Picture this: Millions of people do this routine: After waking up, they get up and take a shower; they use an ironing board to iron their work clothes; since it is quite hot in the room, they turn on the air conditioner to cool down; After using a hairbrush to get ready for work, they go downstairs, open the refrigerator door to make some eggs. Then they use an egg beater to make some scrambled eggs. After breakfast, they leave for work after taking their cell phone and use the key on their keychain to lock the back door. So what do an ironing board, an air conditioner, a hairbrush, a refrigerator, an egg beater, a cell phone key fob, and a lock have in common? All of the products just mentioned were created by African Americans.
This article will focus on African-American inventors who made products that we use almost every day. These inventors created some amazing products that many people were unaware of, but sadly in the Jim Crow era, they never got the credit or reaped the fortune they deserve. In some cases, these inventors created the product and without providing a patent for their invention, they told people about their new creation. Since the product was not patented, these people would go somewhere and steal… I mean… make their own product, put their name on it, and gain instant fame. When doing research on this subject, it is really amazing to find out that each inventor made his own product with very primitive material, unlike the technology we have in today’s world.
Here is the list of each inventor and their creation. You’ll be surprised what’s on the list!
Inventor—Invention —Date of invention
AP Ashbourne—Cookie Cutter—November 30, 1875
Benjamin Banneker —Almanac —1791
Patricia Bath —updated a device to remove cataracts—1988
Miriam Benjamin —“Gong and Signal” Chair (Used in Hotels) — July 17, 1888
Edward Berger—Spark Plug—February 2, 1839
Henry Blair—Device for Planting Seeds—October 14, 1834
Henry Blair—Device for Planting Cotton—1836
Sarah Boone — Iron Board — December 30, 1897
Bordy and Surgwar Folding Chair 11 June 1889
Otis Boykin control unit for pacemakers 1961
Benjamin Bradley—A Steam Warship Engine—1856
Henry Brown—Fire and Burglary Resistant Safe—November 2, 1886
LA Burr—Lawn Mower—May 19, 1889
Charles Brooks—Sweeper—March 17, 1890
Lee Burridge and Newman Marshman — Typewriter — April 7, 1885
T. A. Carrington — Stove — Jul 25, 1876
George R. Curruthers — Far Ultraviolet Camera and Spectrograph — November 11, 1969
WC Carter—Umbrella—1885
George Washington Carver—Peanut Butter–1839
MA Cherry — Tricycle — May 6, 1886
G. Cook—Automatic Fishing Device—May 30, 1899
AL Cralle — Ice Cream Scoop — February 2, 1897
David Crosthwaut, Jr.—Heater system for Radio City Music Hall—1934
George Crum—French fries—1853
Mark Dean – led his team to create the first gigahertz computer processor chip – 1999
O. Dorsey — Doorstop — December 10, 1878
Paul Downing — Mail Box — October 27, 1891
Charles Drew—Blood Plasma—1945
T. Elikins — Chamber Cabinet — January 3, 1897
Henry Faulkner—Vented Shoe—1890
OA Fisher — Caster Cabinet — 1878
Robert Flemming Jr. Guitar March 3, 1866
Sarah E. Goode – Folding Bed – July 14, 1885
George Grant—Golf Tee—December 12, 1899
William S. Grant — Curtain Rod Bracket — August 4, 1896
Blessie Blount Griffin—An electronic feeding device for amputees—1951
Michael C. Harvey — Lantern — August 19, 1884
Joseph Hawkins—Metal Oven Grate—1800’s
L.R. Johnson – Bicycle Frame – October 10, 1899
Lonnie Johnson – Super Soaker – November 13, 1989
P. Johnson—Eye Shield—November 2, 1880
Willie Johnson — Egg Beater — February 5, 1884
Frederick M. Jones—movie ticket dispenser—June 1939
Frederick M. Jones—Engine—June 27, 1939
Frederick M. Jones—Air Conditioning Unit—July 12, 1949
Lewis Latimer — Electric Light Bulb — March 21, 1882
Joseph Lee—Automatic Bread Maker—August 7, 1894
Joseph Lee — Breadcrumb Machine June 4, 1895
FD Loudin—Keychain—January 9, 1894
JC Love — Pencil Sharpener — November 27, 1897
WA Martin—Lock—July 23, 1889
Alexander Miles—Elevator—October 11, 1867
Garrett Morgan — Gas Mask — October 13, 1914
Garrett Morgan—Semaphore—November 20, 1923
Lydia O. Newman — Hairbrush — November 15, 1898
Robert Pelham—Tabulating Device—December 19, 1905
Robert Pelham — Counting machine for US Census — 1913
Walter Purvis—Handseal—February 27, 1883
William B. Purvis — Fountain pen — January 7, 1890
Lawrence P. Ray — Picker — August 3, 1897
John W. Reed—Roller—1864
AC Richard—Insect Destroyer Gun—February 28, 1899
WH Richardson — Baby Carriage — June 18, 1889
J. Ricks—Horseshoe—March 30, 1885
James Robinson—Lunch/Dinner Bucket—February 1, 1887
GT Sampson — Clothes Dryer — June 6, 1862
Henry Sampson—Cell Phone—July 6, 1971
SR Scratton—Curtain Rod—November 30, 1889
John Standard—Refrigerator—June 14, 1891
Thomas Stewart—Mop—June 11, 1893
Benjamin Thornton: a device that was the forerunner of the answering machine: November 10, 1931
Madam CJ Walker—Straightening Comb—1905
Ulysses S Walton — Dentures — March 23, 1943
John Thomas White — Lemon Squeezer — December 8, 1893
Jerome Wicks–Patio Door Lock and WindowGuard Protection—April 20, 1982
Daniel Hale Williams—First successful open-heart surgery—July 9, 1893
Joseph Winters–Fire Escape Ladder–May 7, 1878
Granville T. Woods—Automatic Cut-Off Switch—January 1, 1839
Granville T. Woods—Telephone Transmitter—December 2, 1884
It’s a shame that most of these inventors didn’t live long enough to get the recognition they deserve. The aim of this article is to shed light on these great people and their contributions to society.
