Lizzie J. Magie (played by Helena Bonham Carter) should be celebrated as the inventor of what would become Monopoly. But, even though she had a patent, her role in creating the smash hit board game was cynically ignored.
Discrimination has marred the careers of many inventors and excluded others from the innovation economy entirely. Could crediting forgotten figures such as Lizzie Magie help change that?
Further reading
The essential book on the secret history of Monopoly is Mary Pilon’s The Monopolists, supplemented by Christopher Ketcham’s article “Monopoly is Theft” and Mary Pilon’s feature in Smithsonian magazine.
Lisa Cook’s articles include “Unequal Opportunity: The Innovation Gap in Pink and Black,” in Wisnioski, Hintz, and Stettler Kleine, eds., Does America Need More Innovators? , MIT Press, 2019; “Overcoming Discrimination by Consumers during the Age of Segregation: The Example of Garrett Morgan.” The Business History Review, vol. 86, no. 2, 2012; and Lisa Cook, 2014. “Violence and economic activity: evidence from African American patents, 1870–1940,” Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 221-257, June.
For more on Raj Chetty and the team at Opportunity Insights see Alex Bell, Raj Chetty, Xavier Jaravel, Neviana Petkova, John van Reenen “Who Becomes an Inventor in America? The Importance of Exposure to Innovation” and “American Inventors” The Economist 4th December 2017.