For decades, African-Americans have been programmed to believe that they’re not capable of creating amazing things that make our world more efficient. This is not true because a long list of black inventors contributed to modern society in fruitful ways. In this post, I’ll discuss the important contributions of black inventors.
Alexander Miles
Alexander Miles was born in 1838 and we have the modern elevator because of him. Miles created an elevator that opened and closed its doors automatically. Before his invention, elevators were opened and closed manually by either passengers or elevator operators. Miles created this elevator by attaching a flexible belt to the elevator cage and once the belt came in contact with the drums that were along the elevator’s shaft, the doors opened and closed on their own.
Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams was the first doctor to perform an open-heart surgery. Williams was the son of a barber who also founded the first black-owned hospital in 1891. The hospital was named Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses, and this hospital was racially integrated. Williams obtained his education at Chicago Medical College with funding from African-American philanthropist Mary Jane Richardson Jones. In 1883 Williams opened his medical practice. After Williams performed his groundbreaking open-heart surgery, he later became a professor of clinical surgery at Meharry Medical College.
Garrett A. Morgan
The next time you see traffic lights or gas masks, think about African-American inventor Garrett A. Morgan because he created these useful tools. He was born in 1877 and spent his childhood working on the family farm until his teenage years when he moved to Cincinnati to find better employment. He also worked with a tutor to assist him in his education and later worked as a handyman. In 1895, Morgan moved to Cleveland where he worked as a sewing machine repairman and he created his first invention. It was a belt fastener that improved sewing machines’ efficiency. In 1914, Morgan invented a breathing mask that served as a smoke protection hood and was the forerunner to the modern gas mask. This invention earned Morgan a first-place prize at the Second International Exposition of Safety.
The inspiration for Morgan’s next invention, the traffic signal, came from his observations of several damaging car accidents that injured passengers and drivers. His traffic signal was a T-shaped pole that featured three lights that told people to stop, slow down, and go. Morgan later applied for a patent for this invention in 1923 and received it.
George Crum
Did you know that a black man invented potato chips? The inventor was George Crum, an African-American. In 1853, Crum worked at a restaurant when a customer complained that his order of French fries was too mushy, thick, and not salty enough. Crum cut the potatoes even thinner, fried them until crispy, and added a generous amount of salt. The customer enjoyed them and potato chips were born.
Sarah Goode
We wouldn’t have the Murphy bed without African-American inventor Sarah Goode. Goode was born in 1850 and moved to Chicago after the end of the Civil War. She and her husband owned a furniture store and then she invented a folding cabinet bed. The purpose of this bed was to create a furniture piece for sleeping that was suitable for small spaces. The folding cabinet bed could also be used as a desk. She was granted a patent for this invention in 1885.
Marie Van Brittan Brown
In the mid-1960s, Marie Van Brittan Brown worked as a nurse and she developed a forerunner to the modern home security system. Her original invention consisted of a front-door camera and a video receiver that resembled a TV along with a speaker and microphone. This invention allowed the homeowner to speak with outsiders who came to the porch.
Lyda D Newman
Lyda Newman is the founder of the modern hairbrush we use today. She was born in the 1880s in Ohio and she was a hairdresser. After relocating to New York City, she created an improvement to the standard hairbrushes at that time. This hairbrush had evenly spaced rows of synthetic and soft bristles and open slots to make the hairbrush easier to clean. Newman received a patent for it in 1898.
Mary Davidson Kenner
Mary Davidson was an African-American inventor of what would become the sanitary pad. In 1957 she filed a patent for a sanitary belt that made periods less messy to deal with. This invention was an adjustable belt with a moisture-proof napkin pocket on the inside. This kept menstrual blood from staining underwear and clothes.
Norbert Rillieux
Norbert Rillieux changed sugar production for generations to come. Before his invention sugar production was time-consuming and sometimes dangerous. Sugarcane juice was boiled to evaporate the water and form sugar crystals. Slaves scooped thickening liquid from one hot cauldron to another. The working conditions were unbearable and many injuries occurred. Rillieux was a free black man from Louisiana who was educated in France. He was skilled in engineering and researched new ways to improve the evaporation of sugarcane juice.
Rillieux did this by connecting multiple sealed vacuum pans with pipes and then linking one of those pans to a steam engine. The steam from the engine boiled the liquid in one of the pans, and the vapor produced from the steam engine heated the next pan.
Frederick McKinley Jones
Frederick McKinley Jones was an African-American inventor who created automatic refrigeration equipment for long-haul trucks that transported goods to stores and other places. This equipment was also used to transport blood to various places during World War II. This invention allowed suppliers to bring goods to stores without worrying if those goods would spoil. In 1944 Jones was the first African-American to be elected to the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. Throughout his life, he received 60 patents, including an X-ray machine and a thermostat.
As we celebrate Black History Month, let’s not forget these amazing African-American inventors who changed society for the better.
