These inventors’ creations were only part of their legacy to their communities and the world. Clockwise from top left: Sarah E. Goode (1850-1905) is believed to be the first African-American woman to receive a U.S. patent, for a collapsible bed that converted into a rolltop desk. James Forten (1766-1842) rose from apprentice to owner of a Philadelphia sail business, where he employed both black and white workers to foster equal rights. Lonnie Johnson (b. 1949) possesses more than a hundred patents and has more than 20 patents pending. George Washington Carver (circa 1864-1943) established the Agricultural Wagon to visit farms so rural Southerners could learn about agrarian methods and best practices. Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) was an office boy for a Boston patent law firm when he taught himself mechanical drawing. Promoted to draftsman, he was hired by Alexander Graham Bell to draw plans for a new invention; he finished the telephone drawings in time for Bell to file for a patent just ahead of a competitor.

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The unappreciated legacy of African-American inventors

History-making black scientists and inventors should be honored as much for the lives they lived as for the things they invented.

Published January 9, 2020

7 min read

This story appears in the February 2020 issue of National Geographic magazine.

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The unappreciated legacy of African-American inventors

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