Hello, I'm Glenn Turman. African Americans have long been acknowledged for their creativity and genius in theater, dance, music, art, and literature. But there's another kind of creative contribution African Americans have made. And that's the art of invention. From the moment you turn a doorknob, flick an on-off switch, start your engine, stop for a traffic light, take an elevator, watch a missile launch, or talk on your cellular phone, you've come into contact...
with an invention or innovation created by an African American. Since records of inventors'race weren't kept when the U.S. Patent Office was established in 1790, we may never know exactly how many patents were issued to African Americans.
Now, probably the person most responsible for gathering information on early black inventors was Henry E. Baker, an assistant U.S. patent officer and graduate of Harvard Law School. Baker dedicated his life to uncovering and publicizing. the contributions of black inventors.
Under the auspices of the U.S. Patent Office, Baker sent out letters to lawyers throughout the country asking them to identify any black inventors they may have filed patent papers for. In 1913, patent lawyer B.J. Nolan of Chattanooga, Tennessee, wrote, I never knew a nigger to even suggest an idea, much less try to patent one, and I have dealt with them niggers all my life.
Thank you. Baker didn't let letters like that discourage him. By the time of his death, his work produced four massive volumes and uncovered some remarkable inventions patented by black men and women. In 18th century America, one black man of inventive genius made a name for himself, a tobacco farmer named Benjamin Banneker. He resembled Benjamin Franklin in stature and was one of the country's most brilliant mathematicians.
And so he was a great man. Inspired by the theories of Copernicus, Banneker became a self-taught astronomer at age 60. In 1754, at the age of 24, Banneker made a clock entirely out of wood, which remained accurate for nearly 40 years. He was one of the surveyors in the planning of Washington, D.C., and a scientific genius.
With borrowed books and instruments, Banneker taught himself the fundamentals of astronomy, keeping a journal of his calculations. Besides predicting the weather and seasons, Banneker used his almanac to extol the achievements of blacks beyond himself. When he included a poem written by the renowned poet Phyllis Wheatley, he wrote, Africans and their descendants are capable of attaining a degree of eminence in the liberal sciences. Benjamin is not the only proof. Wheatley's poem perhaps best echoed their feelings about the injustices of human bondage.
Should you wonder from whence my love of freedom sprung? I young and live by seeming cruel fate was snatched from Africa, fancy happy seat. What pains excruciating must molest, what sorrows labor in my parents'breast.
Stealed was that, should and by no misery moved, that from a father sees this babe beloved. Son. such my case and can I then but pray others may never feel tyrannic sway just as banika loved the stars James Fortin of Philadelphia loved the sea one of the original abolitionist leaders fought and invented a device around 1800 that aided in the control of sails on ships he amassed a fortune built his own sail factory and worked on the Underground Railroad helping slaves to There's an African proverb that says, as the wound inflames the finger, so thought inflames the mind.
And despite their circumstances, slaves created a number of inventions before the Civil War. Until they were considered citizens, however, African American inventors were ignored, prohibited from securing patents, or slave owners took credit for their discoveries. Which was almost the case of Benjamin Montgomery. of Virginia, who invented a propeller specifically designed for river steamboats.
Montgomery was owned by Joseph Davis, brother of Jefferson Davis, the future president of the Confederacy. Now, when the brothers tried to patent Montgomery's propeller, Attorney General Jeremiah S. Black enacted a decision in 1858 that prohibited owners from doing so. As a result, any slave invention during the next 12 years went unnoticed. went undocumented. Before the Civil War, a free black man named Norbert Rouleau from New Orleans revolutionized the sugar industry in a bittersweet story.
Born on a plantation and educated as an engineer in Paris, Rouleau gave the world its biggest economic sugar fix. Making sugar by the slow, dangerous kettle method inspired Rouleau to find a better way. And on August 26, 1843, he received his first patent for his sugar refining process, or the multiple effect vacuum evaporator, which turns sugar juice into a fine grade of white sugar crystals. Rouleau became a wealthy and influential man in New Orleans, but was still subjected to oppressive race laws.
When he was told he'd have to carry a pass to move about the city, Rouleau decided to leave America forever. and returned to France. France's gain was surely America's loss.
Industrial growth in America was tremendous, and both black and white inventors were responsible. By 1870, the patent restraints for blacks had been lifted and signaled an explosion of inventions to come. One of those inventions was from Jan Metzelliger, a black immigrant from New Guinea, who settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, the center of the shoemaking industry.
