Frances Gabe, American artist and inventor (d. 2016)
Frances Gabe (born Frances Grace Arnholtz, June 23, 1915 – December 26, 2016) was a feminist artist and inventor and most well known for designing and building the first "self-cleaning house" in Newberg, Oregon. Disgusted with the nuisance of cleaning as a housewife in the 1970s Gabe invented a house that purported to clean itself. She received a patent for her invention in 1984 which included 68 separate inventions for sprinklers and drying units that would wash and dry everything from the walls, the clothes, the dishes, etc. and channeled the waste water out of the house via a series of drains in the floor. Gabe and her invention were featured in People magazine in 1982 and in The New York Times’ Home & Garden section in 2002, as well as on Phil Donahue’s talk show and in several books, including Chuck Palahniuk’s Fugitives & Refugees (2003). The model for the house was displayed in 2002 - 2003 at The Women's Museum in Dallas, Texas where it was a popular exhibit. It is now part of the Hagley Museum and Library's collection.