Lewis Latimer
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Lewis Latimer is considered one of the 10 most important Black inventors of all time, not only for the sheer number of inventions created and patents secured but also for the magnitude of importance for his most famous discovery Latimer was born on September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts His parents were George and Rebecca Latimer, both runaway slaves who migrated to Massachusetts in 1842 from Virginia George Latimer was captured by his slave owner, who was determined to take him back to Virginia His situation gained great notoriety, even reaching the Massachusetts Supreme Court Eventually George was purchased by abolition supporters who set him free Lewis served in the United States Navy for the Union during the Civil War, assigned to the USS Massasoit gunboat and received an honorable discharge on July 3, 1965.
After his discharge he sought employment throughout Boston, Massachusetts and eventually gained a position as an office boy with a patent law firm, Crosby and Gould earning $300 each week After observing Latimer's ability to sketch patent drawings, he was eventually promoted to the position of head draftsman earning $2000 a week In addition to his newfound success, Latimer found additional happiness when he married Mary Wilson in November of 1873 In 1874, along with WC Brown, Latimer co-invented an improved of a train water closet, a bathroom compartment for railroad trains Two years later, Latimer would play a part in one of the world's most important inventions In 1876, Latimer was sought out as a draftsman by a teacher for deaf children.
The teacher had created a device and wanted Lewis to draft the drawing necessary for a patent application The teacher was Alexander Graham Bell and the device was the telephone Working late into the night, Latimer worked hard to finish the patent application, which was submitted on February 14, 1876, just hours before another application was submitted by Elisha Gray for a similar device n 1880, after moving to Bridgeport, Connecticut, Latimer was hired as the assistant manager and draftsman for US Electric Lighting Company owned by Hiram Maxim Maxim was the chief rival to Thomas Edison, the man who invented the electric light bulb The light was composed of a glass bulb which surrounded a carbon wire filament, generally made of bamboo, paper or thread When the filament was burned inside of the bulb (which contained almost no air), it became so hot that it actually glowed Thus by passing electricity into the bulb, Edison had been able to cause the glowing bright light to emanate within a room.
Before this time most lighting was delivered either through candles or through gas lamps or kerosene lanterns Maxim greatly desired to improve on Edison's light bulb and focused on the main weakness of Edison's bulb - their short life span (generally only a few days) Latimer set out to make a longer lasting bulb Latimer devised a way of encasing the filament within an cardboard envelope which prevented the carbon from breaking and thereby provided a much longer life to the bulb and hence made the bulbs less expensive and more efficient This enabled electric lighting to be installed within homes and throughout streets Latimer's abilities in electric lighting became well known and soon he was sought after to continue to improve on incandescent lighting as well as arc lighting Eventually, as more major cities began wiring their streets for electric lighting, Latimer was dispatched to lead the planning team He helped to install the first electric plants in Philadelphia, New York City and Montreal and oversaw the installation of lighting in railroad stations, government building and major thoroughfares in Canada, New England and London In 1890, Latimer, having been hired by Thomas Edison, began working in the legal department of Edison Electric Light Company, serving as the chief draftsman and patent expert In this capacity he drafted drawings and documents related to Edison patents, inspected plants in search of infringers of Edison's patents, conducted patent searches and testified in court proceeding on Edison's behalf.
Later that year wrote the worlds most thorough book on electric lighting, "Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System" Lewis was named one of the charter members of the Edison pioneer, a distinguished group of people deemed responsible for creating the electrical industry The Edison Electric Lighting would eventually evolve into what is now known as the General Electric Company Latimer continued to display his creative talents over then next several years In 1894 he created a safety elevator, a vast improvement on existing elevators He next received a patent for Locking Racks for Hats, Coats, and Umbrellas The device was used in restaurants, hotels and office buildings, holding items securely and allowing owners of items to keep the from getting misplaced or accidentally taken by others He next created a improved version of a Book Supporter, used to keep books neatly arranged on shelves Latimer next devised a method of making rooms more sanitary and climate controlled He termed his device an Apparatus for Cooling and Disinfecting.
