African-American Inventors

By tpark039

  • First wooden clock built in the USA - Benjamin Banneker

    In 1753, he designed a clock and carving each piece by hand, including the gears, Banneker had successfully created the first clock ever built in the United States.
  • Period: to

    1 Jan dates are used when the actual date is unknown

  • First almanac predicting weather - Benjamin Banneker

    Almanac included seasonal changes and tips on planting crops and medical remedies.

  • Telegraphony - Granville Woods

    In 1885, Woods patented a apparatus which was a combination of a telephone and a telegraph. The device, which he called "telegraphony," would allow a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. The device was so successful that he later sold it to the American Bell Telephone Company.

  • Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph - Granville Woods

    In 1887, Woods developed his most important invention to date - a device he called Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. A variation of the "induction telegraph," it allowed for messages to be sent from moving trains and railway stations. By allowing dispatchers to know the location of each train, it provided for greater safety and a decrease in railway accidents.

  • Velocipede - Matthew Cherry

    He developed a device called a velocipede and consisted of a metal frame upon which were attached two or three wheels. Someone sitting on the seat of the apparatus could propel themselves forward at considerable speeds by moving their feet along the ground in a fast walking or running motion. Cherry's model, which he patented on May 8, 1888, greatly improved upon other similar devices and has evolved into what are now known as the bicycle and the tricycle.

  • First Open Heart Surgery - Dr. Daniel Hale Williams

    The first person to perform an open heart surgery, it is actually more noteworthy that he was the first surgeon to open the chest cavity successfully without the patient dying of infection. His procedures would therefore be used as standards for future internal surgeries.

  • Pencil Sharpener - John Love

    Love patented the pencil sharpener which called for a user to turn a crank and rotor off thin slices of wood from the pencil until a point was formed

  • Golf Tee - George Grant

    Grant patented a golf tee which raised the golf ball (made of rubber at that time) slightly off of the ground, enabling the player greater control with his wooden club and therefore of the direction and speed of the drive. The tee was made of a small wooden peg with a concave piece of rubber on top to hold the ball and in addition to helping with control over the direction of the shot, it also aided in promoting longer drives.

  • Beer Keg Tap - Richard Spikes

  • Automobile Directional Signals - Richard Spikes

  • Wrench - Jack Johnson

    Johnson found need for a tool which would help tighten of loosening fastening devices. He crafted a tool and eventually patented it on April 18, 1922, calling it a wrench.

  • Automatic Gear Shift - Richard Spikes

  • Blood Bank (Preservation of Blood Plasma) - Dr Charles Drew

    He developed the long-term preservation of blood plasma. Prior to his discovery, blood could not be stored for more than two days because of the rapid breakdown of red blood cells. Drew had discovered that by separating the plasma (the liquid part of blood) from the whole blood (in which the red blood cells exist) and then refrigerating them separately, they could be combined up to a week later for a blood transfusion.

  • Automatic Safety Brake - Richard Spikes

  • Imaging X-ray Spectrometer - George Alcorn

    In 1978, Alcorn invented an imaging X-ray spectrometer which used thermomigration of aluminum. X-ray spectrometry is used to provide data which can be analyzed for a number of applications, including for obtaining information about remote solar systems and other space objects. Alcorn created numerous noteworthy inventions and secured more than 25 patents. He is seen as a pioneer in the field of plasma semiconductor devices. His concept and implementation of "plasma etching" has become a standard

  • Laserphaco Probe - Patricia Bath

    The device employed a laser as well as two tubes, one for irrigation and one for aspiration (suction). The laser would be used to make a small incision in the eye and the laser energy would vaporize the cataracts within a couple of minutes. The damaged lens would then be flushed with liquids and then gently extracted by the suction tube. With the liquids still being washed into the eye, a new lens