This is a story of a little boy name Theo, who woke up one morning and asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world?" Well, his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said, "Son, follow me around today and let's just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world." Mom said, "Now go get dressed, and we will get started."
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said, "Theo, where are your shoes? And those clothes are all wrinkled, son. I must iron them." However, when she reached for the ironing board, it was no longer there.
You see Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board, and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.
"Oh well," she said, "please go and do something to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb.
Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. You see Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush.
Well, this was a sight: no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess. Even Mom's hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam C. Walker, well, you get the picture.
Mom told Theo, "Let's do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store." Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dustpan.
So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a black man, invented the mop. Theo yelled to his Mom, "Mom, I'm not having any luck."
"Well, son," she said, "Let me finish washing these clothes, and we will prepare a list for the grocery store." When the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer.
Mom asked Theo to go get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. So, Theo ran for the paper and pencil but noticed the pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener.
Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a black man, invented the fountain pen.
As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the typewriting machine and W. A. Lovette the advanced printing press. Theo and his mother decided just to head out to the market.
Well, when Theo opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You see, John Burr, a black man, invented the lawn mower. They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go. You see, Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gearshift, and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. They also noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a black man invented the traffic light.
Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries, and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs, and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. You see John Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. So, they just left the food on the counter.
By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn up the heat, and what do you know? Alice Parker, a black female, invented the heating furnace. Even in the summertime, they would have been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a black man, invented the air conditioner.
It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually takes the bus, but there was no bus, because its precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.
He usually takes the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a black man, invented the elevator.
He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a black man, invented the letter drop mailbox, and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine.
Theo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their heads in their hands. When the father arrived, he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.
Theo quickly learned more about what it would be like if there were no black people in the world, especially if he were ever sick and needed blood. Dr. Charles Drew, a black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood bank.
Well, what if a family member had to have heart surgery? This would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a black doctor, who performed the first open-heart surgery.
So, if you ever wonder, like Theo, where would we be without black people? Well, it's pretty plain to see. We would still be in the DARK!
Sometimes people forget and a lot of times, they just ignore the many contributions African Americans have made to society. These people have helped to provide a foundation in the advancement of scientific endeavors and achievements. Of course, we were not just scientist and engineers. We were also scholars, mathematicians, authors, performers, etc. I just chose to focus on some people who are not as well known but are just as important to the formation of our society.
Benjamin Banneker was an inventor, a mathematician, an astronomer, a surveyor, and an essayist. As an inventor, he built a wooden clock which kept accurate time until he died in 1802 at the age of 75. This homemade clock is believed to have been the first clock totally built in America. Born free in Ellicott, Maryland, Banneker was a self-taught man who used his mathematics skills to develop and publish a widely used almanac which was issued each year from 1792 to 1806. He spent many nights studying the stars in order to make his almanac as accurate as possible. As a surveyor, he helped lay out the streets and buildings of Washington D.C. And as an essayist, he wrote about the evils of slavery. Back To Top
JAMES FORTEN
(1766-1842)
James Forten invented a device which made it easier
to handle the large heavy sails of the big ships
that sailed the seas before the days of the steamship.
As a boy he loved to go down to the docks along the
Delaware River and watch the ships maneuver up to
the pier to unload their cargo. He noticed how important
the expert handling of the sails was in guiding the
ships. At the age of eight he began working in a
Philadelphia sail loft with his father, and some
thirty years later bought the sail making shop from
the owner. During this time he not only invented
and perfected his device, but also learned all about
the sail making business. Due partly to his invention,
his sail loft became one of the most prosperous
in the city. Back To Top
JAN ERNST MATZELIGER
(1852-1889)
Up in Lynn, Massachusetts, near Boston, people in
the shoe business laughed at 25-year-old Jan Ernst
Matzeliger when a word got out that this former sailor
was secretly working on a machine that could automatically
make shoes, back in the 1870's. After all, the best
brains in the shoe business had invested thousands
of dollars trying to develop such a machine, and
they had failed. "Couldn't be done," they said, as
they continued to make only 40 to 50 pair of shoes
per day, by hand. Finally, Jam, who was good at mechanical
things decided he had developed the kind of machine
needed--a machine that could make thousands of pairs
of shoes in a day. In 1883, over ten years after
he had started developing his shoe machine, Matzeliger
was granted a patent on it. Back To
Top
GRANVILLE T. WOODS
(1856-1910)
Patents for over 35 electrical inventions were granted
Granville T. Woods, of Columbus, Ohio. Many of this
electrical engineer's inventions were said to General
Electric, Westinghouse, and the Bell Telephone Company.
