Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Assignment 4

Sarah E. Goode was born in the 1850's as a slave. She gained her freedom after the American Civil War and eventually moved to Chicago. In Chicago she opened a furniture store. Many of her clients lived in the tiny apartments of the city and complained about not having enough room for a full size bed. Goode designed and constructed one of the first hideaway beds. Her bed was designed to fold into a cabinet with a roll-top desk and shelf. The design was so popular that she applied for a patent. She received her patent on July 14, 1885. Not only is she known as the inventor of the folding Cabinet Bed but she was also the first African American woman to receive a patent from the US Patent Office.

Goode's Cabinet Bed

http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/inventors/images/sarahgood2_big.jpg

0 comments: