Debrilla Ratchford

Patent image of three suitcases attached to a J-shaped hook with wheels to roll them around.
Ratchford's original drawing for her rolling suitcase patent

Debrilla M. Ratchford is an African-American inventor who is known for her patent on rolling luggage.

Life and career

Ratchford was born in Washington, D.C. in the early 1950s.[1] Her father was a retired Air Force officer.[2] She attended Central Missouri State College before serving as a flight attendant for United Airlines.[1] In her role, she saw pilots and passengers struggling with luggage, including an incident at O'Hare International Airport where an elastic strap securing suitcases on a set of wheels had broken which injured a traveler's eye.[1] This incident catalyzed her work to solve this problem.[1] In 1978, she was granted a patent for a luggage system to attach multiple luggage handles with a J-shaped hook in conjunction with a wheel carrier.[2] Ratchford expanded on previous inventions that had added wheels onto suitcase bottoms to make them properly wheelable.[3] The modern rolling suitcase is adapted from Ratchford's original design.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Henry, Neil (1978-06-30). "Local UAL Stewardess Wins Carrier Patent". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
  2. 1 2 "Patents". The New York Times. 1978-06-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
  3. 1 2 Drescher, Cynthia (2017-03-09). "International Women's Day 2017: Six women to thank every time you fly". The Independent. Retrieved 2026-03-21.
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