Habit is a powerful means of advancement, and the habit of eternal vigilance and diligence, rarely fails to bring substantial reward. -Lewis Latimer
Lewis Latimer, inventor, and engineer was best known for his part in the patenting of the light bulb and the telephone, with both Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell. Lewis Howard Latimer was born in on September 4, 1848, Chelsea, Massachusetts to George and Rebaccah Latimer, two escaped and freed slaves. In 1857, shortly after the Dredd Scott decision, Lattimer’s father left the family and was never seen again. At the age of 16, Latimer lied about his age to join the Navy during the Civil War.1
After an honorable discharge, Latimer began working at a patent firm, where he worked his way up from “office boy” to draftsman, teaching himself to draw by watching other draftsmen as they worked. In 1874, Latimer, with W.C. Brown, the “train water closet,” hailed as the new and improved bathroom compartment for trains. Two years later, Latimer was approached by Alexander Graham Bell and asked that he do a draft drawing of a brand new device he created for patent submission. And, on February 14, 1876, the patent proposal was offered for the first and only telephone, just hours before a similar invention from Elisha Gray. In 1880, Latimer accepted an assistant manager and draftsman for Hiram Maxim, at the U.S Electric Lighting Company, Thomas Edison’s biggest rival. Maxim sought to improve Edison’s 1879 lightbulb invention by adding to its brief lifespan. Latimer created a new way of encasing the filament that prevented the carbon filament from breaking. This method made the lightbulb last longer and less expensive. From this work, Latimer became well known for his abilities to improve upon electric lighting. He went to help install electric plants in New York, Philadelphia, and Montreal. In 1890, Latimer was hired by Thomas Edison, as chief draftsman and patent expert2 and, later that year, he wrote a book on electric lighting, “Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System.” Latimer’s legacy lives on in his many contributions to the patent and invention world. Latimer died on December 11, 1928, leaving a long legacy of success and contributions to the inventing world.3
To learn more about Lewis Latimer, visit:
https://www.thoughtco.com/lewis-latimer-profile-1992098
https://aaregistry.org/story/lewis-latimer-drew-the-first-electric-light-blueprints/
1. https://www.biography.com/people/lewis-howard-latimer-9374422
2. http://blackinventor.com/lewis-latimer/
3. https://ethw.org/Lewis_Latimer