15 Black Inventors and Inventions That Were Silenced

Transcript

While most African-Americans were part of the hardworking labor forces in agriculture and Industry a small percentage were hard at work creating inventions that helped transform America and the World At Large from the three light traffic signal refrigerated trucks automatic elevator doors color monitors for desktop computers to the shape of the modern ironing board the clothes ringer blood banks laser treatment for ccts home security systems and the super sooka children's toy many objects and services Americans use every day were invented by black men and women whose vital contributions to our world is countless ranging from everyday conveniences to life-saving medical devices however while countless numbers of these black inventors would go largely unrecognized others sadly are completely lost to history in this video today we are going to be examining out of a vast Oceanic number of them out there 15 black inventions and inventors who were silenced but before we continue do not forget to support our persevering efforts by hitting that like button in front of you share with your family and friends to keep spreading our eye-opening black narrative and kindly subscribe to stay put for more while you also keep the Channel Growing your support means a great deal to us let's begin one Gladis West mathematician who gave us GPS Gladis West West 1930 till present is a mathematician whose extremely detailed model of the Earth became the foundation of GPS that is used today in countless applications including navigation and communication born in 1930 in a small community in Virginia Gladis West fantasized about escaping Rural Life and felt that education was her only way out she earned top grades to win a full scholarship to Virginia State College and took on babysitting and teaching jobs to support herself in in 1956 shortly after graduating with a masters in mathematics she was hired by the US Naval surface Warfare Center at the time becoming only the second black woman ever to be hired at the facility the very first computers arrived during that time so she quickly learned how to program to analyze satellite data after showcasing her skills working on award-winning studies looking at Pluto's motion relative to Neptune she was named project manager for the cessat radar ultimat project the first satellite that could monitor the itions it was here that she created the detailed mathematical model of the shape of the earth which accounted for things like gravitational and tidal forces that changed the Earth's shape however after retiring in 1998 and recovering from a stroke Gladis West went back to school to earn her PhD at the age of 70 it was only in 2017 after the release of the movie hidden figures that she started to receive recognition for her role in revolutionizing navigation two John standard he was said to be born in 1891 and hailed from Newark New Jersey he is known to have patented an improvement in the design of refrigerator and a gas stove design John standard lived in a time when racial discrimination was Notorious in American society and African-Americans were looked down on by the American whites John standard's obscurity comes as a direct example of the racial mindset of the people surprisingly even with the existence of a huge number of information websites on the worldwide web there is not one reliable source that can provide any substantially complete information about John standard however what has been documented about him is that he patented an improvement in the design of the refrigerator on June 14th 1891 contrary to a widespread Belief John standard did not invent the refrigerator he applied an improvement to its design another of John standard's inventions was a portable form of stove that he patented on October 29 2013 John standard lived a life of obscurity owing to the oppressive time he lived in it is speculated that John standard worked as a help for American white women and aided in sewing chores records were not made for African-Americans and there is wide speculation of Jon's birth and death records in fact there is no substantial record of johon standard's death or his family life it comes as a surprise that such a person who contributed such key inventions to Everyday innovation was lost to obscurity owing to a misplaced sense of racial bias a search in the death records directory gives no result of the information of birth and death of a person named John standard all information that is available is through Word of Mouth which is highly unreliable it comes as a shame as to how prominent people could be ignored and downsized because they did not belong to the appropriate color three Lewis Howard Latimer born on September 4th 1848 to December mber 11th 1925 Latimer was an American inventor and patent draftsman his inventions included an evaporative air conditioner an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments for light bulbs and an improved toilet system for railroad cars in 1884 he joined the Edison Electric Light Company where he worked as a draftsman Latimer's Innovations in the design of carbon filaments which were used in incandescent light bulbs significantly improved the bulbs efficiency and made it more practical for everyday use his contributions to the lighting industry helped make electric lighting more accessible and affordable while Thomas Edison is often credited with inventing the Practical incandescent light bulb Latimer's contributions to its development were invaluable and he played a crucial role in advancing the technology though Latimer is sometimes referred to as the black Edison it is curious at worst and strange at best to note that more often than not his name is never mentioned in a text when the question of who invented the light bulb is raised this being the fact that latima has the patent on the carbon filament the portion of the light bulb that makes it last longer four Elijah McCoy born on the 2nd of May 1844 Elijah McCoy was the inventor who revolutionized the railroad he was a passionate inventor who ended up with 57 patents 50 of which were related to the lubrication of steam engines as well as a folding ironing board and a lawn sprinkler facing educational barriers in Canada McCoy was sent to Edinburgh Scotland at the age of 15 to pursue an education in engineering when he returned to North America he got a job as a fireman and Oiler at the Michigan Central Railroad where he used his engineering training to help solve some of the common engine overheating problems his first patent was for an automatic lubrication system for locomotive steam engines in 1872 however he continued to invent and refine his devices and by the turn of the century he had produced more patents than any other black inventor at the time lacking