She proposed the turning indicator, electric windscreen wiper and stopping alert on a car and never made a cent from these breakthroughs.

FLORENCE Lawrence was a very unusual woman, to say the very least.

One of the first superstars of the silver screen she also became a passionate automobilist as well as an accomplished mechanic.

And if that wasn’t enough to ensure that she was a media sensation in an era when women in America were not allowed to vote and the Jaxon was promoted as ‘a car so easy to drive, a child or woman could operate it’, she also became an inventor who contributed to the early evolution of the automobile.  

The swirling mists of time have obscured much of her early history. Lawrence was born in Ontario, Canada sometime between 1886 and 1890. Her father, George Bridgwood, worked as a carriage builder and her mother, Charlotte, was a vaudeville and stage performer that used the professional name Lotta Lawrence. So, it was only natural that Florence would join her mother on stage and become an important part of the Lawrence Dramatic Company.

With the advent of the motion picture, Florence Lawrence transitioned from the stage and made her film debut in 1906. Early studios often refused to put actors’ names in the credits, especially women. Nonetheless she quickly became a familiar face to a legion of fans and soon the media had dubbed her the “The Biograph Girl” as she was working for Biograph Studios. Her career spanned decades and the film credits included more than 300 motion pictures.

As her fame soared so did her income and soon, she was earning an astounding $500 per week. Now she was wealthy enough to afford an automobile, something she had become enamored with after a friend provided her with an exhilarating ride through the countryside. She often noted that driving provided her with an unbridled sense of excitement and of freedom. After ownership of a succession of ever more powerful automobiles, in 1912 she purchased a Lozier.

Since 1907 this company had been establishing a reputation for speed and endurance. Over the course of a four-year period cars built by Lozier had been driven in every major race in the United States and several in Europe. No other car of the era broke as many records for speed, for 24-hour endurance runs or for long distance touring without mechanical failure.

All of this came with a price. As an example, Lawrence’s six-cylinder Knickerbocker Berlin model carried a factory list price of $US6500. As the beautiful starlet performed much of her maintenance and repairs, and often took long drives unaccompanied by mechanic or driver, she was a popular focus of interviews and news stories.

After a friend was severely injured in an accident, Lawrence began giving thought to ways for improving automotive safety. In 1914 she devised an innovative mechanism that signaled turns to trailing drivers. With the simple push of a button, a flag was raised and lowered on the rear bumper of the automobile to inform other drivers what direction the car was turning. Next, she developed an ingenious device to alert drivers of a pending stop. When she depressed the brake, a small sign reading “stop” would pop up at the rear of the car.

Unfortunately, she failed to patent any these developments. Likewise, with another that she developed in 1916, the first electric windshield wiper. Even without the patent she prospered from the invention by establishing the Bridgwood Manufacturing Company for the manufacture and distribution of the wiper motors as well as other aftermarket items. As other companies began producing the wiper motor, Lawrence’s mother would try to remedy the patent oversight, but it was too late.

In the late 1920s her movie career was, for the most part, over. After suffering severe burns while attempting to save an actor in a studio fire, and extensive surgeries, she found herself more and more relegated to working as an extra or making step on appearances.

Still, Lawrence maintained an active interest in automobiles and automotive development and invested heavily in various companies including the manufacturers of automobiles as well as parts. And she continued developing aftermarket components such as a radio antenna that could be installed under the running board for Bridgwood Manufacturing Company and established a makeup company. With the crash of the stock market in 1929, and the onslaught of the Great Depression, her companies were forced into bankruptcy and Lawrence was financially devastated. Tragically on December 28, 1938, Lawrence committed suicide.

Lawrence was not the only woman to contribute to the embryonic auto industry. In 1902, Mary Anderson was visiting New York City and became increasingly frustrated as the trolley driver was continuously stopping to clear snow from the front windows. Shortly after returning home to Alabama she designed and patented a hand operated blade that would clear the window without leaving the trolley. Soon numerous automobile manufacturers began offering a “windshield wiper” as an option or as standard equipment.

In 1924, Marie Luhring made history by becoming the first female truck designer when she was hired by Mack Trucks. She also became one of the first woman to join the Society of Automotive Engineers.

Raymond Loewy was an automotive designer of renown. He was also a progressive visionary as evidenced by his hiring of Helen Dryden and Audrey Moore Hodges for the design studio at Studebaker. Nash was another progressive company. They hired Helen Rother Ackerkncoht at assist with development of streamlined bodies. The functional artistry of the 1941 Hudson instrument panel was the creation of Betty Thatcher.

Today Lawrence and her many accomplishments, as well as those of Helen Rother, Marie Luhring and Mary Anderson are less than historic footnotes. But they are only a few of the woman who contributed to the evolution of the automobile, and yet today are largely forgotten.

Written by Jim Hinckley of jimhinckleysamerica.com