Welcome to the Black Inventor Online Museum ™, a look at the great and often unrecognized leaders in the field of invention and innovation. For more than 300 years, black inventors have served as pioneers in the field of science and have made enormous impacts on society. As African Americans sought freedom and equality, many among them, scientists, educators and even slaves, developed the tools and processes that helped to shape the modern agricultural, industrial and technological landscape. While some are famous, many remain unknown, but their contributions have assured that their stories are not only about black history, but about world history.

Banneker, Benjamin Developed the first clock built in the United States, studied astronomy and developed an almanac. Helped to create the layout of the building streets and monuments for the Nation's Capitol - Washington, D.C.		Bath, Patricia A pioneer in the field of ophthalmology, she created a laser-based device to perform cataracts surgery.
		Beard, Andrew Created the "Jenny Coupler" which revolutionized the train industry.
Benjamin, Miriam Invented a "Gong and Signal" chair for hotels.		Blair, Henry Invented a seed planter and a corn harvester.
Boone, Sarah Created a device which was the predecessor to the modern ironing boards.		Boykin, Otis Invented several small and inexpensive resistors and developed a control unit for the pacemaker.
Bradley, Benjamin Created a steam engine powerful enough to drive steam-powered warships.		Brooks, Charles Developed a truck with brushes to clean debris from city street, the precursor to the modern street-sweeper.
Brown, Henry Created a strongbox which allowed people to store important papers at home.		Carver, George Washington Created hundreds of products from the peanut and the sweet potato and developed methods of helping farmers revitalize their soil and battle common pests. Also authored numerous papers on prevented plant diseases and funguses.
Carruthers, George Invented methods of measuring and detecting Ultraviolet lights and electromagnetic radiation in space.
Cherry, Matthew Created a vehicle that is the precursor to the modern tricycle and then created a special fender for streetcars.		Crosthwait, David Designed heating installations, the most famous of which was for Radio City Music Hall.
Crum, George After accidentally slicing potatos too thinly, created the potato chip.		Dean, Mark Created numerous devices for personal computer architecture and helped revolutionize the computer industry.
Dickinson, Joseph Developed improved and innovative reed organs.		Downing, Philip Created a street letter box for postal customers and later patented an electrical switch for railroads.
Drew, Charles A pioneer in the field of blood preservation, he developed a method for separating plasma from the whole blood so they could be combined later. Also determined that plasma could be administered to certain patients regardless of their blood type. Helped to establish the modern blood bank.		Elkins, Thomas Created a refrigerated apparatus for keeping perishable foods as well as a chamber commode.
		Emeagwali, Philip Created a process for providing massively, scalable processing from networked microprocessors and helped to innovate internet applications.
Faulkner, Henry Created a ventilated shoe to help to minimize excessive sweating as well as the prevention of blisters and sores on people's feet.		Fisher, David Made the life of furniture makers easier by creating the "joiner's clamp" and a furniture caster.
Forten, James Revolutionized the sail-making business while integrating the workforce.		Goode, Sarah The first Black woman to gain a patent for her Folding Cabinet Bed.
Gourdine, Meredith An Olympic silver medallist, he created allergen-filtration devices in the common household as well as in the workplace.		Grant, George A Harvard-trained dentist, he invented several items, most famous of which was an improved golf tee.
Hawkins, Joseph Improved upon gridiron designs to create metal oven racks.		Hall, Lloyd Revolutionized the world of food preservation and developed numerous processes for eliminating germs and bacteria from foods, utensils and tools.
Jennings, Thomas The first Black person to be granted a patent for his "dry-cleaning" process.
Johnson, Jack The first Black Heavyweight boxing champion, he created a wrench for automotive maintenance.		Johnson, Lonnie A rocket scientist, he created one of the favorite toys of the 1990's - the "Super Soaker."
Johnson, Willis Created the egg-beater, a device which revolutionized the world of cooking.		Joyner, Marjorie Changed the course of hair-care history with her "Permanent Waving Machine."
Jones, Fred A master inventor, he created numerous devices, from a portable x-ray machine to an automatic movie ticket dispenser to a refrigerated trucking system. His creativeness caused the largest corporations and the United States government to seek his help.		Julian, Percy Created flame-retardent substance as well as a synthetic substitute for cortisone.
		Just, Ernest Pioneered the fields of marine biology and zoology, researching parthenogenesis.
Lee, Joseph Created a bread crumbling machine as well as an automatic bread-making machine.		Latimer, Lewis After beginning his career drafting the patent application for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, he developed into a prolific inventor and rivaled Thomas Edison in the field of electric lighting.
Lewis, Edward Created a spring gun which curtailed trespassing.
McCree, Daniel Created a wooden, portable windowsill-attached fire escape for home use.		Love, John Created the precursor to the modern pencil sharpener as well as a plasterer's hawk.
Matzeliger, Jan Revolutionized the shoe-making industry with his automatic lasting machine which could produce significantly more shoes than could human cobblers.		McCoy, Elijah Created an automatic lubricating cup which provided oil to moving trains. Was held in such high regard, his inventions were called "the Real McCoy."
Montgomery, Ben Developed a special propeller which allowed steamboats to navigate in shallow water.		Murray, George Created a cotton-chopping device and would later serve a United States Congressman.
Parker, John P. A conductor on the "Underground Railroad,, he would later patent a screw for a tobacco press.		Pelham, Robert Invented a tabulating device and a tallying machine for the United States Census Bureau.
Morgan, Garrett A prolific inventor, he is renowned for his creations, including a hair-straightener, the gas mask and the automatic traffic signal. Considered by many to be one of the most impactful inventors of all time.		Purvis, William Invented a fountain pen, a bag fastener, a hand stamp and an electric railway device.
		Ray, Lloyd As a cleaning device, he created the dust pan.
Reboucas, Andre Invented an immersible device which could be projected underwater, the precursor to the torpedo.		Richardson, Albert Patented a wooden butter churn and later a casket lowering device as well as a hame fastener.
Rillieux, Norbert Created the triple evaporation pan system which revolutionized the sugar refining industry.		Spikes, Richard Invented numerous important devices, from automobile directional signals to an automatic gear shift.
Stewart, Thomas Received a patent for his invention of the mop.		Temple, Lewis Created the "Temple's Iron". an improvement on the harpoon.
Thomas, Valerie Developed a device to produce 3-Dimensional optical illusions and effect.		Walker, Madame C. J. Created and marketed Black Hair Care products and became so successful that she was the first Black female millionaire. Created jobs for more than 1,000 women and was a mentor to entrepreneurs around the world.
Thornton, Benjamin Created a device that was the precursor to the modern answering machine.
Woods, Granville Referred to as "the Black Thomas Edison," he was a prolific inventor in the areas of telegraphony, railway electrical systems and railway safety. Successfully sued Edison and was eventually offered a position with the Edison Company.		West, James Created the industry standard affordable electret microphone.
		Williams, Daniel Hale Created the method for and accomplished the first successful open heart surgery.
* NEW Alcorn, George A pioneer in the field of semiconductor research and and aerospace innovation.		* NEW Davidson, Shelby Created add-ons for adding machines as well as an early coin-counting prototype.
		* NEW Mensah, Thomas Revolutionized the production of fiber optic materials.