Without them we would be in the dark-- literally, without peanut butter-- a travesty and simply without some of the most basic technology we take advantage of in our daily lives. Learn about the men who made it all happen.
Lewis Howard Latimer
Everyone knows that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but few know that Lewis Latimer had a hand in both. After a stint in the Navy, and a skilled draftsman, Latimer invented the carbon filament, a thread of metal that converts electricity into light or heat. His invention landed him in Edison's lab. In 1876, Graham Bell would bring Latimer in to create the drawings needed to seek a patent for the telephone. He also invented a restroom specifically designed for trains.
Garrett Morgan
Garrett Morgan's two major inventions are life-saving devices still used today. His first invention, the safety hood and smoke protector were sold to companies around the United States, though he often had to be accompanied by a white man who played the role of the product's inventor. This all changed when he gained national notoriety after using it to save trapped men from a noxious tunnel explosion under Lake Erie. The safety hood would be the prototype used to develop the gas mask. Later, Morgan sold a t-shaped street pole that switched signs from "STOP" to "GO" to General Electric. GE would take this and turn it into the traffic light, creating infinitely safer roadways.
Everyone knows that Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but few know that Lewis Latimer had a hand in both. After a stint in the Navy, and a skilled draftsman, Latimer invented the carbon filament, a thread of metal that converts electricity into light or heat. His invention landed him in Edison's lab. In 1876, Graham Bell would bring Latimer in to create the drawings needed to seek a patent for the telephone. He also invented a restroom specifically designed for trains.
Garrett Morgan's two major inventions are life-saving devices still used today. His first invention, the safety hood and smoke protector were sold to companies around the United States, though he often had to be accompanied by a white man who played the role of the product's inventor. This all changed when he gained national notoriety after using it to save trapped men from a noxious tunnel explosion under Lake Erie. The safety hood would be the prototype used to develop the gas mask. Later, Morgan sold a t-shaped street pole that switched signs from "STOP" to "GO" to General Electric. GE would take this and turn it into the traffic light, creating infinitely safer roadways.
