BLACK GENIUS: African American Inventors and Innovators
African Americans have been prolific inventors and innovators. We have gathered on this page profiles of some of the most significant Black Inventors in the United State as well as some inventors of African Ancestry abroad. The main tabs show inventors and the dates of their first patents. Other tabs show inventors who did not receive patents and inventors outside the United States. This list will grow. If you think there are inventors who should be on this page please contact us at [email protected].
| Inventor | Lifespan | Date of First U.S. Patent |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas L. Jennings | 1791-1856 | 1821 |
| Henry Blair | 1807-1860 | 1834 |
| Norbert Rillieux | 1806-1894 | 1846 |
| Benjamin Bradley | 1830-? | 1856 |
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| Inventor | Lifespan | Date of First U.S. Patent |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Scottron | 1843-1905 | 1868 |
| Elijah McCoy | 1843-1929 | 1872 |
| Lewis H. Latimer | 1848-1928 | 1874 |
| Alexander P. Ashbourne | 1820-1915 | 1875 |
| Joseph W. Winters | 1816-1916 | 1878 |
| Leonard C. Bailey | 1825-1918 | 1883 |
| Jan Ernst Matzeliger | 1852-1887 | 1883 |
| Judy W. Reed | c.1826-? | 1884 |
| John P. Parker | 1827-1900 | 1884 |
| Granville T. Woods | 1856-1910 | 1884 |
| Sarah Elisabeth Goode | c.1855?-1905 | 1885 |
| Alexander Miles | 1838-1918 | 1887 |
| Robert Scott | ca. 1840-~1930 | 1887 |
| Miriam Elizabeth Benjamin | 1861-1947 | 1888 |
| William B. Purvis | 1838-1914 | 1890 |
| Philip B. Downing | 1857-1934 | 1890 |
| Daniel McCree | 1800?- ? | 1890 |
| Sarah Boone | 1832-1904 | 1892 |
| Hamilton Hatter | 1856-1942 | 1893 |
| George Washington Murray | 1853-1926 | 1894 |
| Charles B. Brooks | 1865- ? | 1896 |
| John Lee Love | ?-1931 | 1897 |
| Alfred L. Cralle | 1866–1920 | 1897 |
| Lyda Newman | 1885- ? | 1898 |
| George Franklin Grant | 1847-1910 | 1899 |
| Inventor | Lifespan | Date of First U.S. Patent |
|---|---|---|
| Garrett A. Morgan, Sr. | 1877?-1963 | 1901 |
| Henry E. Baker | 1857-1928 | 1902 (Chronicler of Inventions) |
| Benjamin Pelham | 1862-1948 | 1905 |
| Richard Spikes | 1878-1965 | 1907 |
| Madeline M. Turner | ? – ? | 1916 |
| Henry Binga Dismond | 1891-1956 | 1919 |
| Frederick McKinley Jones | 1893-1961 | 1919 |
| Alice H. Parker | 1895- ? | 1919 |
| William Chester Ruth | 1882-1971 | 1924 |
| Marjorie Stewart Joyner | 1896-1994 | 1928 |
| David Nelson Crosthwait Jr. | 1898-1976 | 1929 |
| Bessie Blount Griffin | 1914-2009 | 1951 |
| Mary Kenner | 1912-2006 | 1957 |
| Otis Frank Boykin | 1920-1982 | 1959 |
| Inventor | Lifespan | Date of First U.S. Patent |
|---|---|---|
| James Edward Maceo West | 1931- | 1964 |
| Marie Van Brittan | 1922–1999 | 1966 |
| George Carruthers | 1939- | 1969 |
| Henry Thomas Sampson, Jr. | 1934- | 1971 |
| Raye Jean Jordan Montague | 1935-2018 | 1971 |
| Emmett Chappelle | 1925- | 1976 |
| Valerie Thomas | 1943- | 1980 |
| Mark Dean | 1957- | 1981 |
| Isiah M. Warner | 1946- | 1985 |
| Lonnie Johnson | 1949- | 1986 |
| Meredith Gourdine | 1929-1998 | 1987 |
| Dennis Weatherby | 1959-2007 | 1987 |
| Patricia Era Bath | 1942- | 1988 |
| Robert F. Smith | 1962- | 1993 |
| Marian R. Croak | 1955- | 2006 |
| Janet Emerson Bashen | 1957- | 2006 |
| Inventor | Lifespan | Invention Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lewis Temple | 1800-1854 | 1848 |
| George Crum | 1824-1914 | 1853 |
| Ellen Eglin | 1849- ? | 1888 |
| Charles Chappelle | 1872-1941 | 1911 |
| Frederick Douglas Patterson | 1871-1932 | 1915 |
| Kamal Al Mansour | 1959- | 1988 |
| Hildreth (“Hal”) Walker | 1933- | 1969 |
| Gloria Twine Chisum | 1930- | 1975 |
| Ayana E. Johnson | 1980- | 2012 |
| Inventor | Lifespan | Invention Year |
|---|---|---|
| William Peyton Hubbard | 1842-1935 | 1861 |
| André Pinto Rebouças | 1838-1898 | 1866 (no patent) |
| David Wabeladio Payi | 1957-2013 | 1982 |
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