BIHOF is a 501c3 - Celebrating - Marjorie Joyner & James A.Parsons NIHF Inductees
175 N. Main St. Wharton, NJ 07885
(862) 354 5545 | Email : jhoward@bihof.org
Black Inventors Gallery
Dr. Charles Drew 1940
Pioneered methods of storing blood plasma for transfusion . Process saved countless lives in WWII and following wars.
Garrett Morgan 1914/1923
Gas Mask/Three position traffic light
George Washington Carver
Agriculture/Crop Rotation/300 uses for the peanut. Hailed by Time Magazine in 1965 as the "Black Leonardo"
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
First successful surgery of the heart
Elijah McCoy 1872
Locomotive Lubricating Cup/Manufacturing. Help to revolutionize the RR industry
Patricia Bath 1986
Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment
Lonnie G. Johnson 1986
Super Soaker water gun/Gross $1 Billion
Sarah E. Goode
Closet Bed Economizes space
1885 One of the first AA Woman Patent holders
Onesimus/Small Pox Innovator 1721
Benjamin Montgomery 1864
Improved Steamboat Propeller
Percy Julian
Progesterone/testosterone from plant sterols/Human hormone
Granville T. Woods
Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. Synchronous telegraph patent sold to Alexander Bell. Leading to invention of telephone.
Thomas L. Jennings 1821
Inventor of Dry Cleaning
Madame C. J. Walker 1906
Created a line of African American hair products
Judy . W. Reed 1884
Signed her name to her Patented dough machine with an X . Another of the first AA woman patent holders
Mark Dean 1980
Cocreator of the IBM Personal Computer
Holds three of the nine patents on which the PC is built on
Dr. Betty Harris 1986
Patent identifying and determining the sensitivity level of explosives.
Dr. Shirley Jackson
Telecommunications developments
touch tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID, call waiting, and the fiber optic cables that make overseas phone calls crystal clear.
Janet Emerson Bashen 2006
First African American woman to obtain a software patent.
Jesse Russell 1992
Pioneer in next generation broadband wireless networks (4G)
digital cellular base station design.
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner 1956
Sanitary Belt and 4 other patents
Sarah Boone
Folding Ironing Board
1892
James E. West 1964
Electret Microphone
Marie Van Brittan Brown 1966
Patented First Home Security System
The predecessor to the popular Ring.com security systems of today
Fredrick McKinley Jones 1940
Refrigerated Truck/ co founder of Thermo King
Alexander Miles 1887
Automatic Elevator Doors
Ellen Eglin 1880's
In the April 1890 issue of Woman Inventor, the first publication about women inventors in the United States or Europe, Eglin gave her reasons for selling her invention:
You know I am black and if it was known that a Negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the wringer. I was afraid to be known because of my color in having it introduced into the market, that is the only reason
Norbert Rilleux 1881
the multiple-effect evaporator. This invention was an important development in the growth of the sugar industry.
Jan Matzeliger 1883
patented a shoe lasting machine that increased the availability of shoes
Henry Blair 1834
Henry Blair was the second African American inventor to receive a patent. He was born in Glen Ross, Maryland, United States in 1807. His first invention was the Seed-Planter, patented October 14, 1834
George Edward Alcorn 1984
imaging x-ray spectrometer
Charles Harrison
Designed hundreds of products for Sears
including the world's first successfully commercial plastic garbage can and the redesign of the ViewMaster Toy
In 2008, Harrison became the first African American designer awarded the Lifetime Achievement National Design Award by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Anna M. Mangin, 1892
Designed and patented an improved pastry fork. Unique features would go on to influence the design of future pie spatulas, pastry forks and house hold spatulas for generations. Debuted at the New York Afro-American Exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
Ken Johnson
Inventor of Phase 10, the second best selling card game in the world
Elliott Eddie
Inventor of the world's 1st and only STEM Certified Entrepreneur Board Game; the Entrepreneur Game by EESPEAKS
Dr. Gladys West
A Forgotten Hidden Figure
Identified as the Black woman behind GPS technology. Served as Project Manager on Seasat, the research team that provided the origins for GPS. Inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame
Andrew Jackson Beard
African American inventor, who introduced two improvements to the automatic railroad car coupler in 1897 and 1899, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio in 2006 for this achievement.
