Sarah Boone, born in 1832 in Craven County, North Carolina, was a slave, forbidden a formal education, so was home schooled by her grandfather. In November 1847, she married a free black man, James Boone, and was granted her own freedom.
She moved with her family to New Haven, Connecticut before the Civil War. She worked as a dressmaker during a time where people ironed their clothes by placing a wooden plank across two chairs. Boone created a narrower, curved board that could slip into sleeves and allow a garment to be shifted without getting wrinkled. Her invention was padded to prevent impressions from the wooden board, and she made it collapsible for easier storage.
She was awarded US Patent No. 473,653 on April 26, 1892, making her one of the first African American women to earn a US patent.
Boone passed away from Bright's disease in October 1904,
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