Lewis Howard Latimer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an African American inventor.

1 Birth
2 Crosby and Gould
3 Marriage
4 Toilets
5 Telephone
6 The Light Bulb
7 External sites
8 Patents
9 References
10 Notes

[edit] Birth

He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on September 4, 1848 with as the youngest of the four children of Rebecca (1826-1748) and George Latimer (c.1826-c.1880),the slave of James Gray, who were runaway slaves. One of Lewis' siblings was named William H. Latimer (1846-1892), who worked as a barber.

[edit] Crosby and Gould

He joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 15. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy on July 3, 1865, he gained employment as an office boy with a patent law firm, Crosby and Gould, with a $3.00 per week salary. He learned how to use a L square, ruler, and other tools. Later, after his boss recognized his talent for sketching patent drawings, Latimer was promoted to the position of head draftsman earning $20.00 a week.

[edit] Marriage

He married Mary Wilson on December 10, 1873 and later had two daughters, Jeanett and Louise. Mary was born in Rhode Island.

[edit] Toilets

In 1873, he invented an improved toilet system for railroad cars called the Water Closet for Railroad Cars.

[edit] Telephone

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell employed Latimer to draft the necessary drawings required to receive a patent for Bell's telephone.

[edit] The Light Bulb

In 1880, he moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut with his brother, William, his mother, Rebecca, and his wife. Lewis was hired as assistant manager and draftsman for the US Electric Lighting Company, a company owned by Hiram Maxim, a rival of inventor Thomas Edison. Latimer received a patent in January 1882 for the "Process of Manufacturing Carbons", an improved method for the production of carbon filaments for lightbulb. The Edison Electric Light Company in New York City hired Latimer in 1884, as a draftsman and an expert witness in patent litigation about electric lights. Latimer was also an Edison Pioneer, a group of those that had worked for Edison companies over the years. Latimer never worked directly for Thomas Edison, or in Edison's lab.

^[1]

[edit] External sites

[edit] Patents

"Water closets for railway cars," February 10, 1874 (US Patent#147,363)
"Electric lamp," (with Nichols, Joseph V.), September 13, 1881 (US Patent #247,097)
"Process of Manufacturing Carbons," January 17, 1882, (US Patent #252,386)
"Globe supporter for electric lamps," (with Tregoning, John), March 21, 1882 (US Patent #255,212)
"Apparatus for cooling and disinfecting," January 12, 1886 (US Patent #334,078)
"Locking rack for hats, coats, and umbrellas," March 24, 1896 (US Patent #557,076)
"Lamp fixture,"(with Brown, Charles W),August 30, 1910 (US Patent #968,787)