Some contributions by persons of African descent to technological progress

Feb 16, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
I suppose most people are aware that technological progress is as much a result of man’s interaction with his environment as it is of his inner capabilities.
Long before recorded history, man sought to ease the burdens of everyday life by finding ways to make tasks less tiresome and onerous. In all likelihood, the first “inventions” by early man were such basics as fire, the wheel, cooking and things that not only made life less harsh, but also led to further innovation and discovery.
The early inventors set out to change the world, as inventors have continued to do ever since.
Many of these inventors have been of African ancestry. But today most people and especially those of African descent are not aware of those achievements, much less of their worldwide significance. These accomplishments are conspicuously absent from the literature of the mainstream Western culture.
Who really built the first model steam engine? (Benjamin Bradley).
Who was the first woman in America to become a self-made millionaire through her inventions? (Madam C. J. Walker).
Who made the first practical shoe-making machine? (Jan E. Matzeliger).
Whose invention started the phrase “the real McCoy”? (Elizah McCoy).
The answers to all of the above questions are inventors of African descent who overcame prejudice to gain patents and recognition for their achievements. Few of these inventors appear in any mainstream literature, but their heroic struggles can be fascinating and inspiring.
How many of us are aware of the fact that the great French writer, Alexander Dumas, author of “The Three Musketeers”, and the famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, both, it is reported, have African ancestry?
Despite the fact that slaves were not considered citizens and some slave masters stole the inventions of slaves under the “notion that the master is the owner of the fruits of the labour of the slave both intellectual and manual”, between 1843 – 1900 almost 400 patents were awarded to Americans of African descent.
In 1754, at the age of 24, Benjamin Banneker built what was believed to be the first clock in the U.S.A. Among his contributions, is the reproduction from memory of the complete plans for Washington D.C., after the chief architect, a Frenchman, became angry with the authorities and returned to France.
In 1883, Jan Matzeliger received a patent for a shoe-lasting machine, which revolutionized the shoe industry.
In 1872, Elizah McCoy, born in Canada in 1843, received a patent for a lubricating device that proved a boon to industry.
Others include George Washington Carver, a pioneer in plant breeding; Garrett Morgan the inventor of the traffic light, and Dr Drew and his work on blood plasma which resulted in saving many lives during World War 11. Ironically, Dr Drew died following a traffic accident. He was denied a blood transfusion at the hospital to which he was taken, simply because he was of African descent.
Clarence O. Perry

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Some contributions by persons of African descent to technological progress

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