List of African Origin inventors and scientists
| Name | Life | Occupation | Inventions/Accomplishments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virgie Ammons | Invented a device for dampening fireplaces | ||
| A.P. Ashbourne | Invented the Biscuit Cutter | ||
| L.C. Bailey | Invented the Folding Beds. | ||
| Benjamin Banneker | 1731-1806 | Mathematician Astronomer Surveyor Clockmaker Author Farmer |
Constructed wooden clock (1753). Assisted in survey of the original boundaries of the District of Columbia (1791). Authored almanac and ephemeris (1792-1797) |
| James A. Bauer | He invented the coin changer. | ||
| Patricia Bath | 1942- | ophthalmologist | First African Origin female physician to receive a patent for a invention |
| Andrew Beard | 1849-1921 | Farmer Carpenter Blacksmith Railroad worker Businessman Inventor |
Made improvements to Jenny Coupler |
| Earl S. Bell | 1977- | Inventor architectural theorist building designer |
|
| Miriam Benjamin | Inventor | Invented Gong and Signal Chair for hotels Second black woman to receive a patent |
|
| Edmond Berger | Inventor | Invented early spark plug | |
| Leonidas Berry | 1902-1995 | Gastroenterologist | Pioneer in the development and use of the gastroscope |
| David Blackwell | 1919- | Statistician | |
| Henry Blair | ?-1860 | Inventor | Second black inventor issued a patent Invented early spark plug |
| Bessie Blount Griffin | 1914- | Physical therapist Inventor |
Invented object allowing amputees to feed themselves |
| Sarah Boone | Inventor | Invented improved ironing board allowing sleeves of women's garments to be ironed more easily | |
| James E. Bowman | 1923- | Physician | Renown pathologist and geneticist; Professor Emeritus Pritzker School of Medicine; first tenured African-American professor at the University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences |
| Otis Boykin | 1947-1982 | Inventor | |
| St. Elmo Brady | 1884-1966 | Chemist | |
| Herman Branson | 1914-1995 | Physicist Educator |
Best known for his research on protein structure |
| E. Luther Brookes | 1900s?-? | Chemist, Educator | |
| Charles Brooks | Inventor | Invented a type of street sweeper truck, and a type of paper punch | |
| Phil Brooks | Inventor | Received a patent for a disposable syringe | |
| Henry Brown | Inventor | Invented fire safe | |
| Marie Brown | Inventor | Invented video home security system | |
| John Albert Burr | Inventor | Received a patent for a type of Rotary-blade lawn mower | |
| William Warrick Cardozo | 1905-1962 | Pediatrician | Pioneered research on sickle cell anemia. In October 1937 he published "Immunologic Studies in Sickle Cell Anemia" in the Archives of Internal Medicine, many of the findings still valid today. |
| Ben Carson | 1951- | Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University | |
| George Washington Carver | 1865-1943 | Botanical researcher | Discovered hundreds of uses for previously useless vegtables and fruits namely the Peanut. |
| Emmett Chappelle | 1925- | Scientist and researcher | Made valuable contributions in several fields: medicine, biology, food science, and astrochemistry |
| David Crosthwait, Jr. | 1898-1976 | Research engineer | Expert on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning Received some 40 U.S. patents relating to HVAC systems. |
| Marie Maynard Daly | 1921- | First black American woman with a Ph.D. in chemistry | |
| Charles Drew | 1904-1950 | Medical researcher | |
| Lloyd Noel Ferguson | 1918-? | Chemist Educator |
First African Origin to receive a chemistry doctorate (1943, University of California, Berkeley) |
| Sarah P. Goode | 1850s-? | Inventor | Invented cabinet bed First African Origin woman to receive a patent in the United States |
| Joseph L. Graves | Evolutionary biologist | ||
| Lloyd Hall | 1894-1971 | Chemist | |
| James A. Harris | 1932-? | Co-discovered two new elements: Rutherfordium (element 104) and Hafnium (element 105) at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory | |
| Walter Lincoln Hawkins | 1911-1992 | Scientist | Inventor at Bell Laboratories |
| John E Hodge | 1914-1996 | Chemist | |
| Kerrie Holley | Research computer scientist at IBM | Co-creator of Service-Oriented Modeling and Architecture, SOMA and the Service Integration Maturity Model (SIMM) | |
| Erich Jarvis | Duke University Neuroscience | Studies bird songs | |
| Elgy S. Johnson | ?-1987 | Mathematician | |
| Frederick McKinley Jones | 1893-1961 | Inventor | |
| Percy Julian | 1899-1975 | Chemist | |
| Ernest Just | 1883-1941 | Biologist | |
| Samuel Lee Kountz, Jr. | 1931-1981 | Transplant surgeon/researcher | Pioneer in organ transplantation, particularly renal transplant research and surgery Author or co-author of 172 articles in scientific publications |
| Lewis Latimer | 1848-1928 | Inventor | |
| USAF Major Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. | 1935-1967 | Major Astronaut |
First black astronaut and member of the Air Force's Manned Orbiting Laboratory program |
| Jan Matzeliger | 1852-1889 | Inventor | |
| Henry McBay | 1914-1995 | Chemist | |
| Ronald McNair | 1950-1986 | Astronaut | Astronaut killed during mission STS-51-L in the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster |
| Garrett Morgan | 1877-1963 | Inventor | |
| Norbert Rillieux | 1806-1894 | Inventor Engineer |
|
| John Uzo Ogbu | 1939–2003 | Anthropologist | Studied race and intelligence |
| Claude Steele | ? - | Social scientist | First studied stereotype threat |
| Vivien Thomas | August 29, 1910 – November 26, 1985 | Surgical technician | Helped develop the procedures used to treat blue baby syndrome in the 1940s |
| Neil deGrasse Tyson | 1958- | Influential astronomer | |
| Daniel Hale Williams | 1856-1931 | ||
| Granville Woods | 1856-1910 | Inventor | |
| Madam C.J. Walker | 1867–1919 | Inventor | created black cosmetic products |
Related
- NASA spinoff
- National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Science and technology in the United States
- Technological and industrial history of the United States
- Timeline of United States discoveries
- Timeline of United States inventions
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- Yankee ingenuity