His invention revolutionized the shoe manufacturing industry and created thousands of jobs. Prior to Metzelliger's invention, connecting the leather uppers to the soles of the shoes was done by hand, a process called lasting. He wanted to make shoes affordable for everyone.
And after working secretly at night for 10 years, Metzelliger created a lasting machine that could turn out a complete shoe. His drawings, however, were so complex, the U.S. Patent Office couldn't believe the machine worked.
So an official was sent to inspect it. On March 20th, 1883, Jan Metzelliger was issued his first patent. Metzelliger tried unsuccessfully to market his invention himself, and sold the rights to his invention for stock in a new company.
He took to performing in plays, but died a forgotten inventor before he reaped any financial rewards. Metzelliger's recognition finally came a century later when a postage stamp commercialized his invention. commemorated his name and a bridge in his honor was dedicated in his hometown of Lynn, Massachusetts.
With the introduction of Henry Ford's Model T, cars began to move horses aside and America shifted full speed ahead. Between 1871 and 1900, more than 300 patents were awarded for inventions and innovations by blacks. Inventors have become a part of American folklore as well.
If you've ever heard the phrase the real McCoy, you know what I mean. The phrase was coined for a master inventor, Elijah McCoy, who ultimately patented over 60 lubricating systems, including an air brake system for railroads. In the late 1870s, most machines, including trains, had to be stopped every time they needed oil.
The oilman would walk the length of the train and oil all the moving parts. McCoy devised a method for oiling machinery as it was running. And on June 23, 1872, he received a patent for the lubricating cup. McCoy believed in producing quality work.
As a result, his lubricating system was used on locomotives, machinery in factories, and on engines of transatlantic steamships around the world. McCoy's system was so effective that buyers of new machinery would ask the sellers, does the equipment have the real McCoy? If it didn't, they wouldn't buy it. So if you want the genuine article, the real thing, just ask for the real McCoy..
In a country that still had the feeling that the oppressed race had contributed little or nothing, African Americans began to catch the public's attention. Exhibits at the 1895 Atlanta Exposition and the 1907 Jamestown Exposition gave black inventors the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments. On the flip side, in 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks was constitutional, which marked the beginning of Jim Crow laws and legalized segregation. Despite the trials and stresses of life, people enjoyed their recreational time, and hobbies were springboards for inventions. Take, for instance, dentist George Grant.
He loved playing golf. And on December 12, 1899, he received a patent for an object that golfers have been using ever since. The golf tee.
Before Grant's inventions, players would form cone-shaped mounds of sand with their fingers on which the ball sat. Now today, this tooth-shaped invention has improved many a golfer's drive. Just as today's technological revolution celebrates the super information highway, the second half of the 19th century centered around its new age power, electricity. In every school book, the name of... Thomas Edison and Alexander Bell are imprinted in our minds, but recognition for their distinguished African-American colleagues, Granville T. Woods and Louis Latimer, is long overdue.
Louis Latimer was a self-made man who became a pioneer in the development of electricity. He drafted the original plans for Alexander Bell's telephone and made significant contributions to the success of both Thomas Edison and Hiram. Maxim, Edison's competitor. While employed with Maxim, Latimer perfected Edison's light bulb by making improvements in the incandescent electric lamp in 1882. He then supervised the installation of electric lighting systems in major cities around the world. Known as the Black Edison, Granville T. Woods was an electromechanical genius.
Like Edison, Woods was years ahead of his time and founded his own company to research, manufacture, and market his electrical inventions. His versatility resulted in 65 patents relating to electricity from electric railway cars to an incubator for hatching chicken eggs. When the first subway rail pulled into Grand Central Station, Granville Woods was the first subway rail to be built. Woods had made his mark.
In 1901, he was issued a patent for the third rail system still used in subways today around the world. Concerned about the number of train collisions, Woods developed a railway telegraphy system, which improved train safety by letting the train engineer know how close his train was to others. And in 1899, he received a patent for an amusement apparatus.
Wood's two-track ride, originally invented for indoors and outdoors, evolved into what we now know as the roller coaster. Woods'inventions caught the public's attention when he won two legal disputes against Edison. In fact, when Edison lost the second action, he asked Woods to come work for him. But Woods, whose patents were bought by General Electric, Bell Telephone, and Westinghouse decided to remain on his own.
By the turn of the century, a surge of inventions was well underway. African Americans received an estimated 1,000 patents by 1913 in nearly every field... of industrial arts, machinery, transportation, agricultural, and electrical devices.