While Woods, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, April
23, 1856, invented more than a dozen devices to improve
electric railway cars, and many more for controlling
the flow of electricity, his most noted invention
was a system for letting the engineer of a train
know how close his train was to others. This device
helped to cut down accidents and collisions between
trains. Among his other top inventions were a steam
boiler furnace and ab automatic air brake used to
slow or stop trains. Back To Top
NORBERT RILLIEUX
(1806-1894)
An engineer, Norbert Rillieux patented a sugar-refining
process in 1864 which revolutionized this industry.
Son of a slave mother and of the master of the plantation
where he was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1806,
Rillieux was educated in France. He also taught school
there at the age of 24 ears. The sugar-refining process
he developed greatly reduced the cost of producing
good sugar from sugar cane and from the sugar beet.
He also published papers on the uses of steam and
on the steam engine. In 1854, because of discrimination
in Louisiana, he left that state for goo, returning
to France where he again turned to engineering inventions. Back
To Top
ANDREW BEARD
(1849?-1921)
Andrew Beard was born a slave on a plantation in
Alabama. Before he became an inventor he was a farmer,
carpenter, blacksmith, a railroad worker, and a businessman.
In 1892 he patented his first invention, a special
kind of engine. It was while working in the railroad
yards that he got his idea for a device which would
automatically hook railroad cars together. This device
was patented in 1897, and became known as the "Jenny
Coupler." It eliminated the dangerous job of hooking
railroad cars together by hand, and probably saved
thousands of lives and limbs of railroad workers.
He improved this device in 1899, and later received
$50,000 for its patent rights. Back
To Top
LEWIS H. LATIMER
(1848-1928)
Son of a runaway slave, Lewis Howard Latimer became
an electrical engineer who worked for Thomas A. Edison,
inventor of the light bulb, and Alexander Graham
Bell, inventor of the telephone. Many of Latimer's
ideas, including the fine carbon wire which lights
up, went into Edison's light bulb. Latimer was the
only African American, and one of the original 28
persons who formed the "Edison Pioneers," a group
dedicated to keeping alive Edison's ideals. The Edison
General Electric Company, for which Latimer worked,
in 1892, merged with a second firm and the new company
became the present General Electric Company. Latimer
was also a noted patent expert, draftsman, author,
poet and musician. Back To Top
ELIJAH McCOY
(1843-1929)
A love of machines and tools led to a lifetime career
and the awarding of 57 patents to Elijah Mc Coy,
son of former slaves who had fled from Kentucky to
Canada in search of freedom. Until Mc Coy developed
a device which made possible the automatic oiling
of machinery used in manufacturing, companies using
such machines had to stop the machines before oiling
them. Oiling of machinery reduces the wear and tear
of friction. So popular did Mc Coy's invention become
that person inspecting new equipment generally asked
if it contained the "real Mc Coy," meaning Mc Coy's
oiling device. Today, "real Mc Coy" is an expression
is in the American language meaning the "real thing.'
In all, Mc Coy invented 23 oiling devices as well
as many other useful inventions. He finally set up
his own manufacturing company to develop and sell
his many inventions. Back To Top
GARRETT A. MORGAN
(1875-1963)
Garrett A. Morgan was a prize-winning inventor who
developed a safety helmet breathing device widely
used by firemen in many American cities in the early
1900's. His invention became popular after he and
his brother used it to rescue over two dozen men
who were trapped under Lake Erie, at Cleveland, Ohio,
when an explosion occurred in a tunnel which was
under construction. He was awarded a hold medal by
the City of Cleveland for his heroic rescue. He later
received a gold medal at the Second International
Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, in New York,
in 1914. Morgan is best remembered for his invention
of the automatic stop sign. This invention, now called
the traffic or "stop light" controls the flow of
vehicles through street intersections. Back
To Top
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
(1864-1943)
Probably the best known African American scientist
and inventor is George Washington Carver, who alone,
nearly revolutionized agriculture in the South. At
a time when the South's major crop-cotton-was faced
with total destruction by the boll weevil beetle,
Dr. Carver, through scientific experiments showed
the South that peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes
(yams), among other crops, should be planted, along
with cotton. Thus, if on crop failed, there would
be others from which farmers could make money. Known
as "The Wizard of Tuskegee," Dr. carver developed
hundreds of products from the peanut, the soybean,
the pecan nut, the sweet potato, and even the weeds.
