She is not the whole story, and her individual achievements do not resolve the larger question of how American invention has been shaped by race and gender.

But she is a specific, documented, important part of the story, and her inclusion in the historical record makes that record more accurate.

The mystery with which this article began — how could someone with such significant contributions remain largely unknown? — has been partially answered in the course of telling her story.

The systems that produced her obscurity are documented and understandable.

What is not fully answered is the question of whether those systems have changed enough to prevent comparable obscurity for the inventors of our own time.