Birth of Sarah Mather in Brooklyn, New York

Sarah Mather was born in 1796 Although her exact birth day is not documented in surviving records, historians consistently cite 1796 and Brooklyn as her year and place of birth.

Her birth into this environment mattered for the course of maritime technology. Brooklyn’s proximity to shipyards, harbors, and coastal trade routes offered daily exposure to the practical problems of navigation, shipping, and vessel maintenance. These surroundings later informed her interest in underwater observation and safety at sea, culminating in her invention of a "submarine telescope and lamp."

Born Sarah Porter Stinson or Stimson, she grew up at a time when women’s formal access to scientific education and technical professions was severely limited. Early 19th‑century America largely excluded women from engineering, mechanics, and patenting activity, making her later emergence as a patented inventor highly unusual. Her 1796 birth year places her among the first generation of American women to exploit the new patent system established after independence, carving out a space in a domain dominated by men.

This birth context therefore marks the beginning of the life of one of the earliest known American women to secure patents for a scientific instrument. It also situates her within the broader historical narrative of women whose contributions to technology were long overlooked or under‑documented, yet proved foundational to later developments in maritime safety and underwater exploration.