Anna Dormitzer facts for kids

Anna Dormitzer (1830–1903) was a clever inventor and a mom to seven children. She was also a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, a group that worked for women's right to vote. During her life, Anna received sixteen patents for her inventions. This made her one of the few women inventors at the time to have many patents.

Early Life and Activism

This is a model of one of Anna Dormitzer's inventions: a chair for cleaning windows, from 1878.

Anna Dormitzer was born in Prague, which is now in the Czech Republic, on May 5, 1830. When she was 20 years old, in 1850, she moved to the United States and arrived in New York. That same year, she married Henry Dormitzer. They made their home in Hoboken, New Jersey. Henry became very successful in the tobacco business.

Later, after Henry retired, the couple moved to New York City. There, both Anna and Henry became very involved in politics. Anna was a suffragette. This means she was a woman who actively fought for women to have the right to vote. She was a member of important groups like the National American Woman Suffrage Association and the Sorosis Society.

Inventing for Safety

Even though the Dormitzers were wealthy and could hire people to help with chores, Anna noticed how dangerous some tasks, like cleaning windows, could be. She cared a lot about safety. Because of this, starting in 1878, she began inventing and getting patents for different tools to make window cleaning safer.

She created many devices, including special chairs and stepladders. Some of her inventions even combined a chair and a ladder! Anna made sure to include very detailed drawings with her patent applications. This showed exactly how her inventions worked.

Here are some of the things Anna Dormitzer invented and received patents for:

• Window-Cleaning Step-Chair (1878)
• Window-Cleaning Chair (1878, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1886)
• Combined Window Cleaning Chair and Fire Escape (1882)
• Ornamental Step Ladder (1886, 1893)
• Paint and Brush Bucket (1886)
• Safety Watch Pocket (1888)
• Step Ladder (1890, 1891)
• Chair for Washing Windows (1893)
• Napkin Holder (1895, 1896)

Later Life and Legacy

Anna Dormitzer passed away on May 2, 1903, in New York City. Her husband, Henry, died a few years later in 1911. Both Anna and Henry are buried at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Anna Dormitzer is remembered as an important inventor who focused on making everyday tasks safer.

Collections

• Patent Model - Window-Cleaning Step-Chairs, 1878, Patent no. 206,936, Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, DE

Images for kids

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  An article from the Pittsburgh Daily Post (January 14, 1894) describing Anna's window cleaning seat.

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  A portrait of Anna Dormitzer when she was a young woman, from the mid-1800s.