Have you heard about the inventor Garrett Morgan? He developed a chemical hair-processing and straightening solution. He invented a protective “smoke hood” notably used in a 1916 tunnel construction disaster rescue. And he invented the three-way traffic light in 1923, it was important because it had a third cautionary signal between stop and go. Morgan sold his traffic light to General Electric Company for $40,000.
Black History 365 | # 19 - Elijah McCoy
The next time you want the actual item and not an imitation, be sure to ask for “the Real McCoy,” which is an attribution to this engineer, Elijah McCoy. To improve the efficiency of systems of lubricating moving parts on a steam locomotive, McCoy developed a lubricating cup that automatically and evenly distributed oil over the locomotive’s moving parts while in motion. McCoy’s “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines” was patented in 1872. While other inventors put forth similar devices, “the real McCoy” was the one the railroaders asked for by name.
Black History 365 | # 27 - Tommy Edwards
Did you know Thomas Edwards was the first African-American to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100? It was his multi-million selling song, "It's All in the Game.” Edwards originally recorded and chatted the song in 1951, but it climbed to only no. 18. Edwards made no recordings for his recording label MGM between September 1955 and June 1958. Often broke, he relied on loans from friends in the music business. Edwards attributed his decline to the onset of rock and roll during the mid-1950s. The better-known 1958 version was made with a different arrangement more suited to the style of the time. The labels remixed recording spent six weeks at number one on Billboard, topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and eventually sold 3.5 million copies. In 1962 he had a victory in court when the New York State Supreme Court ordered MGM to disclose royalty figures. In 1965 Edwards joined Musicor Records, but a 1966 release flopped. He was not feeling rock and roll but that’s where music was heading. Anyhow, his recording labels didn’t allow him that creative freedom. On October 23, 1969, Edwards died at the age of 47 from massive internal hemorrhaging due to esophageal varices linked to cirrhosis of the liver. In 2004 Universal Music Group, which then owned the MGM catalog, agreed to pay the Edwards estate about $229,000 as part of a royalties settlement by major music corporations.
Black History 365 | # 6 - Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz is the first Afro-Latina to be on the US quarter. She was known as the Queen of Salsa and was the first Black Latina to sing in Spanish on American television and perform at Carnegie Hall. “¡Azúcar!" The 2024 Celia Cruz Quarter is the 14th coin in a series for a US American Woman Quarters Program. Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American singer, cultural icon, and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century.
Black History 365 | #22 - George Carruthers
Have you heard of George Carruthers? In 1969, Carruthers had patented his invention of the first “Image Converter for Detecting Electromagnetic Radiation Especially in Short Wave Lengths.” Additionally, Carruthers was the principle inventor of the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph in 1972 which later resulted in his providing the first proof of the existence of molecular hydrogens in space during the 1970s Aerobee-150 rocket launch. It would most notably be used during Apollo 16’s famous 1972 lunar landing. Carruthers’s invention allowed scientists to examine UV images of over 550 stars, nebulae, and galaxies, as well as research the earth’s atmosphere for the first time for concentration of pollutants. Because of his inventions, Carruthers received the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1970, NASA’s Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1972, the Warner Prize in 1973, and the Black Engineer of the Year Award in 1987. In 2003 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Peace to Dr. Carruthers ✌🏾