Stephens, Theora
unknown · Contribution: 1980
Improved pressing and curling iron design
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Her spring-loaded curling iron design closely resembles modern curling irons still used today, an enduring contribution to hair styling tool design.
Life & background
A hairdresser who patented an improved pressing and curling iron in 1980, featuring a spring mechanism to hold curls in place, a design that closely influenced the curling irons used in salons and homes today.
Sources
- U.S. patent record
More in Business & Misc.
Ajao, Adeyemi
unknown
Co-founded Base10 Partners, the first Black-led venture capital firm to manage over $1 billion in assets
Allen, Byron
1961-present
Built Allen Media Group from a single bartered celebrity-interview show into a multibillion-dollar media empire spanning broadcast television stations, cable networks, The Weather Channel, and a controlling stake in BuzzFeed, making him one of the wealthiest Black media owners in American history
Allen, Eliza
c.1840-after 1910
Only woman listed on the founding charter of the first chartered African American-owned bank in the United States
Awotona, Tope
1981-
Founded Calendly, a widely used scheduling software platform