Garrett Morgan was constantly thinking about the future. He'd say, if it's in a book, you can do it. If it's not, then use your imagination.
And despite having only a sixth grade education, Morgan's inventions, the traffic signal and the gas mask, became two of the world's most significant safety-related devices. On July 25th, 1960, an explosion rocked the mining site. Three rescue teams died attempting to save the miners.
But Garrett Morgan, wearing an invention he called A breathing apparatus entered the toxic mine and pulled the surviving men to safety. Morgan's invention came to rescue again during World War I, when British and U.S. troops needed gas masks. to fend off Germans'newest weapon, poison gas.
Back in the States, city traffic was hazardous. Morgan witnessed a terrible accident and developed the first illuminated traffic signal, which was a signal of a car. which alerted drivers to proceed with caution.
Garrett Morgan received his patent on November 20th, 1923, which he later sold to the General Electric Company for $40,000. His system was used until it was replaced with the automatic electric traffic lights we have today. Like inventors, African American scientists have made phenomenal contributions as well. Grammy winning composer Stevie Wonder even wrote a song about one of them.
Dr. George Washington Carver, best known for his work with the peanut and his 300 or more derivative products, which include instant coffee, bleach, tan remover, metal polish, paper, ink, shaving cream, rubbing oil, linoleum, paint, and plastic. Carver was a man on a mission. A scientific genius, Carver felt a deep affinity for farmers and convinced them to grow diversified crops such as peanuts.
pecan and sweet potatoes in place of one crop cotton to re-nourish their soils a deeply spiritual man Carver also obtained fame as an artist his varied interest led to his close friendship with Henry Ford who shared his fascination with synthetic rubber Carver's research as an agricultural chemist won him international acclaim when Carver died in 1943 in Alabama the governor and crowds of people came to honor him. The US Postal Service issued a memorial stamp for the man who was dubbed the Savior of the South. Madam CJ Walker became a millionaire as a result of her hair care products and although she didn't patent any of her products she was a pioneer entrepreneur and an inspiration to women around the world. In 1885 Sarah Good received her patent for a folding bed, a forerunner of today's sofa bed.
Sarah Boone was issued a patent in 1892 for her improvement to the ironing board. Alice H. Parker. one to warm each room in her building with centralized heating, and received a patent for her improvement on the heating furnace in 1919. And Harriet Bradbury patented her torpedo discharger for submarines in 1943. Ellen Elgin, who patented a financially successful clothes wringer in the 1880s, sold her device to an agent for $18.
dollars. Elgin's feelings mirrored a long-standing practice of black inventors, both men and women, who chose to sell their inventions to whites or white-controlled corporations for fear of their inventions losing value if their true identities were known. The contributions inventors and scientists have made is tremendous.
As we look to the future, there are two African Americans who are continuing that creativity. Take the case of ophthalmologist Dr. Patricia Bath, who in 1988 received a patent for the laser phaco probe. Now that's a device that removes cataracts. Dr. Bath holds the patents for her inventions in Japan, Canada, Europe, and the United States.
I was once referred a very difficult and challenging case of a blind woman. I spent many nights thinking and planning. her surgery and then by divine inspiration an idea occurred of a new way to remove cataracts using a fiber guided laser.
I realized that this technique was a great improvement in cataract surgery. I then conducted some research studies in Berlin and it was at that point that I developed my first of many prototypes of the LaserFACO. probe.
As a black woman surgeon it's very difficult to overcome some of the stereotypic impressions of male colleagues. When I joined the faculty of UCLA in 1974 I was the first woman faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology. I imagine my colleagues did not feel that I could be equally gifted and skilled.
However, I now accept the challenge because it made me struggle to be the very best. Engineer Lonnie Johnson strikes a chord of success in two very different worlds with his invention. I've been an inventor all my life.
As long as I can remember, I have been tinkering and making things work, so I decided to do it. water gun is something simple that most people could appreciate and use the revenues from that invention as a stepping stone to allow me to do some of my more challenging ideas. The role of the inventor is like the barnstormer, the guy who comes in. and shakes everything up and is able to take on the big boys.
From telephones to electric street lighting, from refrigerated trucks to automatic transmissions, and from artificial heart stimulators to space shuttle retrieval arms, African-American inventors have triumphed over adverse conditions and continue to contribute to scientific and innovative discoveries that benefit the global community. We've met just a few of the men and women... while making it happen. We hope that you will visit your local library and continue the journey.