Anna Sutherland Bissell (1846–1934) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who was the first female CEO in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. She was CEO of Bissell, known for its carpet sweepers and vacuum cleaners.

Career

By age 16, Bissell was a school teacher. After Bissell married Melville R. Bissell at 19, they became a joint partner in their crockery and china business. The Bissell Sweeper website recounts that Mrs. Bissell complained to her husband about sawdust that collected in their carpets and was difficult to remove, whereupon he made great improvements to a new invention called the carpet sweeper. When Bissell's husband invented the Bissell carpet sweeper in 1876, Bissell became a salesperson traveling from town to town selling the sweeper. Bissell was the number one salesperson. Bissell Carpet Sweeper USPatent 182346

Executive

After her husband's death in 1889 and with five children and one grandchild, Bissell took over the business and became the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Bissell company.Krismann, Carol (2005). Anna Bissell, In ''Encyclopedia Of American Women in Business: From Colonial Times To The Present, Volume 1.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, Bissell established new guidelines on trademarks and patents and moved Bissell carpet sweepers into the international market. By 1899 she had created the largest organization of its kind in the world. In 1919, Bissell also became the chairman of the Bissell company. As president of the corporation and chairman of the board, Bissell introduced progressive labor policies including

workman's compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

and

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

plans long before these practices were widespread in industry. It was said of her that she "studied business the way other women of her time studied French." She kept pace with the growing complexities of industrialism and knew every facet of the Bissell production.

Philanthropist

Bissell was a charter member of the Ladies Literary Club, a life member of the Women's City Club, and an active member of Zonta. She served on the board of The Clark Memorial Home and was for years the sole woman member of the National Hardware Men's Association. Bissell was a generous philanthropist. She was the first woman trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was actively involved in Bissell House, a recreation and training program for

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

youth and immigrant women. She also served on the board of what was to become Blodgett Home for Children.

Personal life

Anna Bissell was born on 2nd December 1846 in River John, Nova Scotia, to William and Eleanor Sutherland. They moved to Wisconsin when Anna was a child. Bissell's husband was

Melville Reuben Bissell Melville Reuben Bissell (September 25, 1843 – March 15, 1889) was an American entrepreneur who invented the modern carpet sweeper.Baxter, Albert (1891). ''History of the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan.'' Munsell The Bissell corporation is n ...

. They had five children. In 1889, Bissell's husband died from pneumonia. On November 8, 1934, Bissell died in

. Bissell is buried in Oakhill Cemetery in

Legacy

In July 2016 a seven-foot (2.1 m) statue of Bissell was unveiled; it is located outside the DeVos Place Grand Gallery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The bronze statue with "Anna Bissell (1846–1934)" was designed by Ann Hirsch. It was funded by the Peter Secchia family. There is a small park on the water in River John Nova Scotia also dedicated to Bissell. Bissell's home known as the Bissell House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, no longer exists, however, its site is now occupied by NBC television affiliate station

WOOD-TV WOOD-TV (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for West Michigan. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Battle Creek–licensed dual American Broadcasting Compan ...

References

External links

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame – Anna Sutherland Bissell
– PDF format download.
Image of the Anna Bissell statue

Anna Sutherland Bissell
Greater Grand Rapids History Council
Recollections of Anna Bissell McCay: with historical data from archive.org
– full Bissell family genealogy in text format.
1923 passport photo Anna Bissell
courtesy flickr.com)
Day221: The Bissell House ...
– this house in South Pasadena, California is the former home of Bissell's daughter Anna Bissell McCay and son-in-law William Southerland McCay. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, Anna Sutherland 1846 births 1934 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople 19th-century American philanthropists American women philanthropists Canadian expatriates in the United States Canadian people of Scottish descent Businesspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Pictou County 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American philanthropists