1. Patricia Bath
Doctor Patricia Bath, an ophthalmologist from New York, was living in Los Angeles when she received her first patent, becoming the first African American female doctor to patent a medical invention. Patricia Bath's patent (#4,744,360) was for a method for removing cataract lenses that transformed eye surgery by using a laser device making the procedure more accurate.

2. Otis Boykin
Otis Boykin is best known for inventing an improved electrical resistor used in computers, radios, television sets and a variety of electronic devices. His resistor helped reduce the cost of those products. Otis Boykin also invented a variable resistor used in guided missile parts, a control unit for heart stimulators, a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter. In total, Otis Boykin patented twenty-eight electronic devices.

3. Elijah McCoy
Elijah McCoy was issued more than 57 patents for his inventions during his lifetime. His best known invention was a cup that fed lubricating oil to machine bearings through a small bore tube. Machinists and engineers who wanted genuine McCoy lubricators might have used the expression "the real McCoy."

4. Lyda Newman
African American, Lyda Newman of New York, New York patented a new and improved hair brush on November 15, Lydia Newman designed a brush that was easy to keep clean, very durable and easy to make, and provided ventilation during brushing by having recessed air chambers.

5. Valerie Thomas
Valerie Thomas received a patent in 1980 for inventing an illusion transmitter. This futuristic invention extends the idea of television, with its images located flatly behind a screen, to having three dimensional projections appear as though they were right in your living room. Perhaps in the not-so-distant future, the illusion transmitter will be as popular as the TV is today.

6. Luis E. Miramontes
Luis E. Miramontes was a Mexican chemist known as the co-inventor of the progestin used in one of the first two oral contraceptives. AKA(Birth Control Pill)

7. Hedy Lamarr
Although better known for her Silver Screen exploits, Austrian actress Hedy Lamarr (born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler) also became a pioneer in the field of wireless communications following her emigration to the United States. The international beauty icon, along with co-inventor George Anthiel, developed a "Secret Communications System" to help combat the Nazis in World War II. By manipulating radio frequencies at irregular intervals between transmission and reception, the invention formed an unbreakable code to prevent classified messages from being intercepted by enemy personnel.

8. Sarah Boone
African American, Sarah Boone, patented an improvement to the ironing board (U.S. Patent #473,653) on April 26, Sarah Boone's ironing board was designed to be effective in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies' garments. As you can see from the patent drawing below, Sarah Boone's board was very narrow and curved, the size and fit of a sleeve, and it was reversible, making it easy to iron both sides of a sleeve.

9. Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker was a self-educated scientist, astronomer, inventor, writer, and antislavery publicist. He built a striking clock entirely from wood, published a Farmers' Almanac, and actively campaigned against slavery. He was one of the first African Americans to gain distinction in science.

10. John Thompson
John Thompson invented lingo programming used in Macromedia Director and Shockwave. According John Thompson, "Lingo is a scripting language in the Macromedia Director authoring tool. The content created with Macromedia Director is delivered on the World Wide Web as shockwave movies."