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Virgie Ammons: The Damper
Keeping the warmth in and keeping the smoke out? When I first Googled the name Virgie Ammons, I came across a few web pages that gave a small caption of…
Sarah Goode: First to have a Patent on File
Sarah Goode, the first Black American woman to have the earliest patent on record was supposedly born and raised in the United States. Most bibliographies speculate that she was born…
Saint Elmo Brady: First PHD in Chemistry
Getting a PHD is no easy task, but getting one in Chemistry is even more daunting. Now imagine you are an African American in 1916. Well that is when St…
George Speck Crum: Potato chips
Potato chips, Potato crisps, however you say it, the man who invented this crunchy delight deserves an award. Yes a gold medal an Oscar. He deserves something. I mean what…
Otis Boykin: Electrical Resistor
Otis E. Boykin was born in Dallas Texas on August 29th, 1920. After graduating from Fisk College located in Nashville Tennessee, he became a laboratory assistant at the Majestic radio…
Lonnie Johnson: The Water Gun
The super soaking wet fun gun and a lot more to come, Oh Yeah! I must say this man not only had an idea but a jolly good one; The…
Lloyd Noel Ferguson: First Doctorate in Chemistry
Lloyd Noel Ferguson was born February 9th, 1918 in the town of Oakland, California. In the 1870’s both his grandparents moved to California after the Civil War. His parents were…
James Bowman: First black to graduate from MIT
Who is Dr. James Bowman? Well he was born on February 5th 1923 in Washington, D.C. He is married to Barbara Bowman and has one daughter, Valerie Bowman and one…
David Crosthwait: Central Heating & Cold Air
Thank heavens for the following inventors. I know cold. Germany, England, Russia, yeah it really gets cold there. A frigid cold the kind that gets deep in your bones. The…
Charles Richard Drew: The Truth Behind the Legend
Charles Richard Drew was born June, 3rd in 1904 to Richard Y. Drew and Nora Burrell, in Washington D.C. He had one sibling, Elsie, who was diagnosed with Tuberculosis and…
Charles Brooks: Keeping it Clean
If you could imagine the days where a man would manually have to sweep the streets with a long horizontal head broom, shovel and dustpan, one would quickly demise that…
Benjamin Solomon Carson: Meaning to Everything
Many African American mothers have suffered and have done without in order to provide for their children. There is more than just material things; there is knowledge and an endearing…
Benjamin Solomon Carson: A Gifted Hand Surgeon
Carson was accepted into Yale University where he completed his degree in psychology. After Yale his interests shifted from Psychology to neurosurgery. He attended the Medical school of the University…
Benjamin Banneker: Astronomical Thoughts
Banneker, Benjamin born in 1731 was the first person recorded to have calculated ephemeris, and document them in Almanacs from 1792-1797 which is a table of values used to determine…
Andrew Jackson Beard: Connecting Railroad Cars
When we think of trains we think of traveling faster and safely to our destination. We think of train tracks and the freedom we feel without being responsible for keeping…
Elijah McCoy: Patents and Inventions
McCoy had his own machine shop, which he built at his home in Ypsilanti. There he created his own style of “lubricating Cup”. A Piston was set in an oil…
A real McCoy, Elijah
Have you ever heard of the saying, “That’s the Real McCoy,” Referring to something being the real deal, authentic or the original. It originates from a Scottish saying, “The real…
