Lewis Latimer 1848-1928 - Life and Inventions
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman - Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Electrical Engineering Engineering Diversity General Engineering, Engineering Science Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): |
Black and African American Scientists and Engineers History of Technology |
| Learning Resource Type: | Reference - Article/Document |
| Media Type: | WWW |
| Author(s): |
Mary Bellis
Organization: About.com Department: Inventors |
| Description: | Biography of inventor Lewis Latimer. Excerpt: "Lewis Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1848. He was the son of George and Rebecca Latimer, escaped slaves from Virginia. When Lewis Latimer was a boy his father George was arrested and tried as a slave fugitive. The judge ordered his return to Virginia and slavery, but money was raised by the local community to pay for George Latimer's freedom. George Latimer later went underground fearing his re-enslavement, a great hardship for Lewis' family. Lewis Latimer enlisted in the Union Navy at the age of 15 by forging the age on his birth certificate. Upon the completion of his military service, Lewis Latimer returned to Boston, Massachusetts where he was employed by the patent solicitors Crosby & Gould. While working in the office Lewis began the study of drafting and eventually became their head draftsmen. During his employment with Crosby & Gould, Latimer drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for the telephone, spending long nights with the inventor. Bell rushed his patent application to the patent office mere hours ahead of the competition and won the patent rights to the telephone with the help of Latimer." |
| Rating: |
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| Keywords: | railway cars, Lewis Latimer, Thomas Edison, black inventors |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: | case study in an early African American inventor. |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
| Interactivity Level: | Very Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | 2008 |
| Platform/Format: | WWW |
| Cost: | Free |
| Download URL: | http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bllatimer... |
| Metadata: | IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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