Origins & Early Life

Margaret Eloise Knight (February 14, 1838 – October 12, 1914) was an American inventor, notably of a machine to produce flat-bottomed paper bags. She has been called "the most famous 19th-century woman inventor". She founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870, creating paper bags for groceries similar in form to the ones that would be used in later generations. Knight received dozens of patents in different fields and became a symbol for women's empowerment.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Margaret E. Knight was born in York, Maine, on February 14, 1838, to Hannah Teal and James Knight. As a little girl, “Mattie,” as her parents and friends nicknamed her, preferred to play with woodworking tools instead of dolls, stating that “the only things [she] wanted were a jack knife, a gimlet, and pieces of wood.” She was known as a child for her kites and sleds. Knight and her brothers, Charlie and Jim, were raised by their widowed mother; Knight's father died when she was young, after which the impoverished family moved to Manchester, New Hampshire, where employment was available in the cotton mills. Any formal education she had was limited to secondary school, as she left to work in the mills at age 12...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam — Contemporary (Born in 1838) (1838): French symbolist writer known for his evocative and decadent literary style.
• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee — Contemporary (Born in 1838) (1838): Pioneering Bengali novelist, poet, and journalist, celebrated as the 'Emperor of Literature'.
• Akhtar Hameed Khan — Contemporary (Born in 1914) (1914): Pioneering Pakistani social scientist and development practitioner.
• Alan Hodgkin — Contemporary (Born in 1914) (1914): Pioneering physiologist known for action potential theory and Nobel laureate.
• Albert Günther — Contemporary (Died in 1914) (1914): Pioneering zoologist and ichthyologist, renowned for extensive systematic descriptions of reptiles and fish.
• Abdul Qadir Gilani — Shared historical date (02-14 · Died) (1166): Founding figure of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, renowned mystic and jurist.
• Alan Parker — Shared historical date (02-14 · Born) (1944): Acclaimed English filmmaker known for genre versatility and numerous BAFTA and Golden Globe wins.
• Aleister Crowley — Shared historical date (10-12 · Born) (1875): Founder of Thelema, a major occultist, poet, and ceremonial magician.
• Anatole France — Shared historical date (10-12 · Died) (1924): Master French writer, poet, and journalist celebrated for irony and style.
• 1838 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1838
• February 14 (02-14) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on February 14
• 1914 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1914
• October 12 (10-12) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on October 12