Women of Automotive History

The wide open road with wind in your hair and gravel crunching below thick rubber tires isn’t always thought to have been part of a woman’s life. But, almost from the inception of the automobile, more than 110 years ago, women were in the driver’s seat. And, it wasn’t very long before women started leaving their mark in the automotive industry.

As early as 1902, Mary Anderson made one of the first major female contributions to the automotive industry: windshield wipers. Up until that point, drivers had relied on a combination of onion and carrot juice to repel water—doesn’t sound to appetizing or helpful. 

 
A few years later, Mrs. Alice H. Ramsey founded and became the president of the first “Women’s Motoring Club.” She also, at age 22, drove clear across the United States—making her the first woman in history to do so.

Another female contributor was Florence Lawrence. This once movie actress used her creativity to invent the first turn signal. It attached to the car’s rear fender. She later went on to invent the brake signal. However, none of her ideas were patented and many attempted to claim the ideas as their own.

Wilma Russey, in 1915, became the first woman to work as a New York taxi driver.  Plus, this lady was also an expert mechanic—probably more handy in the garage than most modern day men.

Helen Blair Bartlett utilized her chemistry background during the 1930s to try to develop new insulations for spark plugs.

In 1943, Helene Rother, a French Jewelry designer, joined General Motors to become the first women to work as an automotive designer. She would even go on to have her own company which focused on the interior design of autos.

During the 1950s, Denise McCluggage became a celebrated racer. She got behind the wheel of vehicles like Ferraris, Porches, Fords and more to take home titles.

Shirley Muldowney was another racer who became well known. In fact, she was the first woman drag racer to exceed 250 MPH—try talking your way out of that speeding ticket! Then, in 1977, she became the first woman to win the Winston World Championship. Later, she became the first person to win the championship three times!