African-American Inventors [Student Name] [Date]
George Washington Carver Lived 1865-1943 Former slave Born in Missouri Earned advanced degrees from Iowa Agricultural College Developed hundreds of industrial uses for farm products Outstanding researcher and educator
Norbert Rillieux Lived 1806-1894 New Orleans slave Educated in France Developed evaporator for refining sugar Patented in 1846
Elijah McCoy Lived 1844-1929 Son of escaped slaves from Kentucky Invented lubricator for steam engines Patented in 1872 Awarded 57 patents in his lifetime
Lewis Howard Latimer Lived 1848-1929 Worked for Boston patent attorney Learned mechanical drawing Invented electric lamp and carbon filament for light bulbs Patented in 1881-1882 Only African American on Thomas Edison’s engineering team
Granville T. Woods Lived 1856-1910 Born in Ohio Self-educated Invented telegraph for railway train communication Awarded more than 60 patents for electrical/mechanical inventions
Madame C. J. Walker Lived 1867-1919 Born in Louisiana Developed hair care system and other beauty products One of the first self-made women millionaires Successful businesswoman and generous benefactor
Garrett Augustus Morgan Lived 1877-1963 Born in Kentucky Invented gas mask for chlorine fumes during World War I Patented 1914 Also invented automated STOP and GO traffic signal
Frederick McKinley Jones Lived 1892-1961 Born in Ohio Experienced mechanic Invented self-starting gas engine Invented first automatic refrigeration system for trucks Awarded over 40 patents for refrigeration
David Crosthwait, Jr. Lived 1898-1976 Born in Tennessee Earned degrees from Purdue University Expert in heating, ventilation, air conditioning Awarded 40 patents for HVAC systems
Patricia Bath Born 1949 in New York World-famous ophthalmologist First African-American woman doctor to receive patent for medical inventions Invented laser device to remove cataracts Transformed eye surgery Awarded four patents for eye surgery methods