It was Liquid Paper by Bette Nesmith Graham was the secretary, she mistakenly invented “Liquid Paper” in her kitchen in the 1950s. the item was sold for 47 million dollars.
VERIFIED ANSWER
Many people are curious about “which invention by a secretary sold for $47 million.” They want to know who founded the company and what was created. On this page, we will tell you about your frequently asked question,” which item was invented by a secretary and sold for $47 million?
The answer to the question, “what item was invented by a secretary and sold for $47 million?” Is secretary Bette Nesmith Graham.
Table Of Contents
History of Bette Nesmith Graham and Liquid Paper
Bette Nesmith Graham (March 23, 1924-May 12, 1980) was an inventor and businesswoman who made a fortune from her invention “Liquid Paper,” a product that, like competitors like Wite-Out, allowed assistants to quickly correct typing errors.
Quick Facts: Nesmith, Bette Graham
1 | Known For: | Inventing the correcting fluid Liquid Paper. |
2 | Born | Dallas, Texas, March 23, 1924. |
3 | Parents | Christine Duval and Jesse McMurray are the parents. |
4 | Died | On May 12, 1980, in Richardson, Texas, she died. |
5 | Education | At the age of 17, he dropped out of San Antonio’s Alamo Heights School. |
6 | Spouse(s) | Warren Nesmith (m. 1941, div. 1946); Robert Graham (m. 1962, div. 1975). |
7 | Children | Michael Nesmith (b. December 30, 1942). |
Early Life of Bette Nesmith Graham
Bette Claire McMurray, the daughter of Christine Duval and Jesse McMurray, was born on March 23, 1924, in Dallas, Texas. Bette’s mother ran a knitting shop and taught her how to paint, while her father worked at an auto parts store. Bette attended Alamo Heights School in San Antonio, Texas, until she was 17, when she dropped out to marry her childhood sweetheart, soldier Warren Nesmith. Nesmith served in World War II, and while he was away, she gave birth to their only son, Michael Nesmith (later of The Monkees fame). In 1946, they divorced.
Bette, divorced and had a small child to support, worked odd jobs, and eventually learned shorthand and typing. In 1951, she began working as an executive secretary for Texas Bank & Trust in Dallas. Errors became more common and complex to correct as typewriter technology advanced from fabric to carbon ribbons and a more sensitive keypad: erasers that had previously worked now smeared the carbon across the paper. Graham was looking for a better way to correct typing errors when she remembered that artists painted over their mistakes on canvas, so why couldn’t typists do the same?
The Mistake Out Company
She refined her recipe in her kitchen laboratory, based on a tempura paint formula she found at the local library, with help from a paint company employee and a chemistry teacher at a nearby school. Bette Nesmith founded the Mistake Out Company in 1956, with her son Michael and his friends filling bottles for her customers. She worked all night of the week to complete the orders to made little money.
Bette Nesmith quit her banking job in 1958 when Mistake Out began to gain traction: her product was featured in office supply magazines, she met with IBM, and General Electric placed an order for 500 bottles. Although some reports claim she was fired from the bank for signing her name with the “Mistake Out Company,” her own Gihon Foundation biography states she began working part-time and left as the company grew. She became a full-time small business owner, obtained a patent, and renamed the company the Liquid Paper Company.
Interesting Facts about Liquid Paper
- It’s been around for over 50 years and is still in use.
- It cuts down on the time and effort required to correct errors on paper.
- Typically, it is a water-based correction fluid.
- Ms. Bette created it on her own while working as a secretary.
- Ms. Bette was fired from her management position following the invention of her liquid paper.
- This paper proved to be valuable, as it was sold for $47 million in 1979.
Conclusion
So, here’s the long and short of it: Which item was invented by a secretary and later sold for $47 million dollars? It was summed up to be “Liquid paper.” In 1979, the secretary of a New York City advertising agency was fired after she was caught using her employer’s copier to make numerous copies of her own invention. The company filed a lawsuit and won. However, the inventing woman had already left the company before the suit was resolved. She later founded her own company, which grew to be a 25-million-dollar enterprise with over 100 employees at any given time.