Valerie Hunter Gordon facts for kids

Valerie Hunter Gordon (née Valerie Ziani de Ferranti; 7 December 1921 – 16 October 2016) was the British inventor of PADDI, a sustainable nappy system considered to be the world's first disposable nappy, and Nikini, an early sanitary towel system.

The Nikini sanitary towel system

Following the success of the PADDI, Valerie went on to have three more children and relocate to Beauly when her Scottish husband Patrick Hunter Gordon joined his father Samuel Hunter Gordon in running the family engineering business AI Welders in Inverness. From there, she travelled back and forth to the Robinsons headquarters, where she developed the PADDI design and designed other products. She also created the Nikini sanitary towel system for women, the pad for which may be considered the world's first modern sanitary towel. Rather to her surprise Nikini earned more royalties overall than Paddi.

Personal life

Valerie Hunter Gordon was the granddaughter of inventor Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, the founder of British electrical engineering firm Ferranti, great-granddaughter of Italian classical guitarist and composer Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti and the sister of Basil de Ferranti. Her maternal great-grandmother, Juliana Scott, was a concert pianist.

She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart school, in Roehampton.

In 1940, Valerie married the decorated Royal Engineer, Major Patrick Hunter Gordon. Patrick and Valerie's father were involved in the retreat from Dunkirk and her father led a group of soldiers home to safety riding discarded motorbikes through the Spanish border, managing to arriving home just in time for the wedding.

She died on 16 October 2016 at the age of 94 and was survived by six children, 19 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Hunter Gordon para niños