This February, as we celebrate Black History Month, we wanted to spotlight a few African American inventions that changed our world. Just think how different life would be at our apartment communities without these!
• Elevator (Alexander Miles 1838 – 1918) – He was awarded a patent for automatically opening and closing elevator doors.
• Fire Extinguisher (Thomas Martin 1842 – 1874) – He invented the concept of a fire extinguisher that was attached to a reservoir of stored water and sued to spray burning fires.
• Electric Lights (Lewis Latimer 1848-1928) – His work helped bring artificial light to America’s homes and businesses.
• Electric Trains (Granville Woods 1856-1910) – Some of his many inventions are still used today to help run subway and trolley systems across the US.
• Mailbox (Philip Downing 1857-1934) – He patented the modern-day mailbox, saving us all trips to the post office.
• Traffic Signal (Garrett Morgan 1877-1963) – His inexpensive yet efficient system became the basis for today’s traffic control system.
• Refrigerated Truck (Frederick Jones 1893-1961) – Because of his invention, we can enjoy fresh and frozen food from across the country.
• Feedback Training (Patricia Cowings 1948-) – The equipment and training programs that she developed helps astronauts avoid motion sickness while in space.
• Computer Plug-Ins (Mark Dean 1957 -) – This computer scientist helped make desktop computers a vital part of daily life by figuring out how to connect scanners and printers to them.
• Personal Digital Assistant (Donna Auguste 1958 -) – She led a team of engineers whose work led to today’s hand-held computers.