Silent-film star and inventor dies on this day !

[growler]

On December 28, 1938, the silent-film star Florence Lawrence commits suicide in Beverly Hills. She was 52 years old. Though she was best known for her roles in nearly 250 films, Lawrence was also an inventor: She designed the first "auto signaling arm," a mechanical turn signal, along with the first mechanical brake signal. She did not patent these inventions, however, and as a result she received no credit for--or profit from--either one.

Born Florence Bridgewood in 1886 in Hamilton, Ontario, Lawrence entered show business when she was very young: her mother, a vaudeville actress named Lotta Lawrence (née Charlotte Bridgewood), brought baby Florence on the road with her, sending her onstage as "Baby Flo, The Child Wonder Whistler." Lawrence got her first movie role in 1907 ("Daniel Boone") and in 1910 she became the first actress to headline a film by name.