The secretary that invented this product was, by many accounts, a bad typist but an extraordinary entrepreneur. Liquid Paper numbers weren't available to Graham, but most of those uses could apply to it as well. She was previously married to Robert Graham and Warren Audrey Nesmith. What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. A random, unique, device identifier, stored as a 3rd party cookie, used to enable targeted advertising, Collects data on user behaviour and interaction in order to optimize the website and make advertisement on the website more relevant. Subscribe for virtual tools, STEM-inspired play, }); Tracks recent pageviews for all visitors, and can be used to populate a new user profile. To make ends meet, she found work as a secretary at Texas Bank and Trust, where she earned $300/month (~$36k/year in todays money). The Hustle uses the information you provide to contact you about our relevant content and services. Currently, Bette Nesmith Graham is 98 years, 1 months and 24 days old. The creators were keen on Dolenz, and even Henry Winkler thought his chances were slim when he spotted this adorable pop star at an audition. Hailing as a hardworking secretary and a single mother, who raised a son all by herself, there is no doubt that she tried anything to make ends meet. The product took a few different forms, but was some variation of small bottle or pen with the signature correction fluid. Graham with her son Michael in 1957 (via newspaper archives). This is a pattern type cookie set by Google Analytics, where the pattern element on the name contains the unique identity number of the account or website it relates to. return b ? March 23 Horoscope. When I started Liquid Paper Corporation, I had a deep desire to build a company based on ethical values a commitment to serve the interests of our customers above all and to encourage the cultural, educational and spiritual development of our employees, Bette said. By 1951, she had worked her way up to the position of executive secretary for W.W. Overton, the Chairman of the Board of the Texas Bank and Trust. It contains the domain, utk, initial timestamp (first visit), last timestamp (last visit), current timestamp (this visit), and session number (increments for each subsequent session). Read further to know more about her early and later success. This was much faster and cleaner than an eraser, and barely noticeable on the page. They had accommodation for differently-abled people, including employees who used wheelchairs and a program for blind employees. Bette Nesmith Graham believed money to be a tool, not a solution to a problem. Graham formed the Liquid Paper Company in 1958, spawning a multimillion-dollar market. Sets a unique ID for the visitor that allows third-party advertisers to target the visitor with relevant advertisements. Years earlier, in 1962, shed married a frozen-food salesman named Robert Graham and had given him partial control of Liquid Papers business affairs. }); From its fruition in 1956, Grahams invention is now in virtually every office desk and supply cabinet around the world. Prior to being bought by Gillette in 1979 for $48.5 million (roughly $190 million in 2020), LPC exported their products to 31 countries and employed some 300 people, according to their internal newsletter. 40. Graham continued experimenting with the makeup of the substance until she achieved the perfect combination of paint and several other chemicals. Bette Nesmith Graham whipped up the first batch of "Liquid Paper" in her kitchen in 1951, originally calling the stuff Mistake Out. A woman using an electric typewriter in the 1950s (Found Image Holdings/Corbis via Getty Images). Graham's net worth was estimated to be approximately $50 million when she died. She could see women who were at the highest places as executive assistants, but they didnt have decision making power. Contrary to urban legend, Charles Manson did not audition. A random, unique, device identifier, stored as a 1st party cookie, to enable targeted advertising, This cookie is set by LiveIntent. } LPC also boasted full implementation of affirmative action polices in the late 1970s with a racially integrated staff. Over the next few years, she sought help from a number of industry professionals, including a polymer chemist named Bill Mallow, and further refined her product for a mass market. So she sneaked some fast-drying white tempera paint into work and concealed her typos with a watercolor brush. Colorados One sports drink is so in demand that teens are charging each other to pose with empty bottles. function setHiddenFieldValue(wrappingDiv, searchParams, className, utmName, cookieName, defaultValue) { var onloadCallback = function() { Comment: She was a bad typist to boot. At first, Nesmith didnt want to venture into a secretarial job; she loved arts including painting and drawing. With him, she had a son Michael Nesmith.Michael Nesmith is a musician and producer in his own right. This is one the few tricks that she came to employ when she was working as a secretary. Used by Recording filters to identify new user sessions. And so women have to just keep on with their determination and be relentless. As they say, every story starts somewhere, and Bette Nesmith Grahamshowed us that it also ends with inspiration. Six of them. Kidadl is supported by you, the reader. She was left alone to take care of her only son, Michael singlehandedly. Her correction fluid would be a godsend for typists. Born Bette Clair McMurray in Dallas in March 1924, she grew up in San Antonio. This cookie is set by Microsoft Advertising. It stores the last sync time to avoid continually repeating the syncing process. She became a full-time small business owner, applied for a patent, and changed the name to the Liquid Paper Company. Following this success and massive growth in wealth, Graham would go on to establish two foundations, the Gihon Foundation, which gave grants and financial support to promote women in the arts, and the Bette Clair McMurray Foundation, which did the same for women in business. Our lab is working on a faster drying solution, Graham wrote to one customer (the lab being her kitchen and her blender). Little did she know her frustration would lead to her becoming one of the most famous women inventors of the 20th century. She didn't live to see the end of the contract, dying in 1980. Soon, all the secretaries in the building were asking for some, too. Rachel Pearce Core 1-2 7 th grade science 10/12/07. The secretary-turned-business-savant managed to stave off her ex and maintain a 49% stake in her company. In 1976, they divorced and he tried to cut Graham out of the company by changing the formula and booting her off the board.