Henrietta Vansittart

[6] Her father James Lowe was a blacksmith-inventory working on ship propulsion and applying for related patents using his wife's money and connections.

[4] On 23 March 1838, Vansittart's father James Lowe took out a patent for a new screw propeller but made no significant financial gain from his contributions due to competition in infringement battles.

[1][15][13][11] In the 1860s, Henrietta improved the design with curved rather than straight blades for greater efficiency, and her home was filled with the development models she built and tested.

[2][5][13] For her work on ship propulsion, Vansittart won many awards, was mentioned by name in various newspapers, such as The Times and her invention took her to several exhibitions all over the world.

[7] In 1876, Vansittart was the first female to write, read, and illustrate her own diagrams and drawings for a scientific article presented at Association of Foreman Engineers and Draughtsmen.

[13] This pamphlet indicates her dedication to the work and legacy of her father, as well as illustrating her technical knowledge of the Lowe Vansittart propeller.

She spoke publicly on this, stating that she believed a woman's place was in the home, unless she needed to vindicate the cause of a family member, such as she felt she had to do for the legacy of her father.

[7][1][2][13] In the obituary for Vansittart in the Journal of the London Association of Foreman Engineers and Draughtsmen it stated that 'she was a remarkable personage with a great knowledge of engineering matters and considerable versatility of talent', as well as 'how cheery and thoughtful for the happiness of others she was …'[11] The obituary also claims that Vansittart was the first woman to write and read a scientific paper, illustrated with diagrams and drawings of her own, before a scientific institution.

Article by Henrietta Vansittart, published in 1882