Field of excellence
Black Inventors, Engineers & Architects
Black Americans engineered the country that enslaved and excluded them — the lightbulb filament, the traffic signal, the shoe machine, the skyscraper, the microchip.
The American built world — its lightbulbs, its trains, its shoes, its skylines — carries Black fingerprints on nearly every part. lewis-latimer made the carbon filament that let the lightbulb last and drew the patent drawings for the telephone; granville-woods, with 60-odd patents, kept moving trains from colliding; elijah-mccoy's automatic lubricator was so good that buyers asked for "the real McCoy." jan-matzeliger's shoe-lasting machine halved the price of shoes; norbert-rillieux reinvented sugar refining; garrett-morgan gave us an early traffic signal and a forerunner of the gas mask; sarah-boone improved the ironing board. madam-c-j-walker built a cosmetics empire and became America's first self-made female millionaire.
The line runs straight into the modern lab. otis-boykin's precision resistors steadied the pacemaker; mark-dean co-built the IBM PC and the first gigahertz chip; marie-van-brittan-brown invented home security; patricia-bath patented laser cataract surgery; lonnie-johnson, a NASA engineer, also dreamed up the Super Soaker; mary-jackson was NASA's first Black woman engineer. And Black architects designed the nation that barred them from its buildings: paul-revere-williams drew more than 2,000; julian-abele designed Duke's campus and the Philadelphia Museum of Art; norma-merrick-sklarek was the first Black woman licensed as an architect; robert-robinson-taylor, the first accredited Black architect, built Tuskegee. They did not merely labor in this country — they engineered it.
The web
Connections to other moments, systems, and investigations — the links rarely drawn together.
- part of (incoming)·PersonLewis Latimer
Draftsman and inventor who developed an improved process for manufacturing durable carbon filaments for incandescent light bulbs and drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone.
- part of (incoming)·PersonGranville Woods
Self-taught electrical and mechanical engineer who held more than 60 patents, most notably the railway telegraph that let moving trains communicate with stations to prevent collisions.
- part of (incoming)·PersonElijah McCoy
Invented the automatic lubricator for steam engines, letting locomotives and ships run continuously; held around 57 patents. Born in Ontario to parents who escaped US slavery; most associated with Detroit.
- part of (incoming)·PersonGarrett Morgan
Inventor of an early three-position traffic signal and a smoke hood that was a forerunner of the gas mask; built his career in Cleveland, Ohio.
- part of (incoming)·PersonJan Matzeliger
Invented the automated shoe-lasting machine that revolutionized footwear manufacturing and slashed shoe prices. Born in Suriname; worked and died in Lynn, Massachusetts.
- part of (incoming)·PersonNorbert Rillieux
Chemical engineer and inventor of the multiple-effect evaporator, which transformed sugar refining into a safer, far more fuel-efficient process still foundational to industrial chemistry.
- part of (incoming)·PersonLewis Temple
Blacksmith and abolitionist who invented the toggling harpoon that became the whaling industry standard. Most associated with New Bedford, Massachusetts.
- part of (incoming)·PersonSarah Boone
One of the first African-American women to receive a US patent (1892), for an improved ironing board shaped to press the sleeves and bodies of garments.
- part of (incoming)·PersonMary Jackson
NASA's first Black female engineer, who conducted supersonic aerodynamics research and later led programs to advance the hiring and promotion of women at NASA.
- part of (incoming)·PersonOtis Boykin
Inventor and engineer who patented improved precision wire resistors used in computers, guided missiles, and a control unit for the artificial cardiac pacemaker.
- part of (incoming)·PersonMark Dean
Computer engineer and IBM Fellow who co-created the original IBM PC, co-developed the ISA bus, and led the team that built the first gigahertz processor chip.
- part of (incoming)·PersonMarie Van Brittan Brown
Co-invented the first home security system using closed-circuit television surveillance and remote door control, patented in 1969 and foundational to modern home security.
- part of (incoming)·PersonPatricia Bath
Ophthalmologist who invented the Laserphaco Probe for cataract surgery, the first African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical invention.
- part of (incoming)·PersonLonnie Johnson
Aerospace and nuclear engineer who worked on the Galileo and Cassini missions and invented the Super Soaker; holds over 250 patents and develops energy and battery technologies.
- part of (incoming)·PersonPaul Revere Williams
Prolific architect who designed over 2,000 buildings; the first certified Black architect west of the Mississippi and first Black Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
- part of (incoming)·PersonJulian Abele
Chief designer at Horace Trumbauer's firm who contributed to over 400 buildings, including Duke University's West Campus and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- part of (incoming)·PersonNorma Merrick Sklarek
First African-American woman licensed as an architect and first Black woman member of the AIA; projects include the US Embassy in Tokyo and LAX Terminal One.
- part of (incoming)·PersonRobert Robinson Taylor
First accredited African-American architect and first Black student at MIT; designed numerous buildings at Tuskegee Institute.