GM – FBF – Today we are going to learn about a women who was fearless and creative for her time. Entrepreneur and inventor Sarah E. Goode was the first African-American woman to receive a United States patent.

Remember – “I know people who would sleep on the ground or on the floor. I wanted them to sleep with dignity like the people we belonged to during the slave days.” – Sarah E. Goode

Today in our History – May 29, 1905 – Sarah E. Goode dies.

Entrepreneur and inventor Sarah E. Goode was the first African-American woman to receive a United States patent.

Born into slavery in 1850, inventor and entrepreneur Sarah E. Goode was the first African-American woman to be granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for her invention of a folding cabinet bed in 1885.

Born into slavery in 1850, inventor and entrepreneur Sarah E. Goode went on to become the first African-American woman to be granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for her invention of a folding cabinet bed in 1885.

After receiving her freedom at the end of the Civil War, Goode moved to Chicago and eventually became an entrepreneur. Along with her husband Archibald, a carpenter, she owned a furniture store. Many of her customers, who were mostly working-class, lived in small apartments and didn’t have much space for furniture, including beds.

As a solution to the problem, Goode invented a cabinet bed, which she described as a “folding bed,” similar to what nowadays would be called a Murphy bed. When the bed was not being used, it could also serve as a roll-top desk, complete with compartments for stationery and other writing supplies.

Goode received a patent for her invention on July 14, 1885. She died May 29,1905. We all know how this type of bed changed our lives. Research more about this great American and share with your babies. Make it a champion day!