Our Heroes
Name the invention
Name the Inventors
200
She was the first African-American woman to obtain an international pilot’s license, soaring to new heights that Black people in the United States had never reached before. But as a Black woman in the 1920s, she faced many obstacles because of her race and gender.
Bessie Coleman
200
Black Inventor: Lewis Latimer (1848-1928)
Latimer is known for his work in improving the design of the electric lamp and creating a carbon filament that was used in Thomas Edison’s light bulb. He also improved on the toilet system for railroad cars.
200
Invented modern traffic lights and masks to help firefighters breathe safely
Garrett Morgan
400
He escaped from slavery, then spoke and wrote about his experiences to inspire people to end the practice.
Frederick Douglass
400
Black Inventor: Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919)
Walker was an entrepreneur and inventor who became America’s first self-made female millionaire. She developed a line of hair care products specifically for African American women, including a hot comb that was used to straighten hair.
400
An agricultural chemist who made peanut butter more popular and developed products from peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soy beans
George Washington Carver
500
He fought for equality during the civil rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., against oppression and risking his life for justice. Through grit and determination, he went from sitting on bus seats as an act of civil disobedience during the Freedom Rides to sitting in the halls of Congress as a champion for civil liberties.
Congressman John Lewis
500
Black Inventor: Garrett Morgan (1877-1963)
Morgan was an inventor and businessman who held several patents, including a breathing device (gas mask) that was used during World War I. He is best known for his traffic signal, which was a precursor to modern traffic lights.
500
Born in 1731, he developed a clock made of wood when he was 22
Benjamin Banneker
600
He receives the Nobel Prize, shook the hands of President Lyndon Johnson at the signing of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed racial segregation in publicly owned facilities. He was a Baptist preacher who "Had a Dream"
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
600
Black Inventor: Charles Drew
Blood bank organizer, plasma preservations, and blood transfusion methods
600
A dressmaker who invented the modern-day ironing board and became one of the first Black women to be awarded a patent
Sarah Boone
790
A slave, spy, and conductor for the Underground Railroad which led escaped enslaved people to freedom in the North. But the former enslaved woman also served as a spy for the Union during the Civil War. Tubman decided to help the Union Army because she wanted freedom for all of the people who were forced into slavery, not just the few she could help on the Underground Railroad.
Harriet Tubman
790
Black Inventor: Mark Dean
Computer hardware design and development (holds original patents for PC designs).
He holds three of IBM's original nine PC patents and currently holds more than 20 total patents. The famous African-American inventor never thought the work he was doing would end up being so useful to the world, but he has helped IBM make instrumental changes in areas ranging from the research and application of systems technology circuits to operating environments. One of his most recent computer inventions occurred while leading the team that produced the 1-Gigahertz chip, which contains one million transistors and has nearly limitless potential.
790
An electrical engineer who developed inventions that were awarded 27 patents by the U.S. Patent Office
Granville Woods