Lewis Latimer September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928 Inventor

Early Childhood Lewis Latimer had two brothers and one sister .Latimer's parents, as runaway slaves in the 1830s, had been assisted by whites as well as blacks. Their case had galvanized the Boston abolitionist community to its first major political activity. Latimer and his brothers had enlisted in the military and served in the Civil War. At sixteen Latimer joined the Union navy as a cabin boy on the USS Massasoit. After an honorable discharge in 1865 Latimer returned to Boston.

1876 In 1874, along with W.C. Brown, Latimer co-invented an improved of a train water closet, a bathroom compartment for railroad trains. Two years later, Latimer would play a part in one of the world's most important inventions.

1880 Latimer began work as a mechanical draftsman for Hiram Maxim, an inventor and founder of the U.S. Electric Lighting Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. In his new job, Latimer was given the opportunity to become familiar with the field of electric incandescent lighting, an area in which there was fierce competition to secure patents. In addition to his work with light bulbs and lamps, he went to U.S. cities and abroad supervising installation and production of Maxim equipment.

1884 Lewis Latimer was invited to work for Maxim's arch rival, Thomas Alva Edison, in New York. An expert electrical engineer, Latimer's work for Edison was critical for the following reasons: his thorough knowledge of electric lighting and power guided Edison through the process of filing patent forms properly at the U.S. Patent Office, protecting the company from infringements of his inventions; Latimer was also in charge of the company library, collecting information from around the world, translating data in French and German to protect the company from European challenges.

1890 Edison encouraged Latimer to write the book, Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System. Published in 1890, it was extremely popular as it explained how an incandescent lamp produces light in an easy-to-understand manner.

Impressions What impressed me the most about Lewis Latimer, was that he invented all of his inventions all on his own. He never gave up on any of them. He did the best he could to make it to where he had made it. Lewis Latimer was a hard worker and deserved the best for him and his family.

Epitaph 1848-1928 Each to his taste, but as for me, My Venus shall be ebony. The Living may our praise proclaim, To keep alive fond memory’s flame .

Bibliography “Lewis Latimer (1848-1928) Renaissance Man.”Copy right, Smithsonian Institution 1999. 6 February 2009. http://invention.smithsonian.orgkenterpieces/ilives/latimer/latim er.html “Lewis Howard Latimer’’Copyright, 1997-2007. 4 February 2009.” www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/latimer.htm “The Life and Inventions of Lewis Latimer.” Copyright 2004. 13 February 2009. http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllatimer.htm Altman, Susan ”The Encyclopedia of African America Heritage.” Copyright 1997.