Catherine Littlefield Greene (1755-1814) is credited with aiding Eli Whitney in his invention of the cotton gin--an invention that revolutionized the plantation economy of the American south. Her husband, Nathanael Greene, was a decorated army officer who served with distinction during the Revolutionary War.

A question that has appeared on history tests in public schools around the United States for over a century is "Who invented the Cotton Gin"" While most would answer "Eli Whitney," this answer may not be correct. In an 1883 pamphlet titled "Woman as Inventor," author and proto-feminist, Matilda Joslyn Gage, first put forth the contention that it was not, in fact, Whitney who invented the machine. The person who should receive credit for the cotton gin, explained Gage, was a woman: Catherine Littlefield Greene.

Wife of a Revolutionary Hero

Catherine Littlefield--known to family and friends as Kitty or Caty--was born on Block Island, Rhode...