Since its inception in 1926, Black History Month has gained a lot of popularity and cultural acceptance in the United States. It is important because it celebrates a valuable part of America’s history that helped shape the country into what it is today. Each year, there are new faces joining the innovation economy, making major contributions and gaining larger roles within their organizations.It also celebrates people who work hard against all odds to achieve success for themselves and their communities. We want to shine a light on Black History by honoring some of the many Black innovators in telecommunications, who not only inspired new advancements in the industry, but also shaped our world for the better in so many ways.
Granville T. Woods
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Granville T. Woods, also known as “Black Edison” , established a company in Cincinnati to develop, manufacture, and sell electrical railroad equipment. During his lifetime, he registered almost 60 patents, including a telephone transmitter, a trolley wheel, and a multiplex telegraph (over which he defeated a lawsuit by Thomas Edison).
Woods was one of the most prolific inventors during the 19th century. He invented the “telegraphony”, which would allow a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages through Morse Code over a single wire.. In 1896, Woods even created a system for controlling electrical lights in theaters, known as the "safety dimmer”, which was economical, safe, and efficient, saving 40% of electricity use.And yet when it came time to receive recognition for his work, he became more famous for being an African American inventor than for his actual inventions.
In 2008, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in Washington D.C., and Woods was one of several black innovators honored at that inauguration ceremony. Nevertheless, despite his talent and creativity, Woods never received any formal recognition from Thomas Edison or the scientific community that he helped inspire with his inventions.
Otis F. Boykin
In the early years of television, televisions were not as portable as they are today. Before the advent of transistor technology, home televisions needed to be plugged in or otherwise powered by a power converter.
Tall, thin screen tubes (known as cathode ray tubes) needed a precision resistor to control their brightness and contrast. The resistor was mounted within the television set at the antenna socket, to which it was connected via wires strung on a wire harness. This was a delicate operation involving precision soldering if the resistor had to be replaced.
The invention of the transistor and its use in radios meant that all radios could now be battery-powered and tuned with dials instead of requiring a power converter or external power supply.
Boykin's solution was to create an adjustable resistor into which the television's antenna socket was mounted. He placed another component inside the television set itself, often called a preamplifier or TV RF amplifier, which boosted the signal from the antenna socket so that it didn't have to be so precise in order to control brightness.
Henry T. Sampson
Henry T. Sampson is a prolific inventor who holds several U.S. patents. In 1967, he became the first African American in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering – a field in which he excelled greatly. He is also a pioneer in the technology that is used in cellular phones.
His inventions have been cited by many modern cell phone manufacturers and he has received several honors for his work, including the Atomic Energy Commission Award (1964-67) and Black Image Award from Aerospace Corporation (1982).
From 1956-61, Sampson worked as a Research Chemical Engineer at the US Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, CA, in high-energy solid propellants and case-bonding materials for solid-rocket motors. "The US Naval Ordinance Test Station was a godsend. When I graduated from Purdue, I found many companies would not hire an African-American engineer," state Sampson.
On July 6, 1971, Sampson was awarded a patent with George H. Miley for the invention of the gamma-electric cell, a direct-conversion energy device that converts the energy generated from the radiation of high-energy gamma rays into electricity.
Other patents include a binder system for rocket propellants and explosives and a case-bonding system for cast-composite rocket propellants, both related to the manufacturing and production of solid-propellant rocket motors.
Conclusion
The vision and imagination required to move forward and look toward the future is what made these individuals geniuses, and they all had something to contribute to the world. We hope that you will find inspiration in their stories and start looking forward toward a new tenet of technology. These men have paved the way for you to excel as a brilliant innovator in today’s technological society.
