In honor of the start of Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15, 2019, below is a highlight of notable inventors of Latin American background with inventions patented by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with a special emphasis on Hispanic and Latin American women.
Inventor: Jacobo G. Maria
Country of Origin: El Salvador
Invention: “Device and process for spinning or twisting and winding yarn”, US4366935,
Inventor: Luis Alejandro Cavallo Caroca
Country of Origin: Chile
Invention: design patents for scissors USD584122 and a corkscrew USD582231
Inventor: William Vasquez Ulate
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Invention: Dracaena Plant named ‘Lauren.’, USPP21549
Inventor: Elena T. Medo
Country of Origin: United States
Invention: Breast Pump System Using Wall Vacuum Source (among others), US5971952
Her company is dedicated to making human milk more available for all babies.
Inventor: Rea Ann Silva
Country of Origin: United States (of Mexican/Portuguese/Irish decent)
Invention: Silva has several patents in the beauty genre, US9,226,563. Make-up enthusiasts might know her as the inventor of the Beautyblender.
Inventor: Luis von Ahn
Country of Origin: Guatemala
Invention: CAPTCHA (“completely automated public Turing test to tell computers and humans apart”), US8,555,353
von Ahn is quoted as feeling how most of us feel: CAPTCHAs are great for the added protection, but recognizes the wasted time spent solving them!
Inventor: Guillermo González Camarena
Country of Origin: Mexico
Invention: Chromoscopic adapter for television equipment, US2,296,019
known as the inventor of color television
Inventor: Ellen Ochoa
Country of Origin: United States
Invention: Position, rotation, and intensity invariant recognizing method, US4,838,644 (one of three optics-related patents where she is listed as a co-inventor)
Her inventions contribute to the quality of images taken and, notably, she is considered the first Hispanic woman to travel to space.
Resources used:
- https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/inventors-entrepreneurs/hispanic-heritage-and-inventions
- https://www.medolac.com/
- https://www.popsugar.com/latina/Who-Invented-Beautyblender-43267560
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_von_Ahn
- http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr35/profile.aspx?TRID=631
- https://www.uspto.gov/kids/Ochoa.html
