Famous Black Scientists

10 Black Inventors Who Changed Your Life

Marie Van Brittan Brown

Marie Van Brittan Brown created an early version of the modern home security system more than a century later. Feeling unsafe due to her neighborhood’s high crime rate, the full-time nurse rigged a motorized camera to record her home entryway and project images onto a TV monitor.

Madam C.J. Walker

Philanthropist and entrepreneur  Madam C.J. Walker, born to former slaves and sharecroppers, was orphaned at just seven years old. After later suffering hair loss from a scalp condition, Walker invented an innovative line of African-American hair care products in 1905 that led to her distinction as one of America’s first self-made millionaires.

Thomas L. Jennings

The first African-American U.S. patent recipient was working as a tailor and businessman in New York City when he invented a process for dry-cleaning delicate clothing known as “dry-scouring.” Thomas L. Jennings applied for a patent in 1820 and received his history-making approval the following year.

Alexander Miles

Anyone who’s ridden modern elevators has Alexander Miles to thank for the stair alternative’s automatic doors. Prior to his design’s 1867 patent, riders had to manually open and close two sets of doors when entering and exiting elevator cars. Miles created a mechanism that forced both elevator doors to close simultaneously, thus preventing dangerous accidents.

Dr. Patricia Bath

Dr. Patricia Bath became the first female African-American medical doctor to receive a medical patent when she invented a laser cataract treatment device called a Laserphaco Probe in 1986. The co-founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness patented her invention in 1988.

Elijah McCoy

Of the 57 patents Elijah McCoy  received over his lifetime, the portable ironing board may be one of the most timeless. As the story goes, having to iron on uneven surfaces frustrated his wife, Mary Eleanor Delaney, and so he created the ironing board to make her life a little easier. McCoy is also the man behind another major invention beloved by homeowners: the lawn sprinkler.

Sarah Boone

In 1892, Sarah Boone patented a design improvement to McCoy’s ironing board. The North Carolina native wrote in her application that the purpose of her invention was “to produce a cheap, simple, convenient, and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies’ garments.”

Alice H. Parker

The central heating furnace design that Alice H. Parker patented in December 1919 made use of natural gas for the first time to keep homes warm and toasty. Inspiring her innovation: the limited efficiency of fireplaces (along with the smoke and ash they produce) during the cold winters at her Morristown, New Jersey house.

Frederick McKinley Jones

Before Frederick McKinley Jones developed the automatic refrigeration equipment used in long-haul trucks transporting perishables in the late 1940s, the only way to keep food cold en route to delivery destinations was by using ice. Thanks to his invention, grocery stores were able to buy and sell products from far distances without the risk of them spoiling during transport. Jones’ technology was also used to transport blood during World War II.