The device worked wonders in hospitals, preventing dust and particles from circulating within patient rooms and public areas Throughout the rest of his life, Latimer continued to try to devise ways of improving everyday living for the public, eventually working in efforts to improve the civil rights of Black citizens within the United States He also painted portraits and wrote poetry and music for friends and family Lewis Latimer died on December 11, 1928 and left behind a legacy of achievement and leadership that much of the world owes thanks.
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Lewis Howard Latimer Project
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Black Invention Myths Exposed - Volume Two - Lewis H. Latimer and the Light bulb
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Let there be LIGHT! Lewis Latimer, in 1881, created the electric light commonly used today! Before Latimer's improvements, the light bulb had no practical us...
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lewis latimer
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he tried to perfect Thomes Edisons invetion.
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Making It Happen: Masters of Invention
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Though most people can identify inventors Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, they may never have heard of Lewis Latimer or Granville T. Woods, Edison's...
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Light My World (Rough Cut)
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Lewis Howard Latimer Inventor 1848-1928 Lewis Latimer was one of the pioneers in the electric light industry from its creation until it became worldwide in i...
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Who We Are! Vol. 1 Lewis Latimer
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Video report on African-American inventor Lewis Latimer.
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Inventors - Lewis Latimer
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Inventors - Lewis Latimer.
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Tribute to Lewis Latimer
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Here is another wonderful Black History Month video from our Passing the Torch TV Collection. This is a tribute to one of the most important scientists in wo...
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DCTV Black History Promo Lewis Latimer
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Lewis Latimer.
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Lewis Latimer Commercial by Owen Michaels
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Lewis Latimer invention carbon filament.
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Pt 1 Kinad Inc. Preserves Lewis Latimer & Dr. Wenny L. Norman.wmv
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Thanks to Dr. Winifred Latimer Norman for her major role in preserving her grandfather's contributions he made to American and the world. Kinad Inc. staff ha...
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Lewis Latimer
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HJB talks about Lewis Latimer. Lewis Howard Latimer was an African American inventor and draftsman. September 4, 2012 Hairy Lion Productions.
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Kinad Inc & Dr. W. Latimer Norman Inspirational Images & Lewis H. Latimer Exhibition 2005
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Thank you very much Dr. Norman for given me this opportunity to video type you in July 2004, later in 2004 for coming to Miami, Fl to attend our Community Se...
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Wax Museum - Lewis Latimer
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Recorded on March 1, 2012 using a Flip Video camera.
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Kinad Inc Lewis H. Latimer Exhibition in The Govt Center Miami 2005.avi
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This is a Kinad Inc. production of Lewis Latimer "The Man In The Shadow of Light exhibition displayed in Miami Dade County Florida Government Center during B...
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African American innovators and inventors part.2 craftsmen
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African American innovators and inventors part.2 craftsmen Urban Archeology http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi130.htm Lewis Latimer http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1...
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PERRIS BLACK HISTORY LOUIS LATIMER
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BLACK IN PERRIS.
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Madam C.J. Walker in A Tribute to African American Inventors
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Celebrate Inventors day as Thomas Alva Edison, Proclaimed as the greatest inventor of our time, host a tribute to African American Inventors. A look at the c...
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The Techno Zone a tribute to the Black Man that invented the Electric Light
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Two little girls pay tribute to Lewis H. Latimer for inventing the electric light bulb commonly used today. Visit http://www.blackmiracles.com This video con...
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LES INVENTEURS NOIRS OCCULTES DE LHISTOIRE
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Visitez mon blog : http://jesusestvivant.over-blog.com/ Alexander Mills : l'ascenseur Richard Spikes : la transmission automatique! Joseph Gammel : le systèm...
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Black Music Month - June!
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Black History Black History Black History www.versatylepoetry.com Never forget where you came from.... Illustrated with civil rights leaders and Black scient...
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The New Black History(SHOW 3) PART 3
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Educational Video Magazine. This video series will focus on the current African Americans in Science and Technology.
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Zonz norm.wmv
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1st attempt. Stop hating start participating.
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Tesla Coil with Fluorescent Light Bulb
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This was an experiment with the Tesla coil that we had in our classroom. Instructor wanted to see who was Mas Macho. Experiment was safe and no one got hurt ...
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