1885

Granville T. Woods patented the Telegraphony in 1885, a device that allowed voice to be transmitted over telegraph wires — an advance so impressive that both Edison and Bell attempted to purchase it. Woods sold patents to Bell Telephone, using the proceeds to fund further invention. He held over 50 patents in his lifetime.

By 1885, Jan Matzeliger's lasting machine is in commercial operation in Lynn, Massachusetts, producing up to 700 pairs of shoes per day (vs. 50 by hand). The price of a pair of shoes falls by more than half, making footwear affordable to working-class Americans for the first time. The Consolidated Hand Method Lasting Machine Company's stock soared; Matzeliger received shares in lieu of cash.

By 1885, Jan Matzeliger's lasting machine is in commercial operation in Lynn, Massachusetts, producing up to 700 pairs of shoes per day versus 50 by hand. The price of a pair of shoes falls by more than half, making footwear affordable to working-class Americans for the first time.

Sarah E. Goode, a furniture store owner in Chicago, received U.S. Patent No. 322,177 on July 14, 1885 for her invention of a folding cabinet bed — an early version of the Murphy bed designed to save space in small urban homes. She became the first Black woman in U.S. history to receive a patent. Her invention reflected both entrepreneurial ingenuity and the practical needs of working-class urban residents.

By the mid-1880s, over 150 Black-owned newspapers operated across the United States, up from a handful before the Civil War. Papers including the Washington Bee, Cleveland Gazette, Chicago Conservator, and Indianapolis Freeman provided community news, political analysis, and a forum for debates on civil rights strategy that was entirely absent from the white press. They formed the backbone of an independent Black public sphere.

By the mid-1880s, over 150 Black-owned newspapers operated across the US, including the Washington Bee, Cleveland Gazette, Chicago Conservator, and Indianapolis Freeman. They provided community news and political analysis entirely absent from the white press, forming the backbone of an independent Black public sphere during the worst years of post-Reconstruction terror.