Did you know there are over hundreds of inventions by Black people that all humans use, experience, eat, drink, or enjoy around the world today?
George Washington Carver with three hundred 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 hairbrush Pressure Cooker Ultraviolet Camera
To highlight some of the major inventions, here is a list of 25:
1. Folding Bed Cabinet (1885) Sarah Goode
2. The Potato Chip George Crum
3. Gas Mask and the Traffic Light Garrett Morgan
4. Protective Mailbox Phillip B. Downing
5. Blood Bank Dr. Charles Drew
6. Home Security System, Home Security System
7. Refrigerated Trucks, Frederick McKinley Jones
8. Automatic Elevator Doors, Alexander Miles
9. Color IBM PC Monitor & the Gigahertz Chip, Dr. James West
10. Supersoaker, Lonnie Johnson
11. Tissue Holder, Mary Kenner
12. Automatic Gear Shift, Richard Spikes
13. Clothes Dryer, George T. Sampson
14. Dustpan, Lloyd P. Ray
15. Folding Chair, John Purdy
16. Golf Tees, Dr. George Gant
17. Ice Cream Scooper, Alfred L. Cralle
18. Lawnmower, John Albert Burr
19. Lawn Sprinkler, Joseph A. Smith
20. Modern Toilet, Thomas Elkins
21. The Mop, Thomas W. Stewart
22. Reversible Baby Stroller, William Richardson
23. Street Sweepers, C.B. Brooks
24. Horseshoe, Oscar E. Brown
25. Horse Bridle Bit, L.F. Brown
26. Train Alarm, R.A. Butler
27. Disposable Syringe, Phil Brooks
28. Torpedo Discharger, H. Bradberry
29. Printing Press, W.A. Lavalette
30. Pressure Cooker, Maurice W. Lee
31. Window Cleaner, A.L. Lewis
32. Portable Pencil Sharpener, John L. Love
33. Fire Extinguisher, Tom J. Marshal
34. Hairbrush, Lyda Newman
35. Heating Furnace — Alice H. Parker
36. Blimp — J.F. Pickering
37. Hand Stamp — W.B. Purvis
38. Fountain Pen — W.B. Purvis
39. Cellular Phone — Henry Sampson
40. Guitar — Robert Flemming Jr.
We were so enormously 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)
