Invention Of Disposable Nappy

The disposable nappy was invented in 1951 by Marion Donovan, a prolific inventor who also patented more than a dozen other inventions to make life easier around the house, including DentaLoops, the Big Hangup and the Zippity-Do.

Marion Donovan (USA) was born into an inventive family. Her father, Miles O'Brien, and the twin brother, John, had invented an industrial lathe and founded the South Bend Lathe Co. in 1906 and, after her mother died when Marion was seven, she spent much of her time in their factory. She graduated from Rosemont College, Philadelphia, in 1939 with a BA in English Literature and then worked for Harper's Bazaar and as Assistant Beauty Editor for Vogue before marrying leather importer James F. Donovan and giving up her job to start a family.

Giving up her job proved to be a good career move, because having children inspired her first invention. Traditional cloth nappies were usually work with rubber pants to prevent them leaking, but the rubber would trap too much moisture, causing nappy rash. Donovan decided there must be a better solution and, starting with a shower curtain, she experimented with various fabrics before settling on parachute nylon as the best answer; her leak-proof nappy cover went on sale in 1949. Meanwhile, she had improved on her own idea by inventing a disposable paper nappy for use with the leak-proof outer cover. The idea was such a success that Donovan could not meet demand, and sold the rights to her nappy patents for $1 million to Keko Corporation (USA), which was able to manufacture the nappies in bulk. Donovan's invention of biodegradable paper disposables with non-disposable leak-proof covers was later superseded by all-in-one disposable nappies (since criticized for not being biodegradable), which were test-marketed during the 1950s and launched in 1961 by Procter & Gamble, under the name Pampers®.

In 1958 Donovan graduated in architecture from Yale University and later designed her own house in Connecticut. She died in 1998, having filed more than a dozen patents for inventions including the Big Hangup (a multi-garment compact hanger) and the Zippity-Do (a cord to facilitate fastening dresses that zip up the back).

Source - The Book Of Inventions by Ian Harrison