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100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of one hundred historically great Black Americans (in alphabetical order; that is, they are not ranked), as assessed by Temple University professor Molefi Kete Asante in 2002. A similar book was written by Columbus Salley.
Despite this, many black innovators have been responsible for a large number of major inventions. Among the earliest was George Washington Carver , whose reputation was based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, which aided in nutrition for farm families.
NameYearsOccupationsInventions / Accomplishments1958–Electrical engineerFirst African American to serve as a ...1940–Physicist, inventorInvented a method of fabricating an ...1888–1958Civil engineerResponsible for the construction of many ...Ammons, VirgieDecember 29, 1908 – July 12, 2000InventorFiled the fireplace throat damper patent ...In the first 200 years that black people were in the United States, they primarily identified themselves by their specific ethnic group (closely allied to language) and not by skin color. Individuals identified themselves, for example, as Ashanti, Igbo, Bakongo, or Wolof.
- Improved Ironing Board, Invented by Sarah Boone in 1892
- Home Security System, co-invented by Marie Van Brittan Brown in 1966
- The Three-Light Traffic Signal, Invented by Garrett Morgan in 1923
- Refrigerated Trucks, Invented by Frederick Mckinley Jones in 1940
- Automatic Elevator Doors, Invented by Alexander Miles in 1887
- Electret Microphone, co-invented by James E. West in 1964
- Carbon Light Bulb Filament, Invented by Lewis Latimer in 1881
The ironing board is a product that’s used possibly just as much as it’s overlooked. In the late 19th century, it was improved upon by Sarah Boone, an African American woman who was born enslaved. One of the first Black women in U.S. history to receive a patent, she expanded upon the original ironing board, which was essentially a horizontal wooden...
Before security systems became a fixture in homes, an African American nurse Marie Van Brittan Brown, devised an early security unit for her own home. She spent many nights at home alone in Queens, New York while her husband was away, and felt unsafe with high rates of crime in her neighborhood. On top of that, the police were unreliable and unresp...
With only an elementary school education, Black inventor (and son of an enslaved parent), Garrett Morgancame up with several significant inventions, including an improved sewing machine and the gas mask. However, one of Morgan's most influential inventions was the improved traffic light. Morgan's was one of the first three-light systems that were i...
If your refrigerator has any produce from your local grocery store, then you can credit African American inventor Frederick McKinley Jones. Jones took out more than 60 patents throughout his life, including a patent for the roof-mounted cooling system that was used to refrigerate goods on trucks during extended transportation in the mid-1930s. He r...
The use of elevators in everyday life keeps people from facing long climbs up several flights of stairs. However, before the creation of elevator doors that close automatically, riding a lift was both complicated and risky. Before automatic doors, people had to manually shut both the shaft and elevator doors before riding. Forgetting to do so led t...
Even for those who aren’t quick to pick up the mic during karaoke, microphones are used every day to communicate over distances far and wide. And the vast majority of microphones used today, including the microphones used in phones and cameras, use a microphone co-invented by a Black man. Dr. James E. Westwas tasked with creating a more sensitive a...
The light bulb itself was perfected by Thomas Edison, but the innovation used to create longer-lasting light bulbs with a carbon filament came from African American inventor Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved people, began work in a patent law firm after serving in the military for the Union during the Civil War. He was recognized...
- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a pivotal leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. He continues to be celebrated for his profound influence in advocating for nonviolent resistance and racial equality.
- Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) An abolitionist and political activist, Harriet Tubman is best known for helping enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad.
- Barack Obama (b. 1961) ADVERTISEMENT. Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, made history as the first Black American to hold the office.
- Maya Angelou (1928-2014) Maya Angelou was an influential poet, singer, memoirist, and civil rights activist, celebrated for her series of seven autobiographies.
Feb 1, 2024 · Every Black History Month and Juneteenth, pioneers in African American history are often mentioned like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali and Harriet...
Feb 1, 2021 · 1. Claudette Colvin was just 15 years old when she refused to move to the back of a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She stood up for her rights before Rosa Parks famously did the same. Wikimedia Commons. 2. Benjamin O. Davis Sr. served in the U.S. military for 50 years and became the nation’s first Black general. Wikimedia Commons. 3.
