"And actually - we couldn't say it, but - it did cure diaper rash, and many doctors recommended it."

Marion demonstrates her new simplified changing technique on an obliging baby.

The Marion O'Brien Donovan Papers | Archives Center, National Museum of American History |

After her success with the Boater, Marion went on to invent the first disposable diaper, a convenience that would not be mass-produced for another decade at the dawn of the Pampers empire.

David Goehring |