BLACK INVENTORS YOU SHOULD KNOW
THE black history month comes to an end tomorrow and over the past weeks, I wrote about some of the prominent black inventors who have revolutionised how we use technologies.
In today’s article, I write brief information about some of the other black inventors who you might not know about. Take time to research more on these if you are interested to find out more information on each.
In starting this list I will start with our very own Zambian scientist based in Europe Professor Clive Chirwa. In 1997 he won the Henry Ford Prize for contributing to the safety of passenger vehicles and he is one of the world’s renowned aircraft crash experts, NASA acclaimed and he has worked with companies such as British Aerospace, Airbus, Boeing and NASA.
His work has contributed in putting cars on streets, trains on rails, aircraft in the air, rockets in space and combat machines in theatres has gained him this respect. He has so far contributed in designing for Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ford, Toyota and Land Rover etc. last month he launched buses meant for Zambian roads and regulations, we hope to expect more from this innovator.
Signal and Gas Mask Inventor)
Garret Augustus Morgan is one of the most successful black inventors who created the gas mask and the traffic signal. Born in Kentucky in 1877, Morgan was only formally educated to a sixth-grade level.
Fortunately, Morgan had an innate mechanical mind that enabled him to solve problems. He invented the traffic signals. After witnessing so many accidents on busy urban intersections, Morgan decided a device was needed to keep cars and pedestrians from colliding. His traffic signal was designed to stand on a street corner and notify vehicles and walkers whether they should stop or go.
In addition to this, he created the gas mask which grew in popularity when it was used to aid workers after an underground explosion.
Dr. James E. West and a colleague, Gerhard Sessler, developed the mic (officially known as the Electroacoustic Transducer Electret Microphone) Ninety percent of microphones used today are based on the ingenuity of this black inventor James Edward West. If you have used the telephone, you’ve probably used his invention.
Philip Emeagwali created the world’s fastest computer. I wrote a full article about him a few months ago under the title “Father of the internet.” This list would not be complete without briefly talking about him.
Dr. Emeagwali has been called the "Bill Gates of Africa," born in Nigeria in 1954, he dropped out of school at age 14 because his father could not continue paying his school fees.
However, his father continued teaching him at home, and everyday Emeagwali performed mental exercises such as solving 100 math problems in one hour. His father taught him until Philip "knew more than he did." he eventually received a scholarship to Oregon State University when he was 17 where he obtained a BS in mathematics.
In 1989, Emeagwali invented the world's fastest computer, which performs computations at 3.1 billion calculations per second and ranked first by Google for "contribution to the development of the computer." His computers are being used to forecast the weather and to predict the likelihood and effects of future global warming. Dr. Emeagwali's has won the Gordon Bell Prize – the Nobel Prize for computation.
Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson is famously known for conducting breakthrough basic scientific research that enabled others to invent the portable fax, touch tone telephone, solar cells, fibre optic cables, and the technology behind caller ID and call waiting.
She has been credited with making many advances in science. She first developed an interest in science and mathematics during her childhood which allowed her to conduct many experiments and studies.
How many times have you ordered a pack of chips? Do you know the history behind chips? This treat might not exist without the contribution of a black inventor George Crum.
Crum was working as a chef in the summer of 1853 when he incidentally invented the chip. It all began when a patron who ordered a plate of French-fried potatoes sent them back to Crum's kitchen because he felt they were too thick and soft.
To teach the picky patron a lesson, Crum sliced a new batch of potatoes as thin as he possibly could, and then fried them until they were hard and crunchy. Finally, to top them off, he added a generous heaping of salt. To Crum's surprise, the dish ended up being a hit with the patron and a new snack was born!
Years later, Crum opened his own restaurant and the snack was eventually mass-produced and sold in bags.
If you look around the house today you will see a variety of devices that utilise components made by Boykin – including computers, radios and TV sets. Boykin attended the Illinois Institute of Technology for a time; Otis Boykin never made it to graduation because he couldn't afford tuition. Later on Boykin went to work as an inventor. He received his first patent in 1959 for a wire resistor that allowed a precise amount of electricity to flow to a component.
The military and IBM all placed orders for the resistor and is still used today, perhaps most importantly, a version of his resistor was used in the invention of the pacemaker. The device which keeps the heart beating regularly through electronic pulses and has helped to extend the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Dr. Patricia Bath (Invented the Laserphaco Probe for treatment of cataracts)
Dr. Patricia Bath is a famous black inventor who has dedicated her life to the treatment and prevention of visual impairments. Her personal belief that everyone has the "Right to Sight" led to her invention in 1985 of a specialised tool and procedure for the removal of cataracts. With the Laserphaco Probe and procedure, Dr. Bath increased the accuracy and results of cataract surgery, which had previously been performed manually with a mechanical grinder. With the Laserphaco Probe invention and the development of the procedure for its use, Dr. Bath helped restore the sight of several people who had been blinded by cataracts for up to 30 years.
Dr. Charles Drew (Blood Bank Inventor)
Millions of people’s lives are saved every day because of this black inventor’s method. Dr. Charles Drew. This physician, researcher and surgeon revolutionised the understanding of blood plasma – leading to the invention of blood banks. He completed a thesis titled Banked Blood that invented a method of separating and storing plasma, allowing it to be dehydrated for later use. It was the first time Columbia awarded a doctorate to an African-American.
Kenneth J. Dunkley (3-D Viewing Glasses and Holography)
Kenneth J. Dunkley Invented a Three Dimensional Viewing Glasses (3-DVG) – his patented invention displays 3-D effects from regular 2-D photos without any type of lenses, mirrors or optical elements.
By studying human vision, Dunkley discovered that blocking two points in a person's peripheral vision will cause an ordinary picture to appear 3-Dimensional, so he developed his 3-DVG to block out these points.
Daniel Hale Williams - pioneer of open heart surgery
Frederick McKinley Jones (Refrigerator Inventions)
Jones is most famous for inventing an automatic refrigeration system for long haul trucks and railroad cars. Any truck on the highway transporting refrigerated or frozen food is the work of Jones.
Before Jones' invention, the only way to keep food cool in trucks was to load them with ice. Jones was inspired to invent the system after talking with a truck driver who lost his whole cargo of chicken because he couldn't reach his destination before the ice melted.
As a solution, this black inventor developed a roof-mounted cooling system to make sure food stayed fresh. In addition to that refrigerator invention, Jones also invented an air-conditioning unit for military field hospitals, a refrigerator for military field kitchens, a self-starting gas engine, a series of devices for movie projectors and box-office equipment that gave tickets and made change. Jones was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1991 – the first Black inventor to ever receive such an honour.
Alexander Miles - improved elevator
Known as “the wealthiest Coloured man in the Northwest,” Miles created an automatic device to open and close elevator doors. Because of his invention, we are able to enjoy this modern luxury.
Williams was born in Pennsylvania in 1856. He would go on to become a physician and surgeon. In 1891, he founded the first integrated hospital, and just two years later, he became the first person to successfully complete openheart surgery. For queries Email: slickmedia6@gmail.com. Text +260977258265.