Biography inventors
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11 Famous Black Inventors Who Changed Your Life
Thomas L. Jennings
1791–1859
The first African American U.S. patent recipient, Thomas L. Jennings was working as a tailor and businessman in New York City when he invented a process for dry-cleaning delicate clothing known as “dry-scouring.” Jennings applied for a patent in 1820 and received his history-making approval the following year. With the money he earned from his invention, the formerly enslaved individ donated to abolitionist causes and even reportedly freed his still-enslaved family members.
Sarah Boone
1832-1904
In 1892, Sarah Boone patented a design improvement to Elijah McCoy’s ironing board. The North Carolina native wrote in her application that the purpose of her invention was “to tillverka a cheap, simple, convenient, and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies’ garments.”
Read More about Sarah Boone
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40 Famous Inventors Who Made Their Mark on History
Madam C.J. Walker
Madam C.J. Walker, who was born Sarah Breedlove in 1867, invented a hair care treatment for Black women. She traveled around the country demonstrating the “Walker Method,” which involved a pomade that Walker formulated, a brushing technique, and heated combs. She was inspired to invent the revolutionary hair care treatment because of her own experience with a condition that caused hair loss.
Related: How Madam C.J. Walker Invented Her Hair Car Products
Thomas Edison
Arguably one of the most famous inventors of all time, Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the first commercially viable incandescent lightbulb. But this was just one of his many inventions. He’s also the inventor of the Universal Stock Printer, which was used to synchronize stock tickers’ transactions, the quadruplex telegraph, and the phonograph, among others. During his lifetime, he was granted more than 1,000 U.S. patents
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Recording and collecting the work of inventors has long been a mission of the Smithsonian.The Lemelson Center of the National Museum of American History documents, interprets, and disseminates information about invention and innovation, and fosters an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States. The National Air & Space Museum explores the invention, history, science, and technology of aviation and space flight. The Anacostia Museum has a special exhibit: The Real McCoy, African-American Invention and Innovation, 1619-1930 and the Remembering Gallery's exhibit: American Inventors and Inventions. Here we examine a handful of famous Amercan inventors, some like Benjamin Franklin, who are well known for their creations, others such as Thomas Jefferson, who are better known for other contributions.
Joseph Siffrèd Duplessis (1725-1802)
Oil on canvas, circa 1785, NPG.87.43
National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian