Bette Nesmith Graham

Bette Nesmith Graham
Bette Nesmith Graham, with son Michael
Born	Bette Clair McMurray (1924-03-23)March 23, 1924 Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died	May 12, 1980(1980-05-12) (aged 56) Richardson, Texas, U.S.
Education	High school graduate
Known for	Invention of Liquid Paper
Spouse(s)	Warren Audrey Nesmith (1919-1984) (m. 1942–46) Robert Graham (m. 1962–75)
Children	Michael Nesmith
Parent(s)	Jesse McMurray Christine Duval McMurray

Bette Nesmith Graham (March 23, 1924 – May 12, 1980) was an American typist, commercial artist, and the inventor of Liquid Paper. She was also the mother of musician and producer Michael Nesmith of The Monkees.

Graham was born Bette Clair McMurray in Dallas, Texas to Jesse McMurray, an automotive supply company manager, and Christine Duval. She was raised in San Antonio and graduated from Alamo Heights High School. She married Warren Audrey Nesmith (1919–1984) before he left to fight in World War II. While he was overseas she had a child (Robert Michael Nesmith, born December 30, 1942). After Warren Nesmith returned home, they divorced (1946). In the early 1950s, her father died, leaving some property in Dallas to Bette. She, her mother, Michael, and her sister Yvonne moved there. To support herself as a single mother, she worked as a secretary at Texas Bank and Trust. She eventually attained the position of the executive secretary, the highest position open at that time to women in the industry.

It was difficult to erase mistakes made by early electric typewriters, which caused problems. In order to make extra money she used her talent painting holiday windows at the bank. She realized, as she said, "with lettering, an artist never corrects by erasing, but always paints over the error. So I decided to use what artists use. I put some tempera water-based paint in a bottle and took my watercolor brush to the office. I used that to correct my mistakes."

Graham secretly used her white correction paint for five years, making some improvements with help from her son's chemistry teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas. Some bosses admonished her against using it, but coworkers frequently sought her "paint out." She eventually began marketing her typewriter correction fluid as "Mistake Out" in 1956. The name was later changed to Liquid Paper when she began her own company.