Simon Berry
Designer and Inventor of a closed market infrastructure system that allowed the Greenwood Tulsa district to flourish during the Black Wall Street era. Designs included a bus line, jitney service, chartered plane service, public park, and public pool.
Alfred L. Cralle 1897
African-American businessman and inventor of the "Ice Cream Mold and Disher" Commonly known as the ice cream scoop
Dr. Marian R. Croak
Inventor of Voice Over Internet Protocol
Few people realize that the person who invented VOIP is an African-American woman by the name of Dr. Marian R. Croak. She also has over 300 patents related to this technology. Dr. Croak has amassed more than 300 patents related to this and other technologies.
George Franklin Grant
This pioneering dentist was Harvard University's firsts African American faculty member. Grant was widely known both nationally and internationally for his skill in treating the cleft palate condition. He invented and patented a prosthetic device he called the oblate palate, worn by patients to help their palates move into proper physical alignment and allow them to speak and eat more normally. He is also the inventor of the common golf tee though he never realized any franchise from his invention. In 1991, the USGA acknowledged Grant as the original inventor of the golf tee
Dr. Aprille Ericsson
Dr. Aprille Ericsson was the first woman (and the first African American woman) to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering as a civil servant at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. As New Business Lead for the NASA GSFC Instrument Systems and Technology Division, she seeks to foster government partnerships that enable industry and small businesses to collaborate with universities to solve strategic R&D challenges faced by United States government agencies. She holds one patent
Dr. Ayanna Howard
Dr. Ayanna Howard is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Zyrobotics, a company that uses machine learning and robots to make educational toys for kids, with a particular emphasis on helping those with special needs. In addition, Howard is a professor at Georgia Tech, specializing in the intersection of machine learning and robotics. She holds three patents.(USPTO)
Dr. Arlyne Simon
Dr. Arlyne Simon is a biomedical engineer at Intel’s Health and Life Science business unit and the author of the Abby Invents picture book series. Simon has set out on a mission to encourage more young girls to become inventors. Her multicultural children’s products company called Timouns has reached more than 3,500 future inventors. She holds two patents(USPTO), including a blood test that detects when cancer patients reject bone marrow transplants
Charles Frederick Page
Born into slavery, and self taught. His 1906 patented designed airship patented in April 1906 preceded the patent of the Wright Bros. December 1906
Benjamin Banneker 1753
Built the first clock in America Banneker was the first one who engineered a clock in America. One of first to design an almanc in America. Noted also as a civil rights spokesman for his poignant letter he wrote to Jefferson.
Philip Emeagwali
Nigerian born mathematician and scientist. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize for price-performance in high-performance computing applications,. His high speed contributions to supercomputer technology would help lead to the development of the internet.
Michael Spears
Spearcision - Portable Electrosurgical Tool without Grounding Pad. Patented novel surgical tools allows surgeons to operate and cut with out blood incidence. Patented in numerous countries
Valerie Thomas - 1980
Valerie Thomas is an African American scientist and inventor best known for her patented illusion transmitter and contributions to NASA research. Her novel patented 3D Illusion Transmitter has made your 3D TV and modern medical imaging possible
John Stanard 1891
Patented improvement for refrigerators provided the world the model that has been in use ever since - the upper freezer and lower cooler chambers.
Newark NJ born native also invented a patented oil stove
George Robert Carruthers 1972
Was an African American inventor, physicist, engineer and space scientist. Carruthers perfected a compact and very powerful ultraviolet camera/spectrograph for NASA to use when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972. He designed it so astronauts could use it on the lunar surface, making all adjustments inside their bulky space suits
Edmond Albius
As a 12 year old slave, Edmond Albius, invented in 1841 the technique that made the vanilla industry possible. A technique still used today as nearly all vanilla is pollinated by hand. He revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla. Thanks to Edmond’s brilliance invention, vanilla ice cream remains the world’s favorite flavor.
Henry Boyd 1833
The Boyd Bedstead was a bed constructed with wooden rails and wood screws that connected the headboard and footboard giving the bed a firm
structure compared to other beds in the early 19th century. This invention was patented in 1833. This durable and sturdy construction is common in bedding styles today.
