35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Super Hero LEWIS HOWARD LATIMER

Lewis Howard Latimer 

The inventive genius of Lewis Howard Latimer helped bring electricity and related appliances into the common American household. His contributions stand tall among those of the original Edison pioneers at the forefront of the age of electricity. He brought light to cities as far away as London and Montreal and as near as New York City and Philadelphia. 

Counted among his early achievements is the inexpensive and long-lasting carbon filament that transformed Thomas Edison's electric lightbulb. Prior to Latimer's invention, the lightbulb burned out in a mere 30 hours; with his carbon filament, it became a practical convenience. 

Latimer was a prolific inventor whose creations were not widely credited to him. He often sold his patents to manufacturers and submitted patents under the name of his employer, which left the name of Lewis Latimer relatively unknown to the public—the very beneficiaries of his designs. 

Born on September 4, 1848, the fourth child in a household of escaped slaves, Latimer's childhood was more focused on subsistence and maintaining freedom than on formal education. He worked odd jobs after elementary school in his father's barbershop until his father moved out of the house. An escaped slave, George Latimer was forced to keep his family safe from slave hunters by living apart. So ten-year-old Lewis quit school to help support the family. 

Against those odds, Lewis Latimer grew into an accomplished engineer by educating himself in art, math, science, and French. The arts brought him personal enjoyment and helped develop his talents as a playwright, poet, and musician. 

After serving in the Civil War in the Navy on the U.S.S. Massasoit, he acquired a job with patent solicitors Crosby and Gould, where he worked his way up to draftsman. He supervised the creation of models to accompany patent applications. In that position, Latimer assisted many inventors, including Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison, helping them get critical patents. 

Latimer's own first patent, which he shared with Charles W. Brown, was in 1874 for improvements to the water closet (bathroom) on trains. While in the employ of Hiram S. Maxim at the United States Electric Lighting Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Latimer accelerated his creative work in the science of electrical lighting. He gave the world several life-changing inventions, topping the list with a lasting filament for incandescent lightbulbs and a patent shared with Joseph V. Nichols for an electric lamp. 

Latimer traveled the country establishing factories for the production of the filament and supervising the lighting of commercial properties, railroads, and even more importantly, entire cities. 

In 1884, he helped sustain the growth of Edison's company, General Electric, through his engineering and drafting skills. As an expert witness, Latimer also saved the company millions of dollars from patent infringements. He later served on the Board of Patent Control formed by General Electric and Westinghouse and was a patent consultant with the Hammer & Schwarz law firm in New York until his vision became impaired. 

This Renaissance man, who oversaw the installation of the first electric lights in New York City, made life safer and more convenient for people around the globe. Through it all, he found time to share his knowledge. Latimer wrote a textbook about electric lighting—one of the first—and he taught immigrants mechanical drawing skills. He also supported philanthropic and civil rights efforts until his death in 1928.

From Great African Americans.  Copyright, Publications International, Ltd.