Today, there are many schools and other institutions
named in memory of Dr. Carver. Back
To Top
H.C. WEBB
(1864-?)
H.C. Webb invented a machine which cleared away palmettos,
an unwanted kind of growth found in the farm fields
of the southeastern region of the United States.
The device looked something like a three-wheeled
plow, and was pulled by a thirty-horsepower engine.
It helped farmers to clear away as much unwanted
growth in one day as it normally took ten men 10
days to clear away-about ten acres. The Webb Palmetto
Grubbing Machine was patented in 1917. Webb also
invented a barrel stave machine and a special kind
of drill press but lost the rights to them because
he did not have them patented. But, during this period,
hundreds of other African American inventors developed
labor-saving devices for which they did not receive
government patents. Back To Top
DANIEL H. WILLIAMS
(1858-1931)
Founder of a hospital which still exists in Chicago,
medical physician Dr, Daniel H. Williams is credited
with having performed the first "open-heart" surgery
July 9, 1893, long before this kind of surgery was
developed. Dr. Williams saved the life of a knifing
victim by "sewing up his heart." Working in a makeshift
operating room too small for the six-man operating
team which helped him, he opened the patient's chest,
exposed the beating heart, and stitched the knife
wound a fraction of an inch from the heart without
the aid of X-rays, blood transfusions or modern "miracle
drugs." On August 2, Dr. Williams operated again
to remove some fluid from the chest cavity. On August
30, the patient walked out of the hospital, and was
known to be alive and well 20 years later. Back
To Top
FREDERICK M. JONES
(1893-1961)
The first African American member of the American
society of Refrigeration Engineers, Frederick M.
Jones held over 60 patents in a variety of fields,
40 of them in refrigeration equipment. In 1912, he
built a sound system in a movie theater, and was
then hired by a manufacturer of movie sound systems.
In 1939, he designed the first working truck refrigerator
system, which was patented in 1942. Today, such refrigerators
carry fresh meats and some vegetables across the
country. Among his other inventions was the first
portable X-ray machine, a self-starting gasoline
motor, and the standard refrigerator design for all
Army and Marine field kitchens. Many of the devices
that deliver tickets and spill out change at movie
box offices are Jones' creations. Back
To Top
CHARLES H. TURNER
(1867-1923)
Charles H. Turner, who obtained a Ph.D. degree from
the University of Chicago in 1907, was noted for
his knowledge of ants and bees. He originated a way
of watching and recording the habits of insects and
small animals, the way they act toward one another,
and the way they reacted to things that happened
to them. A type of behavior in insects is now called"Turner's
circling" after his detailed description. Through
forty-seven research papers which he published between
1892 and 1923, he showed how humans were a lot like
animals and insects, and helped the world better
understand why man acts the way he does. Back
To Top
MADAME C.J. WALKER
(1869-1919)
Before her invention, African American women had
to straighten their hair by placing the hair on a
flat surface and then pressing it with a clothing
iron. After her invention was introduced, Sarah Breedlove
Walker, who was known as Madame C.J. Walker, became
one of the first American women of any race to become
a millionaire through her own efforts. Madame Walker
invented a hair softener and a special hair-straightening
comb. Before her death in 1919, Madame Walker could
count over 2,000 agents who sold her ever-growing
line of Walker products and demonstrated the "Walker
System" of treating hair. Her efforts laid the foundation
for the cosmetics industry among African Americans. Back
To Top
ERNST E. JUST
(1883-1941)
An outstanding research biologist, Dr. Ernest E.
Just devoted a lifetime of study and function of
the cell(cytology), the smallest unit of the body.
His studies included how eggs are fertilized, how
babies are born, and how the cells of animals function.
