How to Celebrate Black Inventors During Black History Month

African-American inventors have made an indelible mark on our modern world. Their technological innovations helped to solve many practical problems of the time and also laid the groundwork for future inventors. Black History Month is a great opportunity to celebrate the pioneering work of black inventors.

Instructions

1. Fix yourself a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich. While it may be difficult to separate the legend from the truth, George Washington Carver's pioneering work in the field of agriculture lead the to invention of nearly three hundred unique recipes. Carver was born a slave and was denied educational opportunities until he was 30.

2. Celebrate the inventive genius of Lewis Howard Latimer by flipping a light switch. During his long career, Latimer helped Alexander Graham Bell to draft his designs for the telephone. His most famous invention came while working for Thomas Edison's Edison Electric Light Company, where he received a patent for the process used to create carbon filaments for light bulbs.

3. Honor the tireless efforts of Jan Ernst Matzeliger each time you lace your shoes. After 5 years of concentrated work, Matzeliger created a machine to manufacture shoes, boosting productivity by 900 percent. His work helped to make shoes more affordable for the average American.

4. Explore the wide range of inventions attributed to Garrett Morgan. In addition to his civil rights efforts, Morgan is credited with inventing one of the first forms of the gas mask, an invention he personally used to save over a dozen trapped workers during the Lake Erie Crib Disaster of 1916. Despite his ingenuity and heroism, Morgan was often forced to share credit for his work with white inventors in order to gain mainstream acceptance.

5. Discover the fascinating professional and personal life of Granville Woods. Known as "the Black Edison," Woods invented technology that was used to relay telegraphs between trains and helped to transmit electricity through overhead electrical cables. Thomas Edison attempted to sue Woods to take credit for inventing the multiplex telegraph, but Woods easily won the case. Edison then offered Woods a job with the Edison Electric Company, but the offer was rejected.

6. Learn more about the inventions of Otis Boykin. Over his career, Boykin patented 28 electrical creations. Though he would die of heart failure at 62, Boykin succeeded in inventing the technology used to regulate heartbeats through pacemaker devices.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit your library during Black History Month to learn more about the pioneering work of African-American inventors. Celebrate their unique contributions to the world by reading biographies.

• There's no need to limit the celebration of African-American inventors to Black History Month. African-American history is American history and can be celebrated throughout the year.