How Inventors Shape Our Lives Every Day

Imagine this: Millions of people do this routine: after waking up, they get up and take a shower; They use an ironing board to iron their work clothes. as the room is quite warm, they turn on the air conditioning to cool down; After using a hairbrush to get ready for work, they go downstairs and open the refrigerator door to make some eggs. They then use an egg beater to make some scrambled eggs. After breakfast, they go to work after grabbing their cell phone and use their key fob to lock the back door. So what do an ironing board, air conditioner, hair brush, refrigerator, egg beater, cell phone keychain, and lock have in common? All of those products just mentioned were created by African Americans.

This article will focus on African American inventors who made products that we use almost every day. These inventors created some amazing products that a lot of people didn’t know about, but sadly in the Jim Crow era, they never got the credit or actually reap the fortune they deserve. In some cases, these inventors created the product and, without providing a patent for their invention, told people about their new creation. Since the product was not patented, these people were going somewhere to steal … I mean … make their own product, put their name on it, and gain instant fame. When researching this topic, it is truly surprising to find that each inventor made their product with very primitive material, unlike the technology we have in today’s world.

Here is the list of each inventor and their creation. You will be amazed at what is on the list!

Inventor — Invention — Date of invention

AP Ashbourne — Cookie Cutter — November 30, 1875

Benjamin Banneker — Almanac — 1791

Patricia Bath — cataract removal device updated — 1988

Miriam Benjamin — “Gong and Signal” Chair (used in hotels) — July 17, 1888

Edward Berger — Spark Plug — February 2, 1839

Henry Blair — Seed Planting Device — October 14, 1834

Henry Blair — Cotton Planting Device — 1836

Sarah Boone — Iron Table — December 30, 1897

Bordy and Surgwar folding chair June 11, 1889

Otis Boykin control unit for pacemaker 1961

Benjamin Bradley — A Steam Warship Engine — 1856

Henry Brown — Fire / Burglary Resistant Safe — November 2, 1886

LA Burr — Lawn Mower — May 19, 1889

Charles Brooks — Street Sweeper — March 17, 1890

Lee Burridge & Newman Marshman — Typewriter — April 7, 1885

TA Carrington — Stove — July 25, 1876

George R. Curruthers — Far Ultraviolet Camera and Spectrograph — November 11, 1969

WC Carter — Umbrella Stand — 1885

George Washington Carver — Peanut Butter – 1839

MA Cherry — Tricycle — May 6, 1886

G. Cook — Automatic Fishing Device — May 30, 1899

AL Cralle — Ice Cream Scooper — February 2, 1897

David Crosthwaut, Jr. – Heating System for Radio City Music Hall — 1934

George Crum — Fried Potato — 1853

Mark Dean – Led his team to create the first gigahertz computer processor chip — 1999

Dorsey — Doorstop — December 10, 1878

Paul Downing — Mailbox — October 27, 1891

Charles Drew — Blood Plasma — 1945

T. Elikins — Chamber Chest — January 3, 1897

Henry Faulkner — Ventilated Shoe — 1890

OA Fisher — Furniture Caster — 1878

Robert Flemming Jr. Guitar March 3, 1866

Sarah E. Goode – Folding Bed – July 14, 1885

George Grant — Golf Tee — December 12, 1899

William S. Grant — Curtain Rod Bracket — August 4, 1896

Blessie Blount Griffin — An Electronic Amputee Feeding Device — 1951

Michael C. Harvey — Lantern — August 19, 1884

Joseph Hawkins — Metal oven rack — 1800’s

LR Johnson – Bicycle Frame – October 10, 1899

Lonnie Johnson – Super Soaker – November 13, 1989

P. Johnson — Eye Shield — November 2, 1880

Willie Johnson — Egg Beater — February 5, 1884

Frederick M. Jones — Movie Ticket Dispenser — June 1939

Frederick M. Jones — Motor — June 27, 1939

Frederick M. Jones — Air Conditioning Unit — July 12, 1949

Lewis Latimer — Electric Light Bulb — March 21, 1882

Joseph Lee — Automatic Bread Maker — August 7, 1894

Joseph Lee — Breadcrumb Machine June 4, 1895

FD Loudin — Keychain — January 9, 1894

JC Love — Pencil Sharpener — November 27, 1897

WA Martin — Lock — July 23, 1889

Alexander Miles — Elevator — October 11, 1867

Garrett Morgan — Gas Mask — October 13, 1914

Garrett Morgan — Traffic Light — November 20, 1923

Lydia O. Newman — Hair Brush — November 15, 1898

Robert Pelham — Tabulation Device — December 19, 1905

Robert Pelham — Counting Machine for the US Census — 1913

Walter Purvis — Hand Stamp — February 27, 1883

William B. Purvis — Fountain Pen — January 7, 1890

Lawrence P. Ray — Picker — August 3, 1897

John W. Reed — Roller — 1864

AC Richard — Insect Destroyer Weapon — February 28, 1899

WH Richardson — Baby Stroller — June 18, 1889

J. Ricks — Herradura — March 30, 1885

James Robinson — Lunch / Dinner Bucket — February 1, 1887

GT Sampson — Clothes Dryer — June 6, 1862

Henry Sampson — Cell Phone — July 6, 1971

SR Scratton — Curtain Rod — November 30, 1889

John Standard — Refrigerator — June 14, 1891

Thomas Stewart — Mop — June 11, 1893

Benjamin Thornton – A device that was the forerunner of the answering machine — November 10, 1931

Madame CJ Walker — Straightening Comb — 1905

Ulysses S Walton — Prosthesis — March 23, 1943

John Thomas White — Lemon Squeezer — December 8, 1893

Jerome Wicks – Patio Door Lock and WindowGuard Protection — April 20, 1982

Daniel Hale Williams — First Successful Open Heart Surgery — July 9, 1893

Joseph Winters – Fire Escape – May 7, 1878

Granville T. Woods — Automatic Kill Switch — January 1, 1839

Granville T. Woods — Telephone transmitter — December 2, 1884

It’s a shame that most of these inventors haven’t lived long enough to get the recognition they deserve. The goal of this article is to shed light on these great people and their contributions to society.