funding to manufacture his inventions he sold off many of his patents however by 1920 he was able to establish the Elijah McCoy manufacturing company and finally produce his inventions under his own name Legend suggests that his work was so sought after that it would be requested by name which may be the origin of the phrase The Real McCoy though McCoy is perhaps known as the most prolific of all black inventors his name was not even mentioned in an authoritative book on the history of the American locomotive industry the 1922 book by engineer eel abon's lubrication of locomotives identifies several early pioneers and organizations with no mention of McCoy nor did any other lubrication literature credit him during that time five Alexander miles Alexander miles was a successful black inventor in the late 19th century best known for inventing elevator doors that could automatically open open and close his invention made riding an elevator much safer with automatic doors still being a standard feature on modern-day elevators Alexander miles was born on May 18th 1838 in Circleville Ohio to Michael and Mary miles sometime in his early adult hood he moved to werer Wisconsin where he worked as a barber throughout the 1860s miles experienced great success as a barber in duth opening a barber shop in the four-story St Louis Hotel he even used his savings to purchase a real estate office his business achievements earned him a spot as the first black member of the duth Chamber of Commerce in 1884 miles built a three-story Brownstone building in an area that became known as the miles block however during elevator rides in his buildings miles witnessed the risks associated with an elevator shaft door accidentally left open there were many examples of people accidentally falling to their death through the shaft because the elevator doors at the time had to be manually operated miles was determined to solve this problem he attached a flexible belt to the elevator cage which touched drums positioned along the Elevator Shaft directly above and below the floors his invention allowed Elevator Shaft doors to operate at the correct times the elevator doors were automated through a series of levers and rollers Alexander miles was granted a patent for his invention on October 11th 1887 before his death on May 7th 1918 miles was considered the wealthiest black person in the Pacific Northwest area largely due to income from his invention miles was inducted into the national inventor Hall of Fame in 2007 six Benjamin Bradley Benjamin Bradley was an Innovative inventor in the field of steam engines Born Into Slavery in Maryland in the mid 19th century he faced limited access to education but taught himself engineering despite being a slave and unable to legally patent his inventions Bradley sold his high powered steam engine this earned him enough money to buy his own Freedom the steam engine's high power output and efficiency made it a popular choice for use in ships locomotives and other large Machinery however Bradley did not stop there he continued to improve upon his design and was eventually granted several patents for his work seven Henry Blair he was the second African-American inventor to receive a US patent he was born in Saluda South Carolina United States dates in 1807 his first invention was the seed planter patented October 14th 1834 which allowed Farmers to plant more corn using less labor and in a shorter time on August 31 1836 he obtained a second patent for a cotton planter this invention worked by splitting the ground with two shovel-like blades which a horse pulled along a wheel-driven cylinder followed dropping the seed into the newly plowed ground Blair had been a successful Farmer for years and developed the inventions to increase efficiency in farming in the patent records Blair is listed as a colored man making this identification the only one of its kind in early patent records Blair was illiterate therefore he signed his patents with an X it is said that Blair was a Freedman when his patents were granted United States patent law allowed freed and enslaved people to obtain patents in 1857 this law was challenged by an enslaver who claimed that he owned all the fruits of the slaves labor including their inventions this resulted in a change of the law in 1858 which stated that enslaved people were not citizens and could not hold patents Blair died in 1860 in 1871 6 years after the American Civil War ended the law was changed to Grant all men patent rights eight Alice ball born in 1892 and died in 1916 Alice ball became the first black person and the first woman to earn a master's degree in chemistry at the College of Hawaii in her short life she developed the first effective treatment for leprosy a bacterial infection that has affected humans for thousands of years while working towards her degree in pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Washington she had her work published in prestigious science journals which was rare for women and especially black women after graduating she moved to Hawaii to get her master's degree while there she studied the oil from a schul mugra tree which was used as a topical treatment for leprosy with mixed results in 1915 B figured out how to isolate the fatty acid components of the oil and make it injectable so it would dissolve in the bloodstream this became the first effective method to alleviate leprosy symptoms changing the lives of thousands of leprosy patients around the world who until then had to live in isolation to avoid spreading the disease however she was unable to publish her results herself as she died in 1916 at the age of 24 some accounts suggest she died after inhaling chlorine gas following a lab accident a year later the president of the University of Hawaii claimed her Discovery for himself and published the findings without giving her credit it wasn't until 1922 when her colleagues published her findings that she was given the recognition she deserved although the University of Hawaii didn't formally recognize her work for nearly 90 years even though her research career was tragically cut short the ball method was used for decades until New treatments were discovered nine Garrett Morgan Garrett Morgan was a prolific inventor who called himself the black Edison Garrett created early versions of the traffic light and gas mask born in Paris Kentucky on March 4th 1877 Garrett Augustus Morgan was the seventh of 11 children Morgan's mixed race Heritage would play a part in his business dealings as an adult when Morgan was in his mid- teens he moved to Cincinnati to look for work and found it as a handyman to a wealthy landowner although he only completed an elementary school education Morgan paid for more lessons from a private tutor jobs at several sewing machine factories soon captured his imagination