IP Legacies: Celebrating Black Inventors

In honour of Black History Month, we are proud to present IP Legacies: Celebrating Black Inventors.

This February series celebrates Black inventors’ contributions to the global IP landscape – from foundational patents to blueprints for today’s essential technologies across industries.

Week 3: Health & Climate Innovators

Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928)

Lewis Howard Latimer was a Black American inventor and patent practitioner whose work was central to the development and commercialization of the incandescent light bulb. As inventor of US Patents. 252,386 and 255,212, and coinventor on U.S. 247,097 (with Joseph V. Nichols), he improved incandescent lamps and carbonfilament manufacturing, enabling more durable, economical bulbs. Beyond his own patents, Latimer drafted patents inhouse for leading electrical companies and served as a technical expert in infringement disputes.

Patricia E. Bath (1942-2019)

Dr. Patricia Bath was a Black ophthalmologist whose groundbreaking work redefined the treatment of blindness. She is known most notably for her invention of the Laserphaco Probe, which revolutionized cataract treatment. In 1988, she was granted US Patent 4,744,360 covering an apparatus using laser photoablation to vaporize and suction out clouded lenses through a tiny incision, reducing trauma and recover time. Dr. Bath’s legacy in the legal and medical fields is also marked by her commitment to "Community Ophthalmology," a discipline she co-founded to ensure that life-changing medical care reaches underserved communities.

Alice H. Parker (1895-1920)

Alice H. Parker, a Black inventor from New Jersey, patented an early zoned central-hearing system. In 1919, she was granted US Patent 1,325,905, titled “Heating Furnace”, which describes a naturalgas furnace with multiple individually controlled burners feeding air ducts to rooms, replacing risky wood/coal fires with efficient, adjustable heat. Though commercialization was difficult due to regulation challenges, Parker’s design laid the foundation for forcedair HVAC and zone heating relied on today.

Frederick McKinley Jones (1893-1961)

Frederick McKinley Jones was a Black American engineer whose patented innovations fundamentally reshaped global logistics and made modern refrigerated transport possible. After co-founding Thermo King with his business partner, Joseph Numero, he developed a series of inventions related to mobile refrigeration, including US Patent 2,303,857 for a self-contained air-conditioning unit mounted on vehicles. Jones ultimately was granted over 50 US patents covering truck, railcar, and portable refrigeration, replacing ice-and-salt and enabling global cold-chain logistics for food, blood, and medicine.

Week 2: Everyday Essentials & Reliability

Thomas L. Jennings (1791-1859)

Thomas L. Jennings, a New York tailor and abolitionist, became the first recorded Black American to receive a US patent. His US Patent 3306x (March 3, 1821) covers “dry scouring” (dry cleaning), using solvents and volatile fluids to clean fabrics without water—safer and more effective than wet washing. Jennings also enforced his IP rights in court, winning damages from infringers. 

Dr. Lonnie Johnson (born 1949)

Dr. Lonnie Johnson is a former Black NASA engineer and nuclear scientist whose contributions to IP span from clean energy technology to consumer products. While he holds over 250 US patents, he is best known for inventing the Super Soaker water gun. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Johnson was granted a family of “squirt gun” patents, including US Patent 4,591,071 for high-performance pressurized air water toys that became top-selling products worldwide. His extensive patent portfolio also includes the Johnson Thermo-Electrochemical Converter (JTEC), an advanced energy system that converts heat directly into electricity.  

George F. Grant (1846-1910)

Dr. George Franklin Grant (1846–1910), the first Black faculty member at Harvard Dental School and a pioneering dentist, patented the modern golf tee. On December 12, 1899, he was granted US Patent 638,920. Before Grant’s invention, golfers typically manually built mounds of wet sand to elevate the ball for tee shots—a messy and inconsistent process. Grant’s invention introduced a wooden peg with a tapered base and a flexible rubber head, allowing the ball to sit securely while providing minimal resistance upon impact. His innovative design transformed the game of golf.

Elijah McCoy (1844-1929)

Elijah McCoy, a Black Canadian born engineer, transformed rail safety with automatic lubricators. His US Patent No. 129,843 (1872) and dozens of follow ons enabled continuous oiling of train axles without stopping, boosting speed and reliability—earning the phrase “the real McCoy.” Holding over 50 U.S. patents, McCoy exemplifies how incremental IP innovation drives industrial scalability.

Week 1: Urban Safety Pioneers

Garrett A. Morgan (1877-1963)

Garrett A. Morgan was a Black American inventor and entrepreneur whose patents reshaped public safety on streets and in hazardous workplaces.  In 1914 he was granted U.S. Patents 1,090,936 and 1,113,675 for a “breathing device” or safety hood—an early gas mask to protect wearers from smoke and fumes, widely recognized as a forerunner to WWI gas masks and famously worn in a 1916 Lake Erie tunnel rescue. Nearly a decade later, he was granted US 1,475,024 for a three‑position traffic signal that briefly stopped traffic in all directions, allowing an intersection to clear and pedestrians to cross safely. This invention introduced a “caution” phase that laid the foundation for today’s red‑amber‑green lights.

Thomas J. Martin (1844-1927)

Thomas J. Martin was a Black American inventor who patented a pioneering building-wide fire suppression system – one of the earliest precursors to modern automated sprinkler systems. Moving beyond portable canisters, Martin’s US Patent 125,063 covers a system designed to channel water from a reservoir through a network of valves and nozzles built directly into a structure (e.g. houses, factories, etc.). His legacy remains a cornerstone of fire safety engineering.

 Mary Van Brittan Brown (1922-1999)

Mary Van Brittan Brown was a Black nurse who invented the first home security system. With her husband, Albert L. Brown, she was granted US Patent 3,482,037 in 1969 for a closed-circuit TV system (CCTV) featuring a motorized camera that moved between four peepholes, a monitor to view guests, a two-way microphone for communication, and a remote-controlled door-unlocking mechanism. It also included a police-alert button. Her innovative integrated system laid the foundations for the modern smart-home industry.

Alexander Miles (1838-1918)

Alexander Miles, a Black inventor and businessman from Minnesota, whose innovations transformed urban architecture and passenger safety. Before his contributions, elevator use was known to be dangerous with manual doors frequently left open, leading to tragic falls down elevator shafts. Miles addressed this critical safety gap through his U.S. Patent 371,207 (October 11, 1887) that made elevators dramatically safer. His design introduced a mechanism that automatically opened and closed both the elevator cage and shaft doors. Levers and rollers on the cage also synced door operation at floors via curved grooves, eliminating manual errors that caused deadly accidents. Miles’ design was a significant leap forward in mechanical safety.