Countess Lonyay circa 1910-1915 The former Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria (1864-1945) was an inventor with patents in her home country of Belgium, as well as England, Italy, France, German and the US.   Her 1908 decision to take out a US patent on a chafing dish surprised the New York Times, not because of her lineage but because “throughout Europe the proficiency of Columbia’s daughters with the chafing dish is traditional….”

Countess Lonyay circa 1910-1915

The former Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria (1864-1945) was an inventor with patents in her home country of Belgium, as well as England, Italy, France, German and the US.  

Her 1908 decision to take out a US patent on a chafing dish surprised the New York Times, not because of her lineage but because “throughout Europe the proficiency of Columbia’s daughters with the chafing dish is traditional….”