Famous Inventors of the Nineteenth Century
The nineteenth century was a time of radical leaps in technology. Subsequently, inventors and scientists were constantly working on new theories and products that would dramatically alter the world in which we live.
The following list contains a handful of the most famous inventors of the nineteenth century. These men all created everyday items that we now take for granted.
Alexander Graham Bell
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Alexander Graham Bell (1847 – 1922) is best known for his collaboration with Thomas Watson, which led to the invention of the telephone in 1876. However, Bell is also responsible for a number of other inventions, including multiple telegraph, hydro-airplane, new methods of teaching the deaf to speak and the photo-sensitive selenium cell, which led to the creation of a wireless phone.
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss (1829 – 1902) was born in Germany where he trained as a tailor. A Jewish immigrant to the U.S., Strauss ran a business in San Francisco selling tents and linens to those who went to California during the gold rush of 1849. In 1873, Strauss collaborated with Nevada tailor, Jacob Davis, on a pair of sturdy work pants with copper rivets to add strength at stress points. These pants were first called waist overalls; little did Strauss know that his invention would become the height of fashion across much of the world.
Thomas Edison
Known as the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’ (later renamed Edison), Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931) was one of the most prolific inventors of the nineteenth century. Edison began life as a telegraph operator, during which time he redesigned the stock-ticker machine. Eventually, the money from his stock printer allowed him to set up his own laboratory where he dedicated himself, and a team of employees, to inventing full-time. Some of his most famous inventions include the phonograph, carbon telephone transmitter, motion picture camera and modern electric light bulb.
John Pemberton
The invention of Cola, in 1886, changed the drinks industry forever. John Pemberton (1830-1888) had experimented extensively with syrups, elixirs and had previously developed a drink called French Wine of Coca. However, in 1885, the state of Atlanta banned alcohol and Pemberton was forced to change the ingredients of his popular beverage. Coke was born and it quickly became an incredibly popular soft drink.
Of course, there are many other inventors of the nineteenth century who contributed considerable amounts to the modern world. However, the men listed above created some of the most ubiquitous items of the contemporary era.
Depressed Inventors, Innovators, and Creative Geniuses
Not long ago, a gentleman from contacted me about an article I wrote, as he was researching issues concerning depressed inventors, innovators, and highly creative genius level individuals. So, is the stereotype type true? Are those who are so highly creative really mentally problematic, and often suffering from depression? Well, it turns out that is not typically the case, but there are still a higher number of depressed creative people by percentage than in the overall society as a whole.
So, when we talked about “Depressed Inventors” – I asked him if he himself was depressed? Why you ask? Well, because it seems that with brilliance often comes baggage. I’ve read several books on creativity of some of the greatest geniuses of all times, it seems this is quite common, but those innovators which succeed the most seem to have very mild depression (if any) and then hyper-manic states. Interesting isn’t it?
Indeed, I asked my acquaintance; “what have you learned on this topic in your online personal research?” Turns out there is not a lot of relevant information on the topic, but there is some, in fact, I have studied this dilemma the prior, perhaps we need more research on this. Maybe rather than giving depressed folks pharmaceuticals, we might instead test them for creativity, and move them into some sort of creative study, at least when it comes to kids in school. It’s a thought.
Interestingly enough, as a coordinator for a think tank which operates on the Internet, I’ve run across some wicked smart people, and some truly genius level creative types, and I have noticed at least some which do have mild depression now and again. It seems it may be something that just goes with the territory sometimes, and that’s why we have the stereotype, that we’ve all come to believe in. But, I’d warn the reader from buying into this line in every case, because, I’ve also observed folks who seem very even keel, and are definitely genius level innovators.
You see, stereotypes are fun to contemplate, and they are also worthy when profiling, but, they can be damaging too, and quite problematic. Therefore, be careful if you think that all creative geniuses are manically depressed, it simply is not so, in fact the chances are greater that they are not. However when pitted against over all society in percentages it is true that there are more chronically depressed or mildly depressed artists, painters, musicians, which fall into the genius category spectrum.
How Inventors Shape Our Lives Everyday
This article will focus on African-American Inventors who made products that we used almost every single day. These inventors created some amazing products that a lot of people didn’t know, but sadly in the era of Jim Crow, they never received the credit or for that matter reap in the fortune that they richly deserve. In some case, these inventors created the product and without providing a patent for their invention, told people about their new creation. Since the product was not patented, these people would go somewhere to steal… I mean…make their own product, slap their name on it and gain instant fame. While doing research in this topic, it is truly amazing to find out that each inventor made their product with very primitive material, unlike the technology that we have in today’s world.
Here’s the list of each inventor and their creation. You will be surprised by what is on the list!
