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Feb 20, 2019 · Black inventors changed the way we live through their many innovations, from the traffic light to the ironing board. By: Thaddeus Morgan. Updated: February 21, 2024 | Original: February 20,...
- Alyssa Therrien
- Folding cabinet bed. In 1885, Sarah Goode became the first Black woman to receive a US patent. She moved to Chicago and opened a furniture store. It was there she came up with an industry changing idea that brought more urban residents with limited space into her store.
- Potato Chips. George Crum was working as a chef at a resort in New York. A customer sent his dish of french fries back to the kitchen, claiming that they weren’t good.
- Gas Mask. Garrett Morgan developed what he called the safety hood after noticing how many firefighters were killed by smoke on the job. The hood, which went over the head, featured tubes connected to wet sponges that filtered out smoke and provided fresh oxygen.
- Protective Mailbox. Philip B. Downing created a mailbox design that featured an outer door and an inner safety door to avoid parcels being stolen. This safety device allowed mailboxes to be set up everywhere.
- Adrienne Donica
- 2 min
- Deputy Editor
- Thomas L. Jennings. 1791–1859. The first African American U.S. patent recipient, Thomas L. Jennings was working as a tailor and businessman in New York City when he invented a process for dry-cleaning delicate clothing known as “dry-scouring.”
- Sarah Boone. 1832-1904. In 1892, Sarah Boone patented a design improvement to Elijah McCoy’s ironing board. The North Carolina native wrote in her application that the purpose of her invention was “to produce a cheap, simple, convenient, and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies’ garments.”
- Alexander Miles. 1838-1918. Anyone who’s ridden modern elevators has Alexander Miles to thank for the stair alternative’s automatic doors. Prior to his design’s 1867 patent, riders had to manually open and close two sets of doors when entering and exiting elevator cars.
- Elijah McCoy. 1844-1929. Of the 57 patents Elijah McCoy—reportedly the namesake for the popular, complimentary phrase “the real McCoy”—received over his lifetime, the portable ironing board might be one of the most timeless.
- Mary Bellis
- Madame C.J. Walker (December 23, 1867–May 25, 1919) Born Sarah Breedlove, Madame C.J. Walker became the first Black woman millionaire by inventing a line of cosmetics and hair products aimed at Black consumers in the first decades of the 20th century.
- George Washington Carver (1861–January 5, 1943) George Washington Carver became one of the leading agronomists of his time, pioneering numerous uses for peanuts, soybeans, and sweet potatoes.
- Lonnie Johnson (Born October 6, 1949) Inventor Lonnie Johnson holds more than 80 U.S. patents, but it's his invention of the Super Soaker toy that is perhaps his most endearing claim to fame.
- George Edward Alcorn Jr. (Born March 22, 1940) is a physicist whose work in the aerospace industry helped revolutionize astrophysics and semiconductor manufacturing.
- Kirstin Fawcett
- Thomas L. Jennings. Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1859) was the first African American person to receive a patent in the U.S., paving the way for future inventors of color to gain exclusive rights to their inventions.
- Mark E. Dean. If you ever owned the original IBM personal computer, you can partially credit its existence to Mark E. Dean (born 1957). The computer scientist/engineer worked for IBM, where he led the team that designed the ISA bus—the hardware interface that allows multiple devices like printers, modems, and keyboards to be plugged into a computer.
- Madam C. J. Walker. Madam C. J. Walker (1867–1919) is often referred to as America’s first self-made female millionaire—a far cry from her roots as the daughter of Louisiana sharecroppers.
- Charles Richard Drew. Countless individuals owe their lives to Charles Richard Drew (1904–1950), the physician responsible for America’s first major blood banks.
Jul 13, 2018 · 1. Abrams, W. B. Selected Invention (s): – Hame Attachment (Date: April 14, 1891, Patent No: 450550) 2. Alcorn, George Edward Jr. Selected Invention (s): What their invention or inventions...
This list of African-American inventors and scientists documents many of the African Americans who have invented a multitude of items or made discoveries in the course of their lives. These have ranged from practical everyday devices to applications and scientific discoveries in diverse fields, including physics, biology, math, and medicine.
