[MINI THREAD]
While preparing a livestream about the growing confusion that's being made between inventors and entrepreneurs, I am discovering the impressive work of Lewis Latimer
#BlackHistory

Lewis Latimer was born in 1848 to Rebecca and George Latimer (pic), two former slaves who ran away to freedom to Boston, in October 1842
When James Gray, George's 'owner' tried to take the couple back to Virginia, several abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison got involved

Their story became an important case for the abolition of slavery and, eventually, funds were raised to pay Gray the $400 that would buy George Latimer's freedom.

Lewis Latimer joined the U.S. Navy at 15 and received an honorable discharge two years later.

He got a job as an office boy in a patent law firm, where he learned how to draft patent drawings. Within 8 years, he would get promoted to the position of head draftsman, going from $3 to $20 a week by 1872.

He married and had two daughters: Emma Jeanette and Louise Rebecca

E. Jeanette married Gerald Norman, the first Black person hired as a high school teacher in the New York City public school system. They had two children: one became a social worker who served as the guardian of her grandfather's legacy and the other an administrative law judge.

In 1874, Lewis Latimer co-patented a toilet system for railroad cars.

In 1876, he was hired by Alexander Graham Bell to draft the illustrations of Bell's telephone patent.

He then became an assistant manager and draftsman for Edison's rival at the U.S. Electric Lighting Company

In 1881, Latimer and Joseph Nichols invented a light bulb with a carbon filament that was an improvement on Thomas Edison's original paper filament (which would burn out too quickly).

They sold the patent to the U.S. Electric Company in 1881.

And Edison decided to hire him.

During his time at the Edison Electric Light Company, Latimer wrote the first book on electric lighting, 'Incandescent Electric Lighting'.
He also supervised the installation of public electric lights for the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London

Latimer was inducted in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work on electric filament manufacturing techniques.
There are several other of his inventions that I haven't mentioned and I suggest that you look into it!

I hope you've enjoyed this thread! Have a nice day!