Knowra Margaret E. Knight Margaret E. Knight Margaret E. Knight (1838–1914) was an American inventor whose patented machinery included a machine for making flat-bottomed paper bags. She developed inventions in fields including paper production and shoe manufacturing.
Flat-bottomed paper bag : A paper bag with a broad, flat base that lets it stand upright and hold goods. Knight's machine produced bags with this useful bottom design.
Manchester, New Hampshire : A city in southern New Hampshire that became a major center of textile manufacturing in the nineteenth century. Knight grew up in Manchester, where textile factories shaped her early working life.
Charles Annan : A machinist who challenged Margaret E. Knight's claim to inventing a machine for making flat-bottomed paper bags. Annan's patent challenge brought Knight's authorship into dispute.
Paper packaging : Packaging made primarily from paper or paperboard to contain, protect, or present goods. Mechanized bag production contributed to the wider use of paper packaging.
Paper bag machine : A machine that forms, folds, and often glues paper into bags. Knight devised machinery to automate the production of flat-bottomed bags.
Textile industry : The production and processing of fibers, yarns, fabrics, and related goods. As a child, Knight worked in a textile mill and developed an early safety improvement.
United States Patent and Trademark Office : The federal agency that examines and grants patents and registers trademarks in the United States. Knight's patent application was examined there amid a dispute over her invention.
Grocery bag : A bag used to carry purchased food and other household goods. The stand-up paper bag made by Knight's machinery suited the carrying and sale of goods.
Paper bag : A container made from folded paper, commonly used to carry or package goods. The bag was the product her best-known machine manufactured.
Power loom : A mechanized loom that uses an external power source to weave cloth. A loom accident at Knight's childhood mill prompted her first known invention.
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