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In this important study, former United States primary patent examiner Patricia Carter Sluby pays homage to the inventive spirit of African Americans. Beginning with ancient African innovations to the contributions of enslaved Africans brought to American shores, Sluby traces the path of inventors and patent holders through time from all fields up to and including the leading edge of today’s technology. Along with more recognizable names, like George Washington Carver, Dr. Percy Lavon Julian or Madame C. J. Walker, readers will discover little known or forgotten pioneers of devices such as a tobacco substitute, a home security system, and a camera that traveled to the moon, with particular attention given to women inventors and scientists. Sluby details the plight of inventive slaves during the antebellum and Civil War eras and juxtaposes their efforts with those of free blacks of the same period. Reconstruction saw significant agricultural and industrial innovations by African Americans, some of which would permanently change American industry. Military inventions during the course and aftermath of both world wars showcase the diversity of African American ideas in an age of rapid technological advances. Products to ease domestic life, promote the efficiency of industrial processes, and improve the safety of leisure activities all bear the hallmarks of these creative minds. The reader is guided to the leading edge of technology and medical fields at the vanguard of the twenty-first century. This work contains a comprehensive roster of African American inventors and their United States patents from 1821 to the present, and includes patent illustrations and photos of inventors as well.
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