Sarah Boone, an African American dressmaker, is credited with developing the modern ironing board. Her idea aimed "to make an inexpensive, simple, convenient, and very effective gadget, particularly designed to be employed in ironing the sleeves and body of women' dresses," she said in her patent application. Boone was one of the first African American women to be granted a patent when it was approved in 1892.

Archives tell us that Boone, who grew up in an area where teaching African Americans to read and write was forbidden, took steps to overcome that disadvantage in her late 40s, maybe through her participation at the Dixwell Congregational Church.

Faced with tough competition, Boone needed to find a method for her gowns to stand out. By the early 1890s, she had devised a solution that was tailor-made for the popular corsets of the day.

Dressmakers used to iron their clothes on a wooden plank put between two seats, which worked fine for a wide skirt but wasn't ideal for the contours of tight, fitted material. Boone devised a smaller, curved board that could be slipped into sleeves and allowed a garment to be moved without becoming wrinkled. Her design was additionally padded to avoid the impressions left by a wooden board, as well as folding for convenient storage.