Did you know there are over 120 inventions by Black people that all humans use, experience, eat, drink, or enjoy around the world today? With George Washington Carver with 300 plus inventions and others, the numbers are so much more impressive.
According to the Brookings Institute, of the 50,000 total patents, Black people accounted for more inventions during this period than immigrants from every country except England and Germany. From 1870 to 1940, Black people living in the North were eight times more likely to be awarded a patent than Black people living in the South. In their database, 87% of inventions were traced to people born in the United States, and 2.7% of the U.S. total were invented by Black Americans, It is estimated that Black people accounted for just under 50,000 total patents during this period.
The guitar
To highlight some of the major inventions, here is a list of forty:
- Folding Bed Cabinet (1885) Sarah Goode
- The Potato Chip George Crum
- Gas Mask and the Traffic Light Garrett Morgan
- Protective Mailbox Phillip B. Downing
- Blood Bank Dr. Charles Drew
- Home Security System –
- Refrigerated Trucks, Frederick McKinley Jones
- Automatic Elevator Doors, Alexander Miles
- Color IBM PC Monitor & the Gigahertz Chip, Dr. James West
- Supersoaker, Lonnie Johnson
- Tissue Holder, Mary Davidson
- Automatic Gear Shift, Richard Spikes
- Clothes Dryer, George T. Sampson
- Dustpan, Lloyd P. Ray
- Folding Chair, John Purdy
- Golf Tees, Dr. George Gant
- Ice Cream Scooper, Alfred L. Cralle
- Lawnmower, John Albert Burr
- Lawn Sprinkler, Joseph A. Smith
- Modern Toilet, Thomas Elkins
- The Mop, Thomas W. Stewart
- Reversible Baby Stroller, William Richardson
- Street Sweepers, C.B. Brooks
- Horseshoe, Oscar E. Brown
- Horse Bridle Bit, L.F. Brown
- Train Alarm, R.A. Butler
- Disposable Syringe, Phil Brooks
- Torpedo Discharger, H. Bradberry
- Printing Press, W.A. Lavalette
- Pressure Cooker, Maurice W. Lee
- Window Cleaner, A.L. Lewis
- Portable Pencil Sharpener, John L. Love
- Fire Extinguisher, Tom J. Marshal
- Hairbrush, Lyda Newman
- Heating Furnace — Alice H. Parker
- Blimp — J.F. Pickering
- Hand Stamp — W.B. Purvis
- Fountain Pen — W.B. Purvis
- Cellular Phone — Henry Sampson
- Guitar — Robert Flemming Jr.
We were so very proud when we listed these inventors, we could not stop. To read a full list of inventors, please log on to 120 things you probably didn’t know were created by Black inventors | Venture (dailyhive.com)
