Maria E. Beasley was an American entrepreneur and inventor. Born in North Carolina, Beasley grew up with a strong interest in mechanical work and learned about the profession of barrel-making from her grandfather. Between 1878 and 1898, she patented fifteen inventions in the United States: these included a footwarmer, an improved life raft, and an anti-derailment device for trains; however, her primary success as an inventor rose from a specialty in barrel-making machines and processes. Beasley licensed a patent to the Standard Oil Company, exhibited her work at the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition and the World's Columbian Exposition, and founded two companies for the design and manufacture of barrels.