Betty M. James (February 13, 1918 – November 20, 2008) was an American businessperson who came up with the name for the Slinky her husband Richard T. James invented. She ran James Industries, the firm that manufactured the toy, by herself starting in 1960 after her husband left the firm and the family. She was born as Betty Mattas on February 13, 1918, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. She attended Altoona Area High School and then Pennsylvania State University, leaving when she married Richard. She was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in 2001.