Author: blackinventions

February is Black History Month. It is a time for us to reflect, celebrate and honor the work of African Americans, whose sacrifices, advocacy and innovations have elevated our economic, cultural and social fabric. At a time when there are attempts to erase the teaching and publication of Black history, this is all the more reason to magnify the undeniable loss, legacy and infinite contribution of African Americans.While our journey as African Americans has been marred by slavery, murder, racism and suffering, it has also made the survivors proud and victorious, proud and courageous. We are role models, scholars, builders,…

through Stacy Jackson November 8, 2023 You can thank Alice Walker, a Black woman and 20th century inventor, for creating the central heating system this winter. The next time the temperature drops to unbearably low levels and you decide to turn up the heat on your thermostat, you can thank a Black woman named Alice H. Parker for her clever plan to also the way we heat our homes today. Parker was born in 1895 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was a Black inventor in the early 20th century who created a central heating system that uses natural gas. According…

Architectural drawing of the proposed Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum, which will show visitors the broad impact of the contributions of Black inventors. It is planned to open in 2026. (James Howard)While standing in line at ShopRite one night, James Howard, of Dover, spotted a special edition of the Times magazine that featured America’s top 100 inventors but noticed something was missing.”Naturally, on the front cover, they have Thomas Edison, they have Henry Ford, Nikola Tesla and all that, (but) not a single black face is on the front cover.He found later in the article small images of Dr.…

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A new museum dedicated to Black inventors and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education is scheduled to open in 2026. “Building this museum has been a long time coming,” James Howard, BIHOF executive director told 1010 WINS. “Expenditure aims to reveal a story in many layers.” The idea to open the Black Inventors Hall of Fame Museum came from Howard who observed the absence of any Black inventors on the cover of a special issue of the Times magazine, which featured the top 100 inventors in America. “Naturally, on the front cover,…

Bottom angle icon An icon in the form of an angle pointing down. Granville T. Woods was a pioneering inventor with nearly 60 patents to his name. Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images Granville T. Woods was one of the most prolific Black inventors of the 19th century.In the 1880s, Thomas Edison sued Woods twice, claiming that he had first invented the telegraph for trains.Woods’ inventions revolutionized transportation, but he faced many challenges as a Black inventor. Thomas Edison is widely considered one of the most famous inventors in American history, pioneering technologies such as the incandescent light bulb, the…

Black engineers have made many contributions to sound technology and music, overcoming systemic discrimination. And yet, they are often unknown, even today. One that anyone should know about sound is James West, who, as part of a fruitful career, revolutionized recording with the electret microphone in research with Gerhard Sessler at Bell Labs. James West was born in 1931 in racist rural Virginia; his grandmother was a slave. His curiosity is insatiable and – sometimes destructive. As Ars Technica recounts, he removed his grandfather’s watch but failed to turn it back on, and managed to give himself an electric shock…

Lanny Smoot, a Disney Research Fellow and longtime member of Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is the first Disney Imagineer to receive this prestigious recognition and only the second individual from The Walt Disney Company to be inducted—the first being Walt Disney, honored posthumously in 2000 for the multiplane camera. Smoot and his fellow Class of 2024 inductees will be formally honored in Washington, DC, on Thursday, May 9. Upon learning of his induction, Smoot said, “I’m honored and humbled to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall…

Lanny Smoot, one of the initial recipients of the Most Promising Engineer Award at the BEYA STEM Conference, has been selected as one of fifteen pioneers whose inventions will be recognized in the class of 2024 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees. The announcement was made at the Walt Disney Imagineering campus. The Hall of Fame, in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will honor these Inductees on May 9 at “The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation,” one of the most anticipated events in the innovation industry. Lanny, a patent leader with over 100 patents at…

Lanny Smoot, one of the initial recipients of the Most Promising Engineer Award at the BEYA STEM Conference, has been selected as one of fifteen pioneers whose inventions will be recognized in the class of 2024 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees. The announcement was made at the Walt Disney Imagineering campus. The Hall of Fame, in partnership with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), will honor these Inductees on May 9 at “The Greatest Celebration of American Innovation,” one of the most anticipated events in the innovation industry. Lanny, a patent leader with over 100 patents at…

1867-1919table-of-contents title=””][/table-of-contents]Who is Madam CJ Walker?Madam CJ Walker invented a line of African American hair products after suffering from a scalp disease that caused her hair to fall out. She promoted her products by traveling around the country giving lecture-demonstrations and eventually founded Madame CJ Walker Laboratories to produce cosmetics and train beauticians to sell. Her business acumen led her to become one of the first American women to become a self-made millionaire. He is also known for his philanthropic efforts, including a donation for the construction of an Indianapolis YMCA in 1913. Walker’s life was depicted in the 2020…