Sarah E. Goode

Patent issued to Sarah E. Goode for the 'folding bed cabinet'

Born in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio to Oliver and Harriet Jacobs, Goode was originally named as Sarah Elisabeth Jacobs.[1] Little is known about Goode’s early life but it is believe that in 1870, Goode’s family moved to Chicago, Illinois where she married Archibald Goode and had children with him. Archibald considered himself as a stair builder and an upholster and he and Sarah opened a furniture store.[2]

Most customers of Goode's furniture store were working-class people that lived in small apartments that couldn’t fit a lot of furniture, including beds.[3] As well as this, at the time of her invention, New York City passed a law that restricted buildings to be under 80 feet. Tenement buildings were also restricted to footprints of 25 feet by 100 feet.[4] As Goode heard this problem from her customers in Chicago, she set out to help Chicago apartment dwellers with limited space in their apartments.[5] Goode invented a folding bed that would become the precursor to the Murphy Bed - a hide-away bed. It was a cabinet bed which folded into a roll-top desk which had compartments for writing supplies and stationery.[6] Her goal for the innovation was to balance the weight of the folding of the bed so it could be easily lifted up and held in its place and also provided supplementary support to the center of the bed when it was unfolded.[7] In 1885, for her invention of the folding bed, Goode received a patent as the first African American in the United States.[8] The patent was for a folding bed that would go on to become the modern-day murphy bed.[9]

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  Patent issuded a canbinetbed for peoples homes and needs

Although Sarah is listed as the second African American woman to receive a US patent,[10] proceeded by one year by Judy W. Reed’s dough roller,[11] it’s hard to know for sure. The Patent Office did not ask for distinction of race on patent applications, only for confirmation that the patentee was an American citizen.[12] Until a few decades prior to Sarah's invention, African Americans faced several barriers when applying for patents. African Americans who were classified as slaves were unable to receive patents entirely. And although free persons of color were said to have no federal obstacles,[13] the Black Codes were in effect in many states into the 1860s and limited the ability of African Americans to own property and patents.[14] Historically, women faced challenges in the patent process as well. The 1790 federal patent process from the start allowed “persons”, not just men, to seek patents federally. However, many states limited the patent and property rights of women, creating an obstacle. These limitations decreased starting in 1839 and over the following decades. However, limitations to higher education institutions that specialized in scientific training were still a barrier. Financial backing and informal patent assistance were also both limited when it came to women's inventions as compared to men's, making the process of attaining a patent more difficult.[15]

Sarah Elisabeth Goode died in Chicago on April 18, 1905.[16] In 2012, the Sarah E. Goods STEM Academy, a science and math based school! was opened in south Chicago to honor her contributions to the world. The school emphasizes on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to help prepare students in their future careers.[17] It is part of the Chicago Public Schools Urban Model High School (UMHS)[18]

Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy is also a P-TECH school which stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School. Not only does P-TECH connect high school students to employment opportunities in promising fields, it also offers them the chance to take college courses while in high school and to earn credits toward both—a concept called dual enrollment.[19]