What is Bessie Blount Griffin famous for?

Overlooked No More: Bessie Blount, Nurse, Wartime Inventor and Handwriting Expert. Blount invented a feeding device and taught amputee veterans to write with their teeth and their feet. She later became a forensic handwriting analyst.

Who was the first black female forensic scientist?

Bessie Virginia Blount
Bessie Virginia Blount (1914-2009) led a remarkable life that began in Hickory, Virginia, where she was born on November 24, 1914. She made significant breakthroughs in assistive technologies and forensic science, becoming a role model for women and African Americans for her pioneering work.

What are some fun facts about Bessie Blount Griffin?

Bessie Blount (1914-2009) was a physical therapist who worked with injured soldiers during World War II. She recognized their need and desire to do more on their own, and she invented an assistive device that permitted people who had lost limbs to feed themselves.

Who invented the feeding tube?

In 1952, Bessie Blount boarded a plane from New York to France to give away her life’s work. The 38-year-old inventor planned to hand over to the French military, free of charge, an extraordinary technology that would change lives for disabled veterans of the Second World War: an automatic feeding device.

What happened to Bessie Blount?

Blount returned to her husband’s estates, where she died shortly afterwards. It has traditionally been asserted that the cause of her death was consumption.

Where did Bessie Blount go to school?

Union County College
Montclair State University
Bessie Blount Griffin/Education

When did Bessie Blount Griffin move to New Jersey?

Her father died as a result of injuries suffered during World War I and she moved with her mother to New Jersey during the 1920s.

Why did Bessie teach herself to write with both hands?

She also loved teaching herself new skills. Bessie liked writing with her left hand. But her elementary school teacher only wanted her to write with her right hand. So Bessie taught herself to write with both hands.

What accomplishments did Bessie Blount Griffin achieve?

She was the first American woman admitted as a student at the Document Division of the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory in London, England (Scotland Yard) in 1977. She maintained a private practice as a consultant to law enforcement and law firms on legal strategy and procedure until 1983.

Did king Henry get Bessie pregnant?

Bessie is recorded as being one of eight in a masque performed to celebrate new year 1515, partnered by Henry himself. Then, in October 1518 she was paired with courtier Francis Bryan during a masque performed at Durham House in London. It was around this time that she fell pregnant with Henry’s son.

Who is Bessie Blount in the Spanish princess?

The fourth episode of season 2 of The Spanish Princess ends on quite a cliffhanger: Who is Henry VIII (Ruari O’Connor) kissing? Though Henry is rumored to be with Anne Hastings, he’s actually kissing Bessie Blount (Chloe Harris), Catherine’s lady-in-waiting.