In 1915, he won the Spingarn Medal, the highest award
given by the NAACP to the person having done the
most during the year to advance the process of African
American people. He wrote two major books and more
than sixty scientific papers in his field. His book,
The Biology of the Cell Surface, which was used in
many colleges, represented his lifetime of research,
and was published in 1939, just two years before
he died. Back To Top
LOUIS T. WRIGHT
(1891-1952)
A physician and surgeon, Dr. Louis T. Wright originated
a method of operating on fractures about the knee
joint, a brace for fractures of the spine, and a
vaccination against smallpox, and supervised the
first test of a miracle drug(aureomycin) on humans.
He also advanced a new theory on the treatment of
skull fractures and engaged in early cancer research.
Graduating with highest honors from the Harvard Medical
School in 1915, he was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant
in the Medical Section of the Officers Reserve Corps
in 1917, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
in the U.S. Army during World War I. In 191, he became
the first African American to be appointed to a New
York City Municipal Hospital(Harlem Hospital) where
he helped lower the death rate and increase the professional
standards. Back To Top
WILLIAM A. HINTON
(1883-1959)
A specialist in the study and development of medicines
to fight diseases, Dr. William A. Hinton is best
known for the Hinton-Davies test used to detect the
venereal disease, syphilis. In 1936, he wrote a text
book on his studies, and became recognized as one
of the worlds foremost authorities on the diagnosis
and treatment of syphilis. Only three years after
getting his doctor's degree from Harvard Medical
School in 1912, he was made an instructor in preventive
medicine and hygiene at his fortune university. It
is said that he could have made a fortune in private
practice, but he chose to serve humanity by working
in the field of public health. Back
To Top
PERCY JULIAN
(1891-1975)
Finding a remedy for arthritis led to fame and fortune
for Dr. Percy Julian, a noted chemical scientist.
But, more important was the fact that his discovery
made the medicine for this painful disease available
to everyone at a much more reasonable price. Dr.
Julian developed a way of making the medicine from
the inexpensive American soybean instead of from
the costly ingredient found in certain parts of animals
and produced in Europe. At one time, he was president
of two companies which he formed to produce this
medicine. He later sold one of the companied to a
leading medicine-making (pharmaceutical) firm for
several million dollars. Back To Top
THEODORE K. LAWLESS
(1892-1971)
Dr. Theodore K. Lawless was a skin specialist (dermatologist)
who became a millionaire form his studies, practice
and development of medicines. He also contributed
to the better understanding of syphilis, a venereal
disease; and leprosy, a disease which wastes away
the muscles of the body. Setting up his offices in
the heart of Chicago's Black community, he established
one of the largest and best known skin clinics in
the city. For many years, men and women and children,
both black and white, crowded his waiting room from
morning until night. But he still found time to teach
at Northwestern University, work with the staff of
Chicago's Provident Hospital, and share his knowledge
with other doctors. In 1954, he was awarded the NAACP's
Spingarn Medal. Back To Top
MEREDITH GOURDINE
(1929- )
head of his own manufacturing firm in New Jersey,
Meredith Gourdine, an engineering scientist , found
a way to make high-voltage electricity from gas.
