The secretary that invented this product was, by many accounts, a bad typist but an extraordinary entrepreneur. Tracks recent pageviews for all visitors, and can be used to populate a new user profile. Born in 1924 in Dallas, Texas, Bette Graham dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen and went to secretarial school.

Thank you for subscribing.

Bette created a corporate culture that fully embraced diversity, inclusion and belonging, and she showed us that it could be extremely profitable to do so. Graham was also an artist who observed that painters covered up mistakes not by erasing their work, but by painting over them. Bette Graham was now wealthy, with fabulous jewelry and a Rolls-Royce. ft. international Liquid Paper headquarters building in Dallas. Nesmith married Robert Graham in 1962, and he joined the business as well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in 2018, secretaries and administrative professionals account for some 2 million jobs and 94% of those jobs are held by women. https://www.thoughtco.com/liquid-paper-bette-nesmith-graham-1992092 (accessed March 4, 2023). The product she would eventually create Liquid Paper, a white correction fluid used to conceal handwritten or printed typos would become one of the worlds most popular and enduring office supplies. Bette nesmith graham family. It contains the session ID for a unique session on the site. Unsubscribe whenever. By 1967, Liquid Paper had grown into a million-dollar business. By 1957, Graham was selling 100 bottles per month to her colleagues. Bette was passionate about painting and sculpting, if not particularly skilled. }; Bette Nesmith Graham will celebrate 99th birthday on Thursday, 23rd of March 2023. As the product spread in popularity, Graham relocated the operation from her garage to a trailer to an office building. As much as she wanted to help her kindred secretaries, Nesmith also noted that she, as a single mother and creative person, was equally motivated to find ways to empower working women. Which seems odd, seeing how he was a native of England. var hp_try = 0; Bette was strongly against growing fast on other peoples money, as she said in that same 1977 speech. captchaApiScriptEl.defer = true; Hey, hey! This structure was a part of LPCs culture of high ethical standards, which Bette developed in 1968. Despite her best efforts to keep the concoction a secret, word soon got out and fellow secretaries wanted in on the action. In 1968, she moved into her own plant and corporate headquarters in Dallas with automated operations and 19 employees. For a time, LPC also had not one CEO but a council of three executives who comprised the Office of the President. Born in 1924 in Dallas, Texas, Bette Graham dropped out of high school at the age of seventeen and went to secretarial school. Overlooked No More: Bette Nesmith Graham, Who Invented Liquid Paper Literally nothing, Nesmith remembered. Jan. 05 1931. Labeled the "Prefab Four," the Monkees themselves remain deeply underrated as a pioneering rock & roll band. That same year, she divorced Robert Graham. The marriage ended in divorce shortly after he returned, in 1946. By 1975, Liquid Paper was producing 25 million bottles a year and holding a vast share of a multimillion-dollar market that had spawned several competitors, like Wite-Out. For more information, check out our Privacy Policy. Long before the delete key, typing and correspondence was a vital portion of the work, first with mechanical typewriters and then electronic ones. In 1958, Graham changed the name of her product to Liquid Paper and filed for a patent. Want more stories on forgotten inventors? In 1979, she sold her company for $47 million to the Gillette Corporation.Her son Michael Nesmith is a popular musician and producer. Her first employees were her teenage son and his friends. This was much faster and cleaner than an eraser, and barely noticeable on the page. Holds current session data. She attracted significant clients such as General Electric and IBM and continued to expand her business rapidly. "Liquid Paper" for Typists Invented by Secretary Long before the delete key, typing and correspondence was a vital portion of the work, first with mechanical typewriters and then electronic ones. var cookiePair = cookieArr[i].split("="); Try again please.

'); She is known for her independent films and documentaries, including one about Alexander Graham Bell. The now-famous woman inventor sold her first batch of "Mistake Out" in 1956, and soon she was working full-time to produce and bottle it from her North Dallas home. Today, Liquid Paper is still in production and is owned by Newell Brands a conglomerate that owns Rubbermaid, Sharpie, and Elmers glue. It has grown one step at a time and by avoiding short cuts. } [3] A portion financed the Gihon Foundation which established the Council on Ideas, a think tank with a retreat center located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico active from 1990 to 2000 and devoted to exploring world problems. Though several competitors, including Wite-Out (1966), attempted to take on Liquid Paper, Graham maintained the lions share of the market. She has a sister named Yvonne as well. That rankled her to no end, Nesmith said to me over the phone. She was a single mom from Texas who had a brilliant idea while working a 9-to-5 job as a secretary. It stores the last sync time to avoid continually repeating the syncing process. setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv, sp, 'funnel-t', 't', ''); When I started Liquid Paper Corporation, I had a deep desire to build a company based on ethical values a commitment to serve the interests of our customers above all and to encourage the cultural, educational and spiritual development of our employees, Bette said. setHiddenFieldValueFromUtm(wrappingDiv, sp, 'funnel-a', 'a', ''); Indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. With no background in chemical engineering, but guided by her side hustle of painting and graphic design, Bette Graham created the first correctional paint to fix document typos. It contains the domain, viewCount (increments each pageView in a session), and session start timestamp. "She was a. Interested? Can you recognize these stars on the cover of TV Guide in 1970? The Hustle uses the information you provide to contact you about our relevant content and services. Her work as a secretary and her background in art were inspiration for her invention. Nesmith also auditioned and was considered too tall. She was a tool-maker and highly motivated to help working women, said. 48Facts. on Twitter: "White-Out was invented by Bette Nesmith Graham Davy Jones had to be written out of an episode so he could attend his sister's wedding. var onloadCallback = function() { The 5' 6" Winkler fit the frame perfectly. Hey, hey, we're the Fonzies / People say we Fonzie around There is no bigger "What If?"