The Untold Stories of 5 Influential Black Inventors
For much of American history, Black inventors have faced significant barriers; in many cases, these innovators were unable to patent their inventions or saw their achievements credited to others. Until the abolishment of slavery in 1865, the U.S. patent system was not even available to enslaved people, as they were not considered American citizens. And even after slavery was abolished, numerous barriers remained due to racial discrimination.
Take, for instance, the case of Ellen Eglin, an African American domestic servant and resident of Washington, D.C., who invented an improved clothes wringer. In 1888, she decided to sell her invention for $18 rather than file a potentially lucrative patent for it. In an interview with the The Woman Inventor she said, “You know I am Black and if it was known that a Negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the wringer.”
Despite these obstacles, many Black inventors have made remarkable contributions to science, technology, and everyday life, shaping our modern world in profound ways. Here are five Black inventors whose stories deserve more attention.
Garrett Morgan
Garrett Morgan helped pave the way for Black inventors, most notably with two inventions that saved countless lives. In 1911, after hearing of a factory fire that killed 146 garment workers, he set to work on a new type of safety hood for firefighters that would allow them to breathe more easily in smoke-filled environments. He patented the design in 1914, and the hood was soon bought by some 500 cities in the northern United States, as well as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army for use in World War I.
In 1916, Morgan used the hood himself to help rescue workers in a collapsed tunnel under Lake Erie — although most of the credit was initially given to white men who entered the tunnel after Morgan. Later, the inventor witnessed a terrible collision between a horse-drawn buggy and a car at a busy Ohio intersection. The incident inspired him to create a manually operated T-shaped traffic signal with movable arms that directed traffic to stop, go, or stop in all directions — a precursor to modern traffic lights. He patented the design in 1923 and sold it to General Motors for $40,000, equivalent to more than $700,000 today.
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Frederick McKinley Jones
In 1938, Frederick McKinley Jones began designing a portable air-cooling unit for trucks. His invention ultimately revolutionized the transportation industry, with mobile refrigeration allowing trucks and railroad cars to safely transport perishable goods over long distances. As well as fundamentally changing food distribution, the invention also proved vital during World War II, allowing for the transportation and preservation of blood, medicine, and food for military use.
In total, Jones earned more than 60 patents in his lifetime, and despite having minimal formal schooling, he became the first Black American to be awarded the National Medal of Technology.
Charles Richard Drew
Charles Richard Drew was a physician and surgeon who invented a method for the long-term storage of blood plasma in blood banks. During the early years of World War II, he organized and directed the blood-plasma programs of both the United States and Great Britain, saving thousands of lives. This led to a national blood-banking program led by Drew and the American Red Cross, and the introduction of bloodmobiles and blood drives as we know them today.
Drew also openly criticized policies that segregated the blood of African Americans from plasma-supply networks — an issue that saw him resign his position with the American Red Cross. It wasn’t until 1950 — the year of Drew’s death in a car accident — that the Red Cross stopped requiring the segregation of blood based on race. (Blood segregation remained in place in Southern states such as Arkansas and Louisiana until the late 1960s and early 1970s.)
Marie Van Brittan Brown
In the 1960s, Marie Van Brittan Brown, a nurse living in Jamaica, Queens, began to feel increasingly unsafe when home alone due to skyrocketing crime rates in the area. So, with help from her husband Albert L. Brown, an electronics technician, she began inventing what became the first home security system with video surveillance.
Completed in 1966 and patented three years later, the security system consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors, and two-way microphones. It also incorporated a remote control that allowed for locking and unlocking the door at a safer distance, and an emergency button that would send an alarm directly to the police or security. While not manufactured on a large scale due to high production costs, the invention gained widespread recognition and formed the foundation of modern CCTV and home security systems.
Patricia Bath
Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath revolutionized cataract surgery when she invented laserphaco, a device and technique that could perform all the necessary steps of cataract removal. Overall, the laser device allowed for less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts, and could help restore the sight of individuals who had been blind for more than 30 years. The device is now used worldwide and has improved the vision of millions of people. When laserphaco was patented in 1988, Bath became the first Black female physician to receive a medical patent in the United States.
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