He and the other engineers in his company believe
there are many uses for this discovery in our everyday
life. Some of them are: refrigeration for preserving
foods, supplying cheap power for heat and light in
homes, burning coal more efficiently, making sea
water drinkable by taking the salt out of it, making
painting and coating processes easier, and reducing
the amount of pollutants in smoke. His company has
already made an exhaust purifying device for automobiles,
devices for measuring air pollution, and generators
for power stations. Back To Top
J. ERNEST WILKINS, JR.
(1923- )
A mathematician, physicist and engineer, J. Ernest
WIlkins, Jr. contributed his skills mainly to the
study and development of atomic power. As a teenager,
Wilkins attracted nationwide attention when he finished
college at 17, earned a masters degree on year later,
and received his doctorate degree from the University
of Chicago at the age of 19. For a time, he taught
college mathematics, and later worked in the University
of Chicago's metallurgical laboratory. As a relatively
young man of 23, he was supplying the mathematical
formulas for the production of special space-probing
telescopes. By the time he was 27 he was part-owner
of a firm which designed and developed nuclear reactors
for creating atomic power. Back To
Top
RUFUS STOKES
(1922-1986)
People who have breathing problems may, in the future,
give credit to Rufus Stokes for helping to ease their
problem. In 1968, Mr. Stokes was granted a patent
on an air purification device which reduced the gases
and ashes in smoke to a non-dangerous and invisible
level. This not only helps people, but also improves
the health of plants and animals as well as improving
the appearance and durability of buildings, cars
and other things exposed to the air. After building
and successfully testing several models of his machine,
Mr. Stokes, in 1973, constructed a small domestic
model and a large mobile model to show that his invention
could be used in many ways. Back To
Top
OTIS BOYKIN
(1920-1982)
An electronic scientist and inventor, Otis Boykin
devised the control unit in artificial heart stimulators,
invented a variable resistor device used in many
guided missiles, small components such as thick-film
resistors used in IBM computers, and many other devices
including a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical
air filter. Starting as an assistant in a laboratory
testing airplane automatic controls, Boykin was soon
developing a type of resistor now used in many computers,
radios, television sets and other electronically
controlled devices. Many products made from his discoveries
are manufactured in Paris and throughout Western
Europe. One of his products was approved for use
in military hardware for the Common Market. Back
To Top
VANCE H. MARCHBANKS, JR.
(1905-1973)
As a Colonel and surgeon in the Air Force, Dr. Marchbanks
designed a gas mask testing device, and discovered
a method of measuring fatigue in pilots who had been
involved in aircraft accidents. He also did important
research in the control of noise in carious types
of airplanes. Before the first U.S. space shot (Project
Mercury) he was appointed project head physician,
and was responsible for determining the effects of
space flight on man, and for collecting medical information
on the astronauts before, during and after their
flight. In the 1960's as chief of environmental health
services with United Aircraft Corporation, he assisted
in the designing of space suits and monitoring systems
for the Apollo moon shot. Back To
Top
JOHN B. CHRISTIAN
(1927- )
As a materials research engineer for the Air FOrce,
John Christian developed and patented a variety of
revolutionary lubricants that saved pilots' lives
in combat and contributed to the success of the astronaut's
mission on the moon. The lubricants, resembling cake
frosting more than oil, could withstand temperatures
ranging from minus 50 to 600 degrees. In Vietnam,
when the helicopters' oil lines were punctured by
ground fire, the "soap" lubricants enabled them toe
return to their base. They were also used in the
astronaut's back-pack life support systems, without
which there could have been no moon landing, and
were used in the four-wheel drive of the "moon-buggy" making
it possible to extend their moon exploration by 36
hours. Back To Top
GEORGE R. CARRUTHERS
(1940- )
Astrophysicist Dr. George Carruthers was the principal
scientist responsible for the development of a special
camera that made the trip to the moon aboard the
Apollo 16 in 1972. Called the "far-ultra-violet camera/spectrograph," the
50-pound, gold-plated unit was designed to study
the earth's upper atmosphere and other interplanetary
conditions. More than 200 frames of pictures were
made of eleven selected targets. In 1973, another
model of the camera was made for the Skylab 4 to
take pictures of a comet speeding toward the sun.
Carruthers was interested in science as a child and
built his own telescope at the age of ten. From the
age of 25, he made significant contributions to the
field of electronic imaging and space astronomy. Back
To Top
CHARLES W. BUGGS
(1906-1991)
A scientist and educator, Dr. Charles Buggs, of Brunswick,
Georgia, conducted special research on why some bacteria
(germs) do not react to certain medicines. In several
articles, he presented his ideas on penicillin and
skin grafting, and the value of chemicals in treating
bone fractures. In 1944, he contributed some of the
results of his research to the world through 12 studies
he helped to write. Three years later he wrote an
important article on how to use germ-killing chemicals
(antibiotics) to prevent and cure certain diseases.
he also taught college biology, and made studies
and suggestions on premedical education for African
Americans. Dr. Buggs' research and teaching contributed
to a better understanding of health and of the human
body. Back To Top
CHARLES. R. DREW
(1904-1950)
The storing of human blood until it is needed to
save someone's life was the major contribution of
Dr. Charles Drew to science and medicine. He researched
the nature of human blood and created what has become
known as "blood banks," places where blood is kept
in a special form (plasma) until needed by injured
patients. In 1940, during World War II, the British
asked Dr. Drew to establish a blood bank program
for their country. After the war, he was appointed
the first director of the American Red Cross Blood
Bank, supplying plasma to the United States armed
forces. He also became recognized as an outstanding
surgeon, teacher and public servant, and in 1944
was awarded the Spingarn Medal. Back
To Top