How Inventors Shape Our Lives Everyday

Picture this- Millions of people do this routine: After waking up, they get up and take a shower; they use an iron board to press out their work clothes; since the room is pretty warm, they turn on the air conditioner to cool off; After using a hair brush in order 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 getting their cell phone and use the key on their key chain to lock the back door. So what does an iron board, air conditioner, hair brush, refrigerator, egg beater, cell phone key chain and lock have in common? All of those just mentioned products were created by African-Americans.

This article will focus on African-American Inventors who made products that we used almost every single day. These inventors created some amazing products that a lot of people didn't know, but sadly in the era of Jim Crow, they never received the credit or for that matter reap in the fortune that they richly deserve. In some case, 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, slap their name on it and gain instant fame. While doing research in this topic, it is truly amazing to find out that each inventor made their product with very primitive material, unlike the technology that we have in today's world.

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Here's the list of each inventor and their creation. You will be surprised by what is on the list!

Inventor---Invention ---Date of Invention

A.P. Ashbourne---Biscuit 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---Seed Planting Device---October 14, 1834

Henry Blair---Cotton Planting Device---1836

Sarah Boone---Iron Board---December 30, 1897

Bordy and Surgwar Folding Chair June 11, 1889

Otis Boykin Control Unit for Pacemaker 1961

Benjamin Bradley---A Steam Powered Warship Engine--- 1856

Henry Brown---Fire/Burglar Resistant Safe---November 2, 1886

L.A. Burr---Lawnmower---May 19, 1889

Charles Brooks---Street Sweeper---March 17, 1890

Lee Burridge & Newman Marshman---Typewriter---April 7, 1885

T.A. Carrington---Stove---July 25, 1876

George R. Curruthers---Far-Ultraviolet Camera and Spectrograph---November 11, 1969

W.C. Carter---Umbrella Stand---1885

George Washington Carver---Peanut Butter--1839

M.A. Cherry---Tricycle---May 6, 1886

G. Cook---Auto Fishing Device---May 30, 1899

A.L. Cralle---Ice Cream Scooper---February 2, 1897

David Crosthwaut, Jr.---Heating System for Radio City Music Hall--- 1934

George Crum---Potato Chip--- 1853

Mark Dean--Led his team to create 1st gigahertz computer processor chip---1999

O. Dorsey---Door Stop---December 10, 1878

Paul Downing---Mail Box---October 27, 1891

Charles Drew---Blood Plasma---1945

T. Elikins---Chamber Commode---January 3, 1897

Henry Faulkner---Ventilated Shoe---1890

O.A. 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 Support---August 4, 1896

Blessie Blount Griffin---An electronic feeding device for amputees---1951

Michael C. Harvey--- Lantern---August 19, 1884

Joseph Hawkins---Metal Oven Rack---1800's

L.R. Johnson--Bicycle Frame--October 10, 1899

Lonnie Johnson--Super Soaker--November 13, 1989

P. Johnson---Eye Protector---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 Condtioning Unit---July 12, 1949

Lewis Latimer---Electric Lightbulb---March 21, 1882

Joseph Lee---Automatic Bread Making Machine---August 7, 1894

Joseph Lee---Bread Crumb Machine June 4, 1895

F.D. Loudin---Key Chain---January 9, 1894

J.C. Love---Pencil Sharpener---November 27, 1897

W.A. 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---Tabulation Device---December 19, 1905

Robert Pelham---Tallying Machine for U.S. Census---1913

Walter Purvis---Hand Stamp---February 27, 1883

William B. Purvis---Fountain Pen---January 7, 1890

Lawrence P. Ray---Dust Pan---August 3, 1897

John W. Reed---Rolling Pin---1864

A.C. Richard---Insect Destroyer Gun---February 28, 1899

W. H. Richardson---Baby Carriage---June 18, 1889

J. Ricks---Horseshoe---March 30, 1885

James Robinson---Lunch/Dinner Pail---February 1, 1887

G. T. Sampson---Clothes Dryer---June 6, 1862

Henry Sampson---Cell Phone---July 6, 1971

S.R 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 precursor to the Answer Machine---November 10, 1931

Madame C.J. 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---1st Successful Open Heart Surgery---July 9, 1893

Joseph Winters--Fire Escape Ladder--May 7, 1878

Granville T. Woods---Auto Cut-off Switch---January 1, 1839

Granville T. Woods---Phone Transmitter---December 2, 1884

It's a shame that the majority of theses inventors did not live enough to gain the recognition that they deserve. The goal of this article is to shed light on these great people and their contributions to society.

How Inventors Shape Our Lives Everyday