Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Sarah Boone, a pioneering African American inventor whose ingenuity transformed the way we care for our clothes.
In 1892, Sarah Boone received U.S. Patent No. 473,563 for her improved design of the ironing board—an invention that made ironing easier and more effective, especially for sleeves and other hard-to-press areas. Her narrow, curved, padded, and reversible board allowed garments to be pressed without creasing, helping achieve smoother, more polished results.
Born into slavery in 1832 near New Bern, in Craven County, North Carolina, Boone later moved with her family to New Haven, Connecticut, prior to the Civil War. She worked as a dressmaker, drawing on firsthand experience with fitted garments such as corsets and structured sleeves—experience that inspired her practical and innovative design.
In her patent application, Boone stated that her goal was to create “a cheap, simple, convenient, and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies’ garments.” With the approval of her patent, she became one of the first African American women to receive a U.S. patent.
Despite growing up in a place where it was illegal for African Americans to be taught to read and write, Boone learned later in life, possibly through her church community. Her perseverance and brilliance helped her overcome immense barriers of race and gender.
Alongside fellow Black women inventors Miriam Benjamin, Ellen Eglin, and Sarah Goode, Boone helped shape early home technology and improve everyday life.
Sarah Boone passed away in 1904, but her legacy lives on in homes around the world.
So we salute Sarah Boone—a trailblazer whose innovation continues to make daily life easier and whose story reminds us of the power of creativity, perseverance, and excellence.
