Imagine 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 the room is quite warm, they turn on the air conditioning to cool down; After using a hairbrush to get ready for work, they go downstairs and open the refrigerator door to make some eggs. They then use an egg beater to make some scrambled eggs. After breakfast, they go to work after grabbing their cell phone and using their key fob to lock the back door. So what do an ironing board, air conditioner, hair brush, refrigerator, egg beater, cell phone keychain, and lock have in common? All of those 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 a lot of people didn’t know about, but sadly in the Jim Crow era, they never got the credit or actually reap the fortune they deserve. In some cases, these inventors created the product and, without providing a patent for their invention, told people about their new creation. Since the product was not patented, these people would go somewhere to steal … I mean … make their own product, put their name on it, and gain instant fame. When researching this topic, it is truly surprising to find that each inventor made their 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 will be amazed at what is on the list!
Inventor — Invention — Date of invention
AP Ashbourne — Cookie Cutter — November 30, 1875
Benjamin Banneker — Almanac — 1791
Patricia Bath — cataract removal device updated — 1988
Miriam Benjamin — “Gong and Signal” Chair (used in hotels) — July 17, 1888
Edward Berger — Spark Plug — February 2, 1839
Henry Blair — Seed Planting Device — October 14, 1834
Henry Blair — Cotton Planting Device — 1836
Sarah Boone — Iron Table — December 30, 1897
Bordy and Surgwar folding chair June 11, 1889
Otis Boykin control unit for pacemaker 1961
Benjamin Bradley — A Steam Warship Engine — 1856
Henry Brown — Fire / Burglary Resistant Safe — November 2, 1886
LA Burr — Lawn Mower — May 19, 1889
Charles Brooks — Street Sweeper — March 17, 1890
Lee Burridge & Newman Marshman — Typewriter — April 7, 1885
TA Carrington — Stove — July 25, 1876
George R. Curruthers — Far Ultraviolet Camera and Spectrograph — November 11, 1969
WC Carter — Umbrella stand — 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 Scooper — February 2, 1897
David Crosthwaut, Jr. – Heating 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
Dorsey — Doorstop — December 10, 1878
Paul Downing — Mailbox — October 27, 1891
Charles Drew — Blood Plasma — 1945
T. Elikins — Chamber Chest — January 3, 1897
Henry Faulkner — Ventilated Shoe — 1890
OA Fisher — Furniture Caster — 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 Amputee Feeding Device — 1951
Michael C. Harvey — Lantern — August 19, 1884
Joseph Hawkins — Metal oven rack — 1800’s
LR 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 — Motor — 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 — Traffic Light — November 20, 1923
Lydia O. Newman — Hair Brush — November 15, 1898
Robert Pelham — Tabulating Device — December 19, 1905
Robert Pelham — United States Census Counting Machine — 1913
Walter Purvis — Hand Stamp — 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 Weapon — February 28, 1899
WH Richardson — Baby Stroller — June 18, 1889
J. Ricks — Herradura — 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
Madame CJ Walker — Straightening Comb — 1905
Ulysses S Walton — Prosthesis — 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 Kill Switch — January 1, 1839
Granville T. Woods — Telephone Transmitter — December 2, 1884
It’s a shame that most of these inventors haven’t lived long enough to get the recognition they deserve. The goal of this article is to shed light on these great people and their contributions to society.