George Crum Potato Chip 1853
The Potato Chip Was Invented by a Black Man Named George Crum There are a few stories about the invention of the potato chip, but the most reliable ones all center around George Crum, a famous Black chef in the 19th century who served the wealthiest Americans and eventually opened his own wildly successful restaurant.
Lanny Smoot
First Disney Imagineer to a 100 Patents
DYNAMIC MEDIA CONTENT FOR IN-STORE SCREEN EXPERIENCES
Henry Thomas Sampson Jr.
American engineer, inventor created the gamma-electric cell in 1972
Richard Spikes
Pioneering inventor of numerous automotive products including the automatic gearshift (1932) and directional turn signal his gear shift
Victor B. Lawrence
Signal Processing in Telecommunication
US Patent Nos. 4,034,197
Victor Lawrence has improved transmission for the modern Internet
McKinley Thompson Jr.
A Ford designer who helped pen the first-generation Bronco, was the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Company after graduating from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California with a degree in transportation design in 1956.A
James A Parsons Jr.
Metallurgist James A. Parsons Jr. invented Durimet 20 stainless steel alloy. Developed in the 1930s, this corrosion-resistant alloy is used today in a wide range of industrial processes. Source: NIHF
Marjorie Stewart Joyner Pat. 1928
Invented a permanent wave machine and was a leading figure in the beauty industry as a beautician, salon owner, instructor and executive for the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Co. Source: NIHF
Henry Pickett 1874
Improved Scaffold Design
Patented one of the earliest the first rotary push lawn mower designed for close edge trimming and n
Patented one of the earliest the first rotary push lawn mower designed for close edge trimming and anti clogging
of grass clippings
James Harris 1970's
First African American male to the discovery of an element. James Andrew Harris was an American radiochemist who was involved in the discovery of elements 104 and 105.
Dr. Hadiyah - Nicole Green Patent 2021
Patented nanotechnology application offers up promising cure for cancer
Bonnie Calvin Bracy
The Inventor for the Brush for Cleaning Sink Drain Recesses and the like for "All Drains in America." 1994
Alice Augusta Ball 1915
Chemist/ Inventor of the "Ball Technique". A revolutionary injectable means for treating leporosy in early 20th century.
Dr. Felix Batts
Inventor of numerous non-lethal technology products.
Black Inventors Gallery
Dr. Charles Drew 1940
Pioneered methods of storing blood plasma for transfusion . Process saved countless lives in WWII and following wars.
Garrett Morgan 1914/1923
Gas Mask/Three position traffic light
George Washington Carver
Agriculture/Crop Rotation/300 uses for the peanut. Hailed by Time Magazine in 1965 as the "Black Leonardo"
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
First successful surgery of the heart
Elijah McCoy 1872
Locomotive Lubricating Cup/Manufacturing. Help to revolutionize the RR industry
Patricia Bath 1986
Laserphaco Probe for cataract treatment
Lonnie G. Johnson 1986
Super Soaker water gun/Gross $1 Billion
Sarah E. Goode
Closet Bed Economizes space
1885 One of the first AA Woman Patent holders
Onesimus/Small Pox Innovator 1721
Benjamin Montgomery 1864
Improved Steamboat Propeller
Percy Julian
Progesterone/testosterone from plant sterols/Human hormone
Granville T. Woods
Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. Synchronous telegraph patent sold to Alexander Bell. Leading to invention of telephone.
Thomas L. Jennings 1821
Inventor of Dry Cleaning
Madame C. J. Walker 1906
Created a line of African American hair products
Judy . W. Reed 1884
Signed her name to her Patented dough machine with an X . Another of the first AA woman patent holders
Mark Dean 1980
Cocreator of the IBM Personal Computer
Holds three of the nine patents on which the PC is built on
Dr. Betty Harris 1986
Patent identifying and determining the sensitivity level of explosives.
Dr. Shirley Jackson
Telecommunications developments
touch tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID, call waiting, and the fiber optic cables that make overseas phone calls crystal clear.
Janet Emerson Bashen 2006
First African American woman to obtain a software patent.
Jesse Russell 1992
Pioneer in next generation broadband wireless networks (4G)
digital cellular base station design.