Inventor—Invention —Date of Invention
A.P. Ashbourne—Biscuit Cutter—November 30, 1875
Benjamin Banneker —Almanac —1791
Patricia Bath —updated a device to remove cataracts—1988
Miriam Benjamin —”Gong and Signal” chair (Used in Hotels) — July 17,1888
Edward Berger—Spark Plug—February 2, 1839
Henry Blair—Seed Planting Device—October 14, 1834
Henry Blair—Cotton Planting Device—1836
Sarah Boone—Iron Board—December 30, 1897
Bordy and Surgwar Folding Chair June 11, 1889
Otis Boykin Control Unit for Pacemaker 1961
Benjamin Bradley—A Steam Powered Warship Engine— 1856
Henry Brown—Fire/Burglar Resistant Safe—November 2, 1886
L.A. Burr—Lawnmower—May 19, 1889
Charles Brooks—Street Sweeper—March 17, 1890
Lee Burridge & Newman Marshman—Typewriter—April 7, 1885
T.A. Carrington—Stove—July 25, 1876
George R. Curruthers—Far-Ultraviolet Camera and Spectrograph—November 11, 1969
W.C. Carter—Umbrella Stand—1885
George Washington Carver—Peanut Butter–1839
M.A. Cherry—Tricycle—May 6, 1886
G. Cook—Auto Fishing Device—May 30, 1899
A.L. Cralle—Ice Cream Scooper—February 2, 1897
David Crosthwaut, Jr.—Heating System for Radio City Music Hall— 1934
George Crum—Potato Chip— 1853
Mark Dean–Led his team to create 1st gigahertz computer processor chip—1999
O. Dorsey—Door Stop—December 10, 1878
Paul Downing—Mail Box—October 27, 1891
Charles Drew—Blood Plasma—1945
T. Elikins—Chamber Commode—January 3, 1897
Henry Faulkner—Ventilated Shoe—1890
O.A. Fisher—Furniture Caster—1878
Robert Flemming Jr. Guitar March 3, 1866
Sarah E. Goode–Folding Bed–July 14, 1885
George Grant—Golf Tee—December 12, 1899
William S. Grant—Curtain Rod Support—August 4, 1896
Blessie Blount Griffin—An electronic feeding device for amputees—1951
Michael C. Harvey— Lantern—August 19, 1884
Joseph Hawkins—Metal Oven Rack—1800′s
L.R. Johnson–Bicycle Frame–October 10, 1899
Lonnie Johnson–Super Soaker–November 13, 1989
P. Johnson—Eye Protector—November 2, 1880
Willie Johnson—Egg Beater—February 5, 1884
Frederick M. Jones—Movie Ticket Dispenser—June, 1939
Frederick M. Jones—Motor—June 27, 1939
Frederick M. Jones—Air Condtioning Unit—July 12, 1949
Lewis Latimer—Electric Lightbulb—March 21, 1882
Joseph Lee—Automatic Bread Making Machine—August 7, 1894
Joseph Lee—Bread Crumb Machine June 4, 1895
F.D. Loudin—Key Chain—January 9, 1894
J.C. Love—Pencil Sharpener—November 27, 1897
W.A. Martin—Lock—July 23, 1889
Alexander Miles—Elevator—October 11, 1867
Garrett Morgan—Gas Mask—October 13, 1914
Garrett Morgan—Traffic Light—November 20, 1923
Lydia O. Newman—Hair Brush—November 15,1898
Robert Pelham—Tabulation Device—December 19, 1905
Robert Pelham—Tallying Machine for U.S. Census—1913
Walter Purvis—Hand Stamp—February 27, 1883
William B. Purvis—Fountain Pen—January 7, 1890
Lawrence P. Ray—Dust Pan—August 3, 1897
John W. Reed—Rolling Pin—1864
A.C. Richard—Insect Destroyer Gun—February 28, 1899
W. H. Richardson—Baby Carriage—June 18, 1889
J. Ricks—Horseshoe—March 30, 1885
James Robinson—Lunch/Dinner Pail—February 1, 1887
G. T. Sampson—Clothes Dryer—June 6, 1862
Henry Sampson—Cell Phone—July 6, 1971
S.R Scratton—Curtain Rod—November 30, 1889
John Standard—Refrigerator—June 14, 1891
Thomas Stewart—Mop—June 11, 1893
Benjamin Thornton–A device that was the precursor to the Answer Machine—November 10, 1931
Madame C.J. Walker—Straightening Comb—1905
Ulysses S Walton—Dentures— March 23, 1943
John Thomas White—Lemon Squeezer—December 8, 1893
Jerome Wicks–Patio Door Lock and WindowGuard Protection—April 20, 1982
Daniel Hale Williams—1st Successful Open Heart Surgery—July 9, 1893
Joseph Winters–Fire Escape Ladder–May 7, 1878
Granville T. Woods—Auto Cut-off Switch—January 1, 1839
Granville T. Woods—Phone Transmitter—December 2, 1884
It’s a shame that the majority of theses inventors did not live enough to gain the recognition that they deserve. The goal of this article is to shed light on these great people and their contributions to society.