Benjamin Banneker
Invented America's First Clock
In the Stevie Wonder song "Black Man," he sings of Benjamin Banneker: "first clock to be made in America was created by a black man." Though the song is a fitting salute to a great inventor, it only touches on the genius of Benjamin Banneker.
Like a lot of early inventors, Benjamin Banneker was primarily self-taught. Benjamin was the son of former slaves and although recieving early education from a Quaker school, his advanced knowledge came from reading, reading and more reading.
His clock invention was to make his name and propel his reputation. In the early 1750's, Benjamin borrowed a pocket watch from a wealthy acquaintance, took the watch apart and studied its' components. Due to this exploration, he created a fully functioning clock carved entirely out of wooden pieces. The clock was amazingly precise and carried on ticking for decades. As a result of the attention his self-made clock received, Banneker was able to start up his own watch and clock repair business.
As if that wasn't enough. Banneker borrowed books on astronomy and mathematics and enveloped himself in the subjects. Due to his newfound knowledge he accurately predicted a 1789 solar eclipse. In the early 1790s he also he also wrote and published his Almanac and Ephemeris of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, and even sent a copy to secretary of state Thomas Jefferson along with a letter urging abolition of slavery.
Jefferson commanded Banneker to be a part of the surveying team to lay out Washington, D.C.
Benjamin Banneker was many things - inventor, scientist, anti-slavery proponent - his legacy lives on to this day.
Dr Patricia Bath
Inventor of a tool to remove cataracts
Imagine living in a world ranging from hazy, clouded vision to that of total darkness for 30 years. Before 1985, that was the plight of those with cataracts who did not want to risk surgery with a mechanical grinder.
As a noted Opthamologist and famous black inventor, Dr. Patricia Bath has dedicated her life to the treatment and prevention of visual impairments. Her personal belief that everyone has the "Right to Sight" led to her invention in 1985 of a specialized tool and procedure for the removal of cataracts. With the Laserphaco Probe and procedure, Dr. Bath increased the accuracy and results of cataract surgery, which had previously been performed manually with a mechanical grinder.
The difference between the old method and her new invention was the difference between the use of highly accurate laser technology and the somewhat subjective accuracy of a mechanical device. The Laserphaco Probe combined an optical laser, irrigation system and suction tubes. In use, the laser is inserted into a tiny incision on the eye; the laser then vaporizes the cataract and lens material, which is removed via the suction tubes. A replacement lens is then inserted on the eye.
With the Laserphaco Probe invention and the development of the procedure for its use, Dr. Bath helped restore the sight of several people who had been blinded by cataracts for up to 30 years.
Marie Van Brittan Brown
Closed Circuit Television (CCTV)
While home security systems today are more advanced than ever, back in 1966 the idea for a home surveillance device seemed almost unthinkable. That was the year famous African-American inventor Marie Van Brittan Brown, and her partner Albert Brown, applied for an invention patent for a closed-circuit television security system – the forerunner to the modern home security system.
Brown's system had a set of four peep holes and a camera that could slide up and down to look out each one. Anything the camera picked up would appear on a monitor. An additional feature of Brown's invention was that a person also could unlock a door with a remote control.
A female black inventor far ahead of her time, Marie Van Brittan Brown created an invention that was the first in a long string of home-security inventions that continue to flood the market today.
Garrett A. Morgan
Traffic Signal and Gas Mask Inventor
Many of the world's most famous inventors only produced one major invention that garnered recognition and cemented their prominent status. But Garret Augustus Morgan, one of America's most successful African-American inventors, created two – the gas mask and the traffic signal.
Born in the last quarter of the nineteenth century to former slaves, Garrett A. Morgan was only formally educated to a sixth-grade level. Fortunately, like many great inventors, Morgan had an innate mechanical mind that enabled him to solve problems. And, unlike most other inventors, he also was a skilled entrepreneur.
After moving to Cleveland, Ohio, at the age of 18, Garrett Morgan's business sense and strong work ethic led him to almost immediate success. He started his own sewing equipment repair business, and even established a newspaper – the Cleveland Call.
But Morgan's most prolific accomplishments came in his role as an inventor. He received a patent for the first gas mask invention in 1914, but it wasn't until two years later that the idea really took off. When a group of workers got stuck in a tunnel below Lake Erie after an explosion, Morgan and a team of men donned the masks to help get them out. After the rescue was a success, requests for the masks began pouring in.
Similarly, Garrett Morgan's other famous invention – the traffic signal – was also invented to help save lives. After witnessing an accident on a roadway, Morgan decided a device was needed to keep cars, buggies and pedestrians from colliding. His traffic signal was designed to stand on a street corner and notify vehicles and walkers whether they should stop or go. After receiving a patent in 1923, the rights to the invention were eventually purchased by General Electric.
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