner
In May 1980, Candy Lightner's 13-year-old daughter was hit and killed by a drunk driver while she was walking to a carnival in her neighborhood. Four days later, Candy founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving as a way to prevent this from happening to other children.
Anna Jarvis
No surprise that the person who invented Mother's Day was also a mother herself! Back in the 1860s, Anna Jarvis' mother, Ann, began Mother's Friendship Day as a way to bring people back together after the Civil War, and in the early 1900s, Anna continued her mother's legacy, making sure Mother's Day became a national holiday in 1914.
Victoria Knight McDowell
We've found ourselves using products like Airborne a lot recently, and a mother was behind it all. Victoria Knight McDowell, who is a mom and a former teacher, invented the immunity supplement with her husband in the 1990s, and now we can't imagine a pharmacy shelf without it.
Josephine Cochrane
Feeling thankful for the dishwasher every single day after dinner? Then we should also be thanking Josephine Cochrane, an inventor and mother of two daughters who is responsible for creating the first dishwasher.
Madame CJ Walker
Madame CJ Walker was the first female self-made millionaire in America — and one of the first Black people to hit that financial milestone, too. She made her fortune by creating her own hair care line, which she then expanded into a cosmetics laboratory, all while raising her daughter.
Hattie Caraway
In 1931, Hattie Caraway — a mother and a Democrat from Arkansas — became the first woman to hold a seat in the US Senate. According to the House's website, the first thing she said when she walked into the office was, "the windows need washing!" which is a mom thing to say if we've ever heard one.
Ruth Handler
The woman behind the creation of Barbie? Of course she was a mom! Ruth Handler invented Barbies in 1959 after seeing how much her daughter, Barbara, loved paper dolls (and obviously, she named the famous dolls after her, too).
Judy Garland
The actress, legend, and mother of Liza Minnelli (along with her other two children, Joey and Lorna Luft), Judy Garland needs no introduction, and she broke the glass ceiling in her own way during her career. She became the first female winner of album of the year at the Grammys ever.
Katharine Graham
In 1963, Katharine Graham took over The Washington Post after her father, the paper's publisher, passed it down to her. She managed to make the paper a national success and expanded her company to other forms of media, including TV. This earned her a place as the first female CEO on the Fortune 500 list.
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor has scored herself quite a place in the American history books as the first woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice when she was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1981. She retired from the Court in 2006.
Vanessa Williams
Model, actress, and singer (seriously, is there anything she doesn't do?) Vanessa Williams is not only the mother of four kids — Sasha, Jillian, Devin, and Melanie, but she also happens to be the first Black woman who ever won Miss America in 1984.
Aretha Franklin
Legendary singer and music icon Aretha Franklin became the first woman to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 after releasing hits that have gone on to be classics, like "Respect."
Hillary Clinton
A mother to daughter Chelsea, Hillary Clinton was not only a first lady, but she went on to be the first female presidential candidate to win a primary after her time as a US senator and secretary of state.
