Sarah Boone

Sarah Boone, patented an improvement to the ironing board (U.S. Patent #473,653) on April 26, 1892. Her ironing board was designed to be effective in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies' garments. Sarah Boone's board was very narrow and curved, the size and fit of a sleeve, and it was reversible, making it easy to iron both sides of a sleeve. Prior to her inventions, people were forced to resort to simply using a table or being creative in laying a plank of wood across two chairs or small tables.