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Benjamin Banneker invents America's 1st Clock
Bio Benjamin Banneker constructed the first clock in America in 1773. It was made entirely of wood and lasted 40 years. -
Jan Matzeliger patents the shoe lasting machine
Bio Jan Matzeliger patented his device that could create over 700 pairs of lasts (molds of a persons foot used to craft a shoe) per day); this was 10 times more than a human could typically make per day. -
Nathaniel Alexander patents the folding chair
Folding Chair On this day Mr. Alexander submitted his patent for the folding chair in Lynchburg, Virginia. It included a book rest and was meant to be used in school and church. -
Garret Morgan successfully uses gas mask
Gas Mask On this day Morgan used his gas mask to rescue 32 men trapped in an underground tunnel after an explosion. He received a patent, two years prior to this event, for an earlier version of this mask (the prototype version was a safety hood & smoke protector). He went on to improve the patented model to leave his mark in history permanently with the gas mask. -
Garret Morgan patents traffic light
Traffic Signal Mr. Morgan was granted a patent for his traffic light invention on this day. The traffic light greatly reduced the amount of traffic collisions and accidents that occured due to the rising popularity of automobiles. -
Frederick McKinley Jones creates refrigeration system
Fred Bio + Fridge On this day Frederick Mckinley Jones patiented for his invention that he made 5 years earlier. His automatic refrigeration system was used for long haul trucks and it greatly reduced the rate that food spoiled with long distance shipping. -
Otis Boykin receives patent for improved electrical resistor
Otis Bio Otis Boykin receives a patent for an improved electrical resistor. This resistor could withstand extreme pressure and temperatures, allowing it to be widely used by the military for missiles and in IBM computers. -
George Alcorn receives a patent for his X ray Spectrometer
BioDr. Alcorn received a patent for his X ray spectrometer, a device that he created that allows scientist to see what something is compsed of when it can not be broken down. -
Dr. Patricia Bath receives patent for her medical invention
Dr. Bath Invention Dr. Patricia Bath created a device in 1955 that used a laser to remove cataracts from a persons eyes. It was called the Cataract Laserphaco Probe, before this invention cataracts were removed manually which was not as accurate. Dr. Bath was the first african american woman to receive a patent for a medical invention. -
Mark Dean & his team invented the 1st gigahertz chip
Dean's Bio In 1999, Dean led a team at IBM that developed the first gigahertz chip. This was a profound invention, the chip could do a billion calculations in as little as one second.