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner 1956
Sanitary Belt and 4 other patents
Sarah Boone
Folding Ironing Board
1892
James E. West 1964
Electret Microphone
Marie Van Brittan Brown 1966
Patented First Home Security System
The predecessor to the popular Ring.com security systems of today
Fredrick McKinley Jones 1940
Refrigerated Truck/ co founder of Thermo King
Alexander Miles 1887
Automatic Elevator Doors
Ellen Eglin 1880's
In the April 1890 issue of Woman Inventor, the first publication about women inventors in the United States or Europe, Eglin gave her reasons for selling her invention:
You know I am black and if it was known that a Negro woman patented the invention, white ladies would not buy the wringer. I was afraid to be known because of my color in having it introduced into the market, that is the only reason
Norbert Rilleux 1881
the multiple-effect evaporator. This invention was an important development in the growth of the sugar industry.
Jan Matzeliger 1883
patented a shoe lasting machine that increased the availability of shoes
Henry Blair 1834
Henry Blair was the second African American inventor to receive a patent. He was born in Glen Ross, Maryland, United States in 1807. His first invention was the Seed-Planter, patented October 14, 1834
George Edward Alcorn 1984
imaging x-ray spectrometer
Charles Harrison
Designed hundreds of products for Sears
including the world's first successfully commercial plastic garbage can and the redesign of the ViewMaster Toy
In 2008, Harrison became the first African American designer awarded the Lifetime Achievement National Design Award by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
Anna M. Mangin, 1892
Designed and patented an improved pastry fork. Unique features would go on to influence the design of future pie spatulas, pastry forks and house hold spatulas for generations. Debuted at the New York Afro-American Exhibit at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
Ken Johnson
Inventor of Phase 10, the second best selling card game in the world
Elliott Eddie
Inventor of the world's 1st and only STEM Certified Entrepreneur Board Game; the Entrepreneur Game by EESPEAKS
Dr. Gladys West
A Forgotten Hidden Figure
Identified as the Black woman behind GPS technology. Served as Project Manager on Seasat, the research team that provided the origins for GPS. Inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame
Andrew Jackson Beard
African American inventor, who introduced two improvements to the automatic railroad car coupler in 1897 and 1899, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio in 2006 for this achievement.
Simon Berry
Designer and Inventor of a closed market infrastructure system that allowed the Greenwood Tulsa district to flourish during the Black Wall Street era. Designs included a bus line, jitney service, chartered plane service, public park, and public pool.
Alfred L. Cralle 1897
African-American businessman and inventor of the "Ice Cream Mold and Disher" Commonly known as the ice cream scoop
Dr. Marian R. Croak
Inventor of Voice Over Internet Protocol
Few people realize that the person who invented VOIP is an African-American woman by the name of Dr. Marian R. Croak. She also has over 300 patents related to this technology. Dr. Croak has amassed more than 300 patents related to this and other technologies.
George Franklin Grant
This pioneering dentist was Harvard University's firsts African American faculty member. Grant was widely known both nationally and internationally for his skill in treating the cleft palate condition. He invented and patented a prosthetic device he called the oblate palate, worn by patients to help their palates move into proper physical alignment and allow them to speak and eat more normally. He is also the inventor of the common golf tee though he never realized any franchise from his invention. In 1991, the USGA acknowledged Grant as the original inventor of the golf tee
Dr. Aprille Ericsson
Dr. Aprille Ericsson was the first woman (and the first African American woman) to receive a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Howard University and the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in engineering as a civil servant at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. As New Business Lead for the NASA GSFC Instrument Systems and Technology Division, she seeks to foster government partnerships that enable industry and small businesses to collaborate with universities to solve strategic R&D challenges faced by United States government agencies. She holds one patent
Dr. Ayanna Howard
Dr. Ayanna Howard is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of Zyrobotics, a company that uses machine learning and robots to make educational toys for kids, with a particular emphasis on helping those with special needs. In addition, Howard is a professor at Georgia Tech, specializing in the intersection of machine learning and robotics. She holds three patents.(USPTO)
Dr. Arlyne Simon
Dr. Arlyne Simon is a biomedical engineer at Intel’s Health and Life Science business unit and the author of the Abby Invents picture book series. Simon has set out on a mission to encourage more young girls to become inventors. Her multicultural children’s products company called Timouns has reached more than 3,500 future inventors. She holds two patents(USPTO), including a blood test that detects when cancer patients reject bone marrow transplants
Charles Frederick Page
Born into slavery, and self taught. His 1906 patented designed airship patented in April 1906 preceded the patent of the Wright Bros. December 1906
Benjamin Banneker 1753
Built the first clock in America Banneker was the first one who engineered a clock in America. One of first to design an almanc in America. Noted also as a civil rights spokesman for his poignant letter he wrote to Jefferson.
