Mary Walton

Mary Elizabeth Walton was a 19th-century American inventor and independent engineer who pioneered early environmental protection technologies. She was awarded two major patents for systems designed to mitigate industrial air pollution and urban noise pollution. Her innovations were adopted by major transit lines in New York City and were hailed as transformative in both the United States and Great Britain. Walton is recognized as a precursor to modern environmental engineering, particularly in the fields of industrial scrubbing and vibration isolation.