INVENTIONS BY AFRICAN AMERICANS:
What would this country be like without the contributions of Blacks, as African-Americans?
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'by the time we leave for work, millions of Americans have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks.'
Alexander Mils invented the elevator:
Alexander Miles of Duluth, Minnesota patented an electric elevator on October 11, 1887 by improving the method of the opening and closing of elevator doors; and he improved the closing of the opening to the elevator shaft when an elevator was not on that floor. Alexander Miles created an automatic mechanism that closed access to the shaft. At that time elevator patrons or operators were often required to manually shut a door to cutoff access to the elevator shaft. People would forget to close the shaft door and as a result there were accidents with people falling down the elevator shafts.
Richard Spikes invented the automatic gear shift
Richard Spikes of San Francisco, California patented or developed the following inventions:
· railroad semaphore (1906)
· automatic car washer (1913)
· automobile directional signals (1913) - manufactured by Pierce Arrow
· beer keg tap (1910) - purchased by Milwaukee Brewing Company.
· self-locking rack for billiard cues (1910)
· continuous contact trolley pole (1919) - used on on the famous San Francisco Key Line.
· combination milk bottle opener and cover (1926)
· method and apparatus for obtaining average samples and temperature of tank liquids (1931)
· improved automatic gear shift (1932) - licensed the patent for $100,000
· transmission and shifting thereof (1933)
· automatic shoe shine chair (1939)
· multiple barrel machine gun (1940)
· horizontally swinging barber chair (1950)
· automatic safety brake (1962) - year Richard Spikes died
Joseph Gambol invented the Supercharger System for Internal Combustion Engines
J. Garrett A. Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals
Elbert R. Robinson invented the electric trolley
Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper
William Purvis invented the fountain pen
Lee Barrage invented the Typewriting Machine
W. A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press
William Barry invented the Postmarking and Cancelling Machine
William Purveys invented the Hand Stamp
Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop
Joseph Smith invented the Lawn Sprinkler
John Burr the Lawn Mower
Frederick Jones invented the Air Conditioner
Alice Parker the Heating Furnace
Lewis Lattimer later invented the Electric Lamp
Michael Harvey invented the lantern
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Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch
Thomas W. Steward invented the Mop
Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan
Jan E. Matzelinger invented the Shoe Lasting Machine
Walter Sammons invented the Comb
Sarah Boone invented the Ironing Board
George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.
John Standard invented the refrigerator...