First off, Happy Woman’s Day to all the women in the Republic of South Africa, especially those who are enthusiastic about cars.

To commemorate this special occasion I’ve compiled a list of 10 women who laid the foundation for others in the automotive industry.

1. Bertha Benz

The wife of automotive pioneer Karl Benz. She believed in her husband’s dream so much that she took his greatest creation (The Benz Patented Motorwagen 1886) and put it to the test by taking it on a Cross-Country trip from Manheim to Pforzheim which was 106KM/66 Miles to visit relatives in August 1888.

She was accompanied by her sons, however the journey wasn’t smooth sailing she had to undertake necessary repairs using a hatpin and garter belt making her unofficially the first auto mechanic. Also she unofficially invented the world’s first Brake pads, for context during her journey to visit her relatives the original braking mechanism used was wood, which caused problems when Bertha wanted to slow down. She stopped at a small town where she went to a cobbler and asked if they could make softer padding.

No wonder Mercedes Benz touted their slogan as “The best or nothing”.

Source: Mercedes Benz

2. Margaret Wilcox

In 1893 she originally invented and patented the car heater.

The invention was simple yet genius at the time because heat was generated through a vent where the engine is the source. Critics were pointing out that temperature cannot be controlled.
Be thankful that Ms Wilcox is responsible for making your car warm and toasty during the cold morning :).

Source: Carleasespecialoffers.co.uk

3. Anne Rainsford France Bush

In 1st January 1900 she was the first woman to have a driver’s license for an automobile. For her to obtain the qualification was because of her father who nurtured her passion for the automobile.

Source: Prewar cars

4. Camile du Gast

The first woman to participate in Motoracing. In 1901 she participated in Paris to Berlin race in a 20hp Panhard, she started the race dead last at 122nd position and she managed to secure 33rd position overall at the end of the race.

Source:https://www.beaulieu.co.uk/news/women-in-motorsport-social-history-camille-du-gast/

5. Mary Anderson and Charlotte Bridgwater

Double whammy! Mary Anderson originally invented and patented the Manual windscreen wiper in 1903, while Charlotte Bridgewater improved on the original design in 1917 by adding an electric motor and it remained unchanged till this day.

Source: BMW

6. Alice Huyler Ramsey

In June 9th 1909 she was the first woman to travel the long distance in an automobile, from New York to San Francisco near Oakland Bay which took them almost 2 months to complete the journey.

Interestingly she was given an opportunity by Maxwell Motor Company to do a sponsored cross-country challenge from New York to San Francisco as to promote women empowerment.

Alice was accompanied by her friends for this long trip, it wasn’t a pleasant journey faced with breakdowns, attempted robbery, getting lost and traveling through unknown terrain.

In the year 2000 she was also to the first woman to be inducted on the automotive hall of fame Sadly she didn’t get to witness her achievement since she passed away in 1983.

Source: Automotive Hall Of Fame

7. Dorothée Pullinger

She was the first woman to design a car with a female buyer specifically in mind. Dorothée Pullinger was a trained engineer under her father’s factory. In the early 1920s she founded Galloway Motors, which only consisted of female workers, her creation was the Galloway 10/20.

The key features that made the 10/20 so unique was the raised seat and lowered dashboard, rear view mirror being standard, and placing the gear lever near the driver. The 10/20 was publicly unveiled at the Scottish Six Day Trails in 1924 being the crowd favorite and winning the competition.

Source: Hagerty.UK

8. Because Family

Another Double Whammy! This time we are focusing on two families, the Hotchkiss and the Van-Buren Sisters. Both of these families share the same type of achievement, cross-country travel in a motorcycle.

Hotchkiss (Mother and Daughter duo)

Effie (the daughter) had a passion for travel and motorcycles, she wanted to convince other females that they can also belong in the motorcycle community and partake in racing events. To prove her point she decided to travel across the United States. Fortunately her brother taught her how to ride and fix a motorcycle which came in handy for the long distance expedition. Her mother Avis accompanied her as a passenger on the sidecar of the Harley Davidson F-11. 2nd May 1915 was the day their expedition began, they left Brooklyn and arrived at San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific Exposition 2 months later.

Their journey wasn’t easy though, throughout the trip they faced harsh weather, bad roads, animal attacks and mechanical breakdowns.

Overall their journey around the United States was 9000 miles (14484KM) making it one of (if not) the earliest ever recorded long distance traveled by a woman on a Motorcycle.

Source: Cycle World

Adeline and Augusta Van-Buren

In July 4th 1916 the two sisters wanted to offer their services to the United States Military during World War 1 as dispatch riders.
They also had another agenda, they wanted to do a continental trip around the United States of America to make a statement and prove to people that women are as capable men when it comes to Motorcycle riding.

They had more than their fair share of challenges, poor road conditions, getting lost, depletion of resources, doing repairs, numerous arrests from the Police and criticism from people about abandoning their “gender roles”. It took them over 2 months and 5500 miles (8851KM) to cover the whole United States. Sadly their application to join the military was rejected.

Interestingly they are the first women to reach the summit of Pikes Peak.

Source: Women Riders Now

9. Sally Robinson Halterman

In September 1937 She was the first woman to obtain her motorcycle license.
However she had experience riding a motorcycle since 1928 (9 years!? Wow!), but she had to fight to obtain that permit because she was unfairly critiqued by authorities.

Source: Women Riders Now

10. Clara Marian Wagner

She was the first ever recorded woman to participate in motorcycle racing. She obtained a membership license from Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) in 1907, then she started racing on the first ever endurance race from the sanctioned body (FAM) in 1910. The race was from Chicago to Indianapolis (360 miles/579KM) through Fort Wayne. Among 65 motorcyclists only 59 finished the race and Ms Wagner was amongst those who had finished.

Source: Automotive Transport