In 1809, Mary Kies received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman. Kies , a Connecticut native , invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for improving the nation's het industry. Unfortunately , the patent file was destroyed in a big fire in 1836.         Until about 1840, only 20 U.S. patents were issued to women. The inventions were related to clothes, tools ,cook stoves and fireplaces. Patent is the "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor(s) can apply for it. In the past , women were not allowed to have equal rights of property ownership and many women patented their inventions under their husbands' or fathers' name. Women were also prevented from receiving higher education necessary for inventing.         Here are a few examples to be noticed, and from these examples, we know enough reasons for encouraging girls and women to pursue technology-based courses and careers.         The women inventors took annually granted U.S. patents rising fro;m 2.6 percent in 1977 to 10.3 percent in 1998.        The majority of the U.S. woman-inventor patents are in the chemical technologies.         In 1996, every eleven U.S. patent grant included one woman inventor.         In the past 20 years, about 83 percent of the U. S. patent grants to women were for utility patents , 16.5 percent for design patents, and 0.5 percent for plant patents.         About 35 percent of the U.S woman-inventor patents granted during the 1977 to 1996 period originated form California , New York or New Jersey.         Today, hundreds of thousands of women apply for and receive patents every year. About 20% of all inventors are currently female and that number will quickly rise to 50% over the next generation. Mary Kies's patent was   _  .
a Connecticut native about a process of weaving silk useful in hat industry issued in 1836