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Margaret Knight was an American inventor who is credited with the invention of a machine that could automatically cut, fold, and glue flat bottom paper bags.

She was one of the first women to hold a patent and she held patents for at least 26 other inventions between the years 1870 and 1915.

Click here to read her biography on the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which she was inducted into in 2006.  

Meet the Female Inventor Behind Mass Market Paper Bag

• Within this resource was a podcast about American Innovators that it told the story of how Margaret Knight won the patent for the paper bag

• Also the struggles that she endured, specifically surrounding the issues of gender present in the 19^th century

What is a Patent?

• A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor. 

  Learning from InvENtors:  Margaret Knight

• Ask students to list the number of places where they see paper bags being used in their lives 

• Knowing that Margaret Knight built upon something that had already been invented to make it better, ask students to work in groups to see if there is anything in our lives currently that could be redeveloped to make our lives better/easier. 

Patent Drawing for Margaret E. Knight's Bag Machine 

•  Students would then have to present their ideas to the patent office (another group of students) who would determine whether or not the new invention/redesign was worthy of a patent. 

 Margaret E. Knight:  7 Days of Genius 

Make A Paper Kit in Honor of Margaret Knight