bphgravity
Senior Member
- Location
- Florida
Following is a list of just a few notable black electrical pioneers. In the spirit of Black History Month, these persons should be remembered for their contributions to our industry.
Elijah McCoy (1843-1929) was the inventor of a device that allowed machines and motors to be lubricated while they were still in operation.
Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) was a pioneer in the development of the electric light bulb. He was the son of a former slave, and was the only black member of Thomas Edison's research team of noted scientists. While Edison invented the incandescent bulb, it was Latimer who developed and patented the process for manufacturing the carbon filaments within the bulb.
Granville Woods (1856-1910) has been called "The Black Edison" for his prolific inventive skills and his ingenious contributions to mass transit. Woods patented a telephone transmitter in 1885, which was bought by Bell Telephone. He then founded the Woods Electric Company in New York City, which manufactured and sold telephone, telegraph, and electrical instruments. His most important invention was the induction telegraph system in 1887, a method of informing an engineer of trains immediately in front of and behind him, thus ensuring safer rail travel. Of the more than 60 patents that Woods registered, the majority were concerned with railroad telegraphs, electrical brakes, and electrical railway systems.
Garrett Augustus Morgan (1877-1963) is best known for his invention of the automatic traffic signal. He also is the inventor of the gas mask, used by firemen in the early 1900s and by soldiers in World War I.
Frederick McKinley Jones (1892-1961) was an African-American inventor who patented several products in the field of refrigeration. He had over 60 patents. He also made several innovations for sound equipment for "talkie" movies, but never patented them. Several of his unpatented inventions were duplicated and patented by others, such as the portable x-ray machine. The United States government used his portable air conditioner during World War II to preserve medicines and blood serum. He also received over 40 patents in the field of refrigeration.
Walter Lincoln Hawkins (1911-1992) was a black scientist/inventor who, while working at Bell Laboratories in the 1940s, helped to make universal telephone service possible. Hawkins developed a plastic to insulate telephone wires?a new material that was lightweight, durable, and less expensive than the lead sheathing used at the time.
Otis Boykin (1920-1982) invented an improved electrical resistor used in computers - radios - television sets and a variety of electronic devices. Boykin's resistor helped reduce the cost of those products. Otis Boykin also invented a variable resistor used in guided missile parts, a control unit for heart stimulators, a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter.
James E. West (born 1931) Ninety percent of microphones used today are based on the ingenuity of James Edward West, an African-American inventor born in 1931 in Prince Edwards County, VA. If you?ve ever talked on the telephone, you?ve probably used his invention.
Elijah McCoy (1843-1929) was the inventor of a device that allowed machines and motors to be lubricated while they were still in operation.
Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) was a pioneer in the development of the electric light bulb. He was the son of a former slave, and was the only black member of Thomas Edison's research team of noted scientists. While Edison invented the incandescent bulb, it was Latimer who developed and patented the process for manufacturing the carbon filaments within the bulb.
Granville Woods (1856-1910) has been called "The Black Edison" for his prolific inventive skills and his ingenious contributions to mass transit. Woods patented a telephone transmitter in 1885, which was bought by Bell Telephone. He then founded the Woods Electric Company in New York City, which manufactured and sold telephone, telegraph, and electrical instruments. His most important invention was the induction telegraph system in 1887, a method of informing an engineer of trains immediately in front of and behind him, thus ensuring safer rail travel. Of the more than 60 patents that Woods registered, the majority were concerned with railroad telegraphs, electrical brakes, and electrical railway systems.
Garrett Augustus Morgan (1877-1963) is best known for his invention of the automatic traffic signal. He also is the inventor of the gas mask, used by firemen in the early 1900s and by soldiers in World War I.
Frederick McKinley Jones (1892-1961) was an African-American inventor who patented several products in the field of refrigeration. He had over 60 patents. He also made several innovations for sound equipment for "talkie" movies, but never patented them. Several of his unpatented inventions were duplicated and patented by others, such as the portable x-ray machine. The United States government used his portable air conditioner during World War II to preserve medicines and blood serum. He also received over 40 patents in the field of refrigeration.
Walter Lincoln Hawkins (1911-1992) was a black scientist/inventor who, while working at Bell Laboratories in the 1940s, helped to make universal telephone service possible. Hawkins developed a plastic to insulate telephone wires?a new material that was lightweight, durable, and less expensive than the lead sheathing used at the time.
Otis Boykin (1920-1982) invented an improved electrical resistor used in computers - radios - television sets and a variety of electronic devices. Boykin's resistor helped reduce the cost of those products. Otis Boykin also invented a variable resistor used in guided missile parts, a control unit for heart stimulators, a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter.
James E. West (born 1931) Ninety percent of microphones used today are based on the ingenuity of James Edward West, an African-American inventor born in 1931 in Prince Edwards County, VA. If you?ve ever talked on the telephone, you?ve probably used his invention.