Lewis Howard Latimer
| Lewis Howard Latimer | |
 Latimer in 1882
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| Born | September 4, 1848 Chelsea, Massachusetts |
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| Died | December 11, 1928 New York City, New YorkUSA |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Wilson |
| Children | Janette, Louise |
| Parents | George Latimer (1818-c1880) and Rebecca Latimer |
Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an African American inventor and draftsman. Though Thomas Alva Edison is credited with the invention of the light bulb, Latimer made significant contributions to its further development.[1][2]
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Early life
Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on September 4, 1848 as the youngest of the four children of Rebecca (1826-1848) and George Latimer (July 4, 1818 [3] -c.1880). George Latimer had been the slave of James B. Gray of Virginia. George Latimer ran away to freedom in Trenton, New Jersey in October, 1842, along with his wife Rebecca, who had been the slave of another man. When Gray, the owner, appeared in Boston to take them back to Virginia, it became a noted case in the movement for abolition of slavery, gaining the involvement of such abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison. Eventually funds were raised to pay Gray $400 for the freedom of George Latimer.[3] One of Lewis's siblings was named William H. Latimer (1846-1892), who worked as a barber.
He joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 15 on September 16, 1863. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy on July 3, 1865, he gained employment as an office boy with a patent law firm, Crosby Halstead and Gould, with a $3.00 per week salary. He learned how to use an L square, ruler, and other tools. Later, after his boss recognized his talent for sketching patent drawings, Latimer was promoted to the position of head draftsman earning $20.00 a week by 1878.[3] In 1874, he copatented (with Charles W. Brown) an improved toilet system for railroad cars called the Water Closet for Railroad Cars (U.S. Patent 147,363), the first of many patents.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell employed Latimer, then a draftsman at Bell's patent law firm, to draft the necessary drawings required to receive a patent for Bell's telephone.[4]
In 1879, he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut with his brother, William, his mother, Rebecca, and his wife. Lewis was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, a company owned by Hiram Maxim, a rival of inventor Thomas Edison. Latimer received a patent in January 1881 for the "Process of Manufacturing Carbons", an improved method for the production of carbon filaments for lightbulb. The Edison Electric Light Company in New York City hired Latimer in 1884, as a draftsman and an expert witness in patent litigation on electric lights.[4]
Personal life
He married Mary Wilson on December 10, 1873 and later had two daughters, Janette and Louise. Mary was born in Rhode Island.
Inventions
In 1874, he copatented (with Charles W. Brown) an improved toilet system for railroad cars called the Water Closet for Railroad Cars (U.S. Patent 147,363), the first of many patents.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell employed Latimer to draft the necessary drawings required to receive a patent for Bell's telephone. He did this in his capacity as draftsman at the firm of Bell's patent law firm.[3]
In 1879, he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut with his brother, William, his mother, Rebecca, and his wife. Lewis was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, a company owned by Hiram Maxim, a rival of inventor Thomas Edison. Latimer received a patent in January 1881 for the "Process of Manufacturing Carbons", an improved method for the production of carbon filaments for lightbulb. The Edison Electric Light Company in New York City hired Latimer in 1884, as a draftsman and an expert witness in patent litigation on electric lights. Latimer was also an Edison Pioneer, a group of those that had worked for Edison companies over the years. Latimer in his later years worked for Edison.[5]
Legacy
Latimer is an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work on electric filament manufacturing techniques.[6]
Latimer's home has been moved to a small park in Flushing, New York and turned into a museum in honor of the inventor.[7]
A set of apartment houses in Flushing are known as "Latimer Gardens". [8]
P.S. 56 in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, is named Lewis H. Latimer School in Latimer's honor.
External links
- Lewis Howard Latimer at the IEEE
- Lewis Howard Latimer: Inventor, Engineer (Mechanical and Electrical)
- Bibliography about Latimer and scans of pages from his book
- Lewis Latimer: Renaissance Man by the Smithsonian Institution
- Teachers' guide by Luvenia George on Latimer. the Smithsonian Institution
- "Blueprint for Change", a 1995 exhibition honoring Latimer at the which holds a collection of his papers and artifacts.
- About.com
- Profile of Lewis Latimer - The Black Inventor Online Museum
- Lewis Howard Latimer at Find A Grave
Patents
- U.S. Patent 147,363 "Water closets for railway cars," February 10, 1874
- U.S. Patent 247,097 "Electric lamp," (with Nichols, Joseph V.), September 13, 1881
- U.S. Patent 252,386 "Process of Manufacturing Carbons," January 17, 1882,
- U.S. Patent 255,212 "Globe supporter for electric lamps," (with Tregoning, John), March 21, 1882
- U.S. Patent 334,078 "Apparatus for cooling and disinfecting," January 12, 1886
- U.S. Patent 557,076 "Locking rack for hats, coats, and umbrellas," March 24, 1896
- U.S. Patent 968,787 "Lamp fixture,"(with Brown, Charles W),August 30, 1910
References
- ^ "Lewis Latimer Drawing". National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/small_exhibition.cfm?key=1267&exkey=143&pagekey=227. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ^ "Lewis H. Latimer Dead. Member of Edison Pioneers. Drew Original Plans for Bell Phone.". New York Times. December 13, 1928, Thursday.
- ^ a b c d Fouché, Rayvon, "Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer, and Shelby J. Davidson." The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore & London, 2003, ISBN 0-8018-7319-3
- ^ a b Clarke, John Henrik (1983). Ivan Van Sertima. ed. Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. Piscataway, NJ: Transaction. pp. 230–233. ISBN 978-0-87855-941-1.
- ^ "Lewis Howard Latimer". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/archive/edis/edifun/edifun_4andup/faqs_fables.htm#steal. Retrieved 2007-06-10.
- ^ List of 2006 NIHF inductees http://www.invent.org/2006Induction/historical2006.asp
- ^ Historic House Trust NYC http://www.historichousetrust.org/item.php?i_id=39
- ^ Latimer Gardens Apartments http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/developments/queenslatimer.shtml
Further reading
- Lewis Howard Latimer, C. J. Field, John White Howell (1890). Incandescent Electric Lighting. D. Van Nostrand company. http://books.google.com/books?id=RlY4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PP4&dq=inauthor:lewis+inauthor:latimer+date:1870-1890&lr=&as_brr=0&ei=zT7IR9a-G7ngiwH0qMDECw#PPA3,M1.