and helped determine his future he began his career as a sewing machine mechanic before patenting an improved sewing machine design and a hair straightening product among other inventions his breathing device known as a safety Hood later provided the blueprint for World War I G masks in 1923 Morgan invented a safer traffic light the notable black inventor who lived much of his life in Ohio died in July 1963 at age 86 although he experienced discrimination as he tried to sell his inventions due to his mixed descent 10 Granville T Woods the inventor Granville T Woods who lived from 1856 to 1910 was sadly often overlooked in comparison to others who were also developing new technologies at the time particularly Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell Granville T Woods's most important invention was the induction Telegraph in 1887 this allowed people to communicate by voice over Telegraph wires which until then was limited only to those who could communicate in mors code the patent for Woods invention was bought by Alexander Graham Bell who is most commonly credited as the inventor of the telephone but really Woods was integral to its development Woods was also challenged by Thomas Edison that is the inventor credited with the invention of the light bulb who took legal action against Woods to claim that the patent should belong to him Woods is also responsible for many developments in transportation including the electric roller coaster 11 Benjamin Baner Benjamin Baner November 9th 1731 to October 19th 1806 was an African-American mathematician astronomer and inventor born in Baltimore County Maryland to a free African-American mother and a father who had formerly been enslaved Banica had little or no formal education and was largely self-taught he became known for assisting major Andrew elut in a survey that established the original borders of the District of Colombia the federal Capital District of the United States however Ban's knowledge of astronomy helped him author a commercially successful series of almanacs which provided detailed astronomical information he corresponded with Thomas Jefferson on the topics of slavery and Racial equality abolitionists and Advocates of racial equality promoted and praised Ban's Works although a fire on the day of Ban's funeral destroyed many of his papers and belongings one of his journals and several of his remaining artifacts survived his work was widely used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries Benjamin Baner is one of the black inventors who didn't get credit for creating what is believed to be one of the first clocks in the United States 12 Mary Kenna in the late 1950s Mary Kenna a black inventor whose invention was silenced and not credited pioneered the first version of sanitary towels she did this as a way of helping women menstruate with dignity despite her product getting patented in 1957 she struggle to sell it due to the stigma around menstruation 13 George Washington Carver George Washington Carver was a renowned scientist and inventor who lived from 1860 to 1943 he is best known for his pioneering work in developing new uses for crops such as peanuts sweet potatoes and soy beans Cara's Research into alternative crops helped to revitalize Southern Agriculture and provided new sources of income for Farmers he also developed new methods for crop rotation and Soil Conservation these methods improved soil health and curb erosion Carver's Legacy is one of innovation and perseverance in the face of adversity and his work continues to inspire generations of scientists and invent ERS today 14 Bessie Virginia Blount also known as Bessie Blount Griffin born on November 24 1914 and who died on December 30th 2009 was an American writer nurse physical therapist inventor and forensic scientist while working at the Bronx Hospital in New York at 37 years old Blount invented an electric self-feeding apparatus for amputees she used plastic boiling water to mold the material a file ice pick hammer and some dishes to create a prototype of her invention the device had a tube to transport individual bites of food to the patient's mouth the patients would bite down on the tube and then the next portion of food would dispense to the mouthpiece from the attached machine this allowed patients to control how much they would eat without assistance from others a part of the device was patented in 1948 the American Veterans Administration VA declined Blount's invention so in 19 52 she licensed it freely to the French government she remarked in an interview with the afroamerican that her accomplishment showed that a colored woman can invent something for the benefit of humankind though more modern Slimmer devices have been invented since 1948 Blount is however remembered for pioneering the first electric device for feeding amputees she also devised a neck frame for an injured or ill patient that holds a bowl or cup close to their face as a portable receptical support during her career Blount was a physical therapist to Thomas Edison's son Theodore Miller Edison Blount and Edison became close friends during that time she invented a disposable emesis basin the Basin was a kidney-shaped disposable cardboard dish made out of flour water and newspaper that was baked until the material was hard once again the US Veterans Affairs VA showed no interest in Blount's invention she sold the rights to her invention to a company in Belgium 15 Philip agali Philip em agali born 23 August 1954 is a computer scientist originally from Nigeria he won the 1989 Gordon Bell prize for Price performance in high performance Computing applications in an oil reservoir modeling calculation using a novel mathematical formulation and implementation he is known for making controversial claims about his achievements that are disputed by the scientific Community his claim of being a father of the internet of having inv Ed the connection machine of possessing 41 patented inventions of winning the Nobel Prize of computing and of being a doctor and Professor have been conclusively debunked with widely documented evidence speaking during a visit to Switzerland in April 2009 Mr Emy aali said he was the first to program a hypercube to solve a Grand Challenge defined as the 20 gold ring problems in Computing that Discovery in part inspired the reinvention of supercomputers as the internet he claimed that by his effort he was able to set three world records and improve on Newton's second law of motion for a few of his inventions he's known but for many others he's been shaded that brings us to the end of this video segment and hope you enjoyed it kindly support our works by hitting that like button sharing video with friends and families to keep spreading our eye openening black narrative And subscribe to stay with us for more thank you for watching