Lewis Latimer, Unknown Genius...!

Sometimes I think that we forget about the help that all famous folks had at their disposal. Very few ever got credit for the assistance or any extra money. Regardless, their involvement certainly helped things along.

Lewis Latimer

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Lewis Latimer, the son of runaway slaves, was the draftsman who helped Alexander Graham Bell file his patent for the telephone.

That’s kind of impressive, but that’s not all. Latimer also patented a carbon filament for the incandescent light bulb in 1881. Though Thomas Edison is generally credited as the inventor of the light bulb, he had, until that time, only been able to make the bulbs light up for a few minutes at a time.

Latimer patented his method for making carbon filaments, which allowed light bulbs to burn for hours before burning out. Much more useful. Not only that, but Latimer was a pioneer of the electric lighting industry and one of the charter members of the Edison Pioneers, who worked closely with Edison in the further development of electric light. Of the original 100 Pioneers, Lewis Latimer was the only black man.

He went on to invent a number of other useful gadgets, including a flushing train toilet and a device which cooled and disinfected patients’ rooms in hospitals, thus reducing the rate of hospital-acquired infections.

Ever notice how often Thomas Edison shows up in one of these articles? I wonder why that is...

Coffee out on the patio this morning. Almost like Spring weather here.