Light Bulb — Electric Lamp Improvement Lewis Latimer 9/13/1881 247,097 Latimer, the son of parents who had escaped slavery, was an inventor, draftsman, engineer, and scientist, as well as an author, poet, musician, and philanthropist. It is a little known fact that he was the person who actually drew the blueprints for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone in 1878. Three years later, in 1881, he and assistant Joseph Nichols were the first persons to receive a patent for the direct forerunner to today’s commonly used light bulb. Prior to this, the electric lamp by Thomas Edison and others had no real practical use because it could not emit light for an extended period. But the new light bulb by Latimer (with assistant Nichols) used a revolutionary method of manufacturing carbon filaments that produced light for effectively extended periods. It was because of this ingenious invention that Latimer was asked by numerous countries, states, and cities — including Philadelphia — to write an instruction manual (which he did in 1890) and to supervise the installation of incandescent light plants. In addition, it is quite interesting that he was the original draftsman for Edison (inventor of the 1879 temporary electric lamp) who relied on Latimer as the expert witness in Edison’s patent infringement suit. Lock — Modern Washington Martin 7/23/1889 407,738 The innovative lock invented by Martin is precisely what made today’s locks possible. It creatively included a cylinder and spiral spring coiled around a metal pin, thereby frustrating thieves and burglars throughout the country. Mail Box Phillip Downing 10/27/1891 462,093 This invention is also known as a letter box and a letter drop. Overnight Delivery Package Receptacle Folarin Sosan 1997 Sosan, through his Package Park (Maita) company, made it possible for overnight and next day package delivery providers such as Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and the U.S. Postal Service (as well as other major and small businesses) to have all of their deliveries immediately received by customers and then accurately tracked by computer.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:19:24 +0000
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