Margaret A. Wilcox facts for kids

Margaret A. Wilcox was a clever inventor and mechanical engineer. She is best known for creating an early design for a car heater. She also held patents for several other useful inventions.

Margaret Wilcox's Life and Inventions

Margaret Wilcox was born in 1838 in Chicago, Illinois. She was a talented mechanical engineer.

Margaret invented many things. For example, in 1890, she created a machine that could wash both clothes and dishes! It had two bowls, with a smaller one moving inside a larger one. She also designed a special stove that could cook food and heat water at the same time. This stove was smart because it used heat that would normally be wasted, saving fuel.

Back then, it was sometimes hard for women to get patents in their own names. So, Margaret filed some of her inventions under her husband's name. Even though these early inventions didn't become popular, Margaret kept inventing! Some people think she started a company called Wilcox Company around 1892 to sell her ideas.

The Car Heater Invention

In 1893, Margaret applied for a patent for her car heater idea. She showed her invention at the World's Columbian Fair in Chicago that same year.

Her car heater design was very clever. It used the heat already made by the car's engine. Air would flow along the hot engine, pick up the heat, and then blow into the car. This warmed up the inside of the vehicle.

One challenge with her first design was that drivers couldn't control how hot the car got. Once the heater was on, the temperature would keep rising. This meant it could get too warm inside the car. Even with this challenge, Margaret's design was an important step forward.

How Car Heaters Became Common

Engineers started using Margaret Wilcox's car heater design around 1917. About twelve years later, her design was put into cars made by Ford. Other car companies also began to develop and install car heaters, making driving much more comfortable in cold weather.

Honors

In 2020, a magazine called Inventor's Digest recognized Margaret Wilcox's car heater patent. They named it one of the top ten patents ever created by women.