Philip Emeagwali
Nigerian born mathematician and scientist. He won the 1989 Gordon Bell Prize for price-performance in high-performance computing applications,. His high speed contributions to supercomputer technology would help lead to the development of the internet.
Michael Spears
Spearcision - Portable Electrosurgical Tool without Grounding Pad. Patented novel surgical tools allows surgeons to operate and cut with out blood incidence. Patented in numerous countries
Valerie Thomas - 1980
Valerie Thomas is an African American scientist and inventor best known for her patented illusion transmitter and contributions to NASA research. Her novel patented 3D Illusion Transmitter has made your 3D TV and modern medical imaging possible
John Stanard 1891
Patented improvement for refrigerators provided the world the model that has been in use ever since - the upper freezer and lower cooler chambers.
Newark NJ born native also invented a patented oil stove
George Robert Carruthers 1972
Was an African American inventor, physicist, engineer and space scientist. Carruthers perfected a compact and very powerful ultraviolet camera/spectrograph for NASA to use when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972. He designed it so astronauts could use it on the lunar surface, making all adjustments inside their bulky space suits
Edmond Albius
As a 12 year old slave, Edmond Albius, invented in 1841 the technique that made the vanilla industry possible. A technique still used today as nearly all vanilla is pollinated by hand. He revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla. Thanks to Edmond’s brilliance invention, vanilla ice cream remains the world’s favorite flavor.
Henry Boyd 1833
The Boyd Bedstead was a bed constructed with wooden rails and wood screws that connected the headboard and footboard giving the bed a firm
structure compared to other beds in the early 19th century. This invention was patented in 1833. This durable and sturdy construction is common in bedding styles today.
George Crum Potato Chip 1853
The Potato Chip Was Invented by a Black Man Named George Crum There are a few stories about the invention of the potato chip, but the most reliable ones all center around George Crum, a famous Black chef in the 19th century who served the wealthiest Americans and eventually opened his own wildly successful restaurant.
Lanny Smoot
First Disney Imagineer to a 100 Patents
DYNAMIC MEDIA CONTENT FOR IN-STORE SCREEN EXPERIENCES
Henry Thomas Sampson Jr.
American engineer, inventor created the gamma-electric cell in 1972
Richard Spikes
Pioneering inventor of numerous automotive products including the automatic gearshift (1932) and directional turn signal his gear shift
Victor B. Lawrence
Signal Processing in Telecommunication
US Patent Nos. 4,034,197
Victor Lawrence has improved transmission for the modern Internet
McKinley Thompson Jr.
A Ford designer who helped pen the first-generation Bronco, was the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Company after graduating from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California with a degree in transportation design in 1956.A
James A Parsons Jr.
Metallurgist James A. Parsons Jr. invented Durimet 20 stainless steel alloy. Developed in the 1930s, this corrosion-resistant alloy is used today in a wide range of industrial processes. Source: NIHF
Marjorie Stewart Joyner Pat. 1928
Invented a permanent wave machine and was a leading figure in the beauty industry as a beautician, salon owner, instructor and executive for the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Co. Source: NIHF
Henry Pickett 1874
Improved Scaffold Design
Patented one of the earliest the first rotary push lawn mower designed for close edge trimming and n
Patented one of the earliest the first rotary push lawn mower designed for close edge trimming and anti clogging
of grass clippings
James Harris 1970's
First African American male to the discovery of an element. James Andrew Harris was an American radiochemist who was involved in the discovery of elements 104 and 105.
Dr. Hadiyah - Nicole Green Patent 2021
Patented nanotechnology application offers up promising cure for cancer
Bonnie Calvin Bracy
The Inventor for the Brush for Cleaning Sink Drain Recesses and the like for "All Drains in America." 1994
Alice Augusta Ball 1915
Chemist/ Inventor of the "Ball Technique". A revolutionary injectable means for treating leporosy in early 20th century.
Dr. Felix Batts
Inventor of numerous non-lethal technology products.