"Miriam Benjamin"

Was a school teacher living in Washington D.C. in 1888,Ms.Bejamin received a patent for invention she called a gong and signal chair for Hotels.Her chair,as she stated in her patent application would "reduce the expenses of hotel by decreasing the number of waiters and attendants,to add to the convenience and comfort of guests and to obviate the necessity of hand clapping aloud to obtain the services of "pages."The system worked by pressing a small button on the back of a chair which would relay a signal to a waiting attendant.At the same time a light would illuminate on the chair allowing the attendant to see which guest was in need of assistance.The system was adopted and installed within  the United States House of Representatives and was the predecessor of the methods used today on airplanes to signal flight attendants.