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American inventors :American inventors Created by :
Kiala jamison
AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS :AFRICAN AMERICAN INVENTORS Lewis latimer
Yet most accounts of the light bulb do not even mention Latimer. His granddaughter, Winifred Latimer Norman, a member of Fourth Universalist Society in New York City, cites two reasons: the color of his skin and the lot of the salaried researcher. Latimer worked for two electric companies, including Edison’s, who claimed the profit and patents on most of his inventions.
Latimer’s creativity extended far beyond electricity. Among inventions he patented himself were a forerunner of the air conditioner and a locking coat rack. He played the flute and violin. He wrote a book of poetry and a play that was produced. Even his book about incandescent lighting shows his poetic side: “Like the light of the sun, it beautifies all things on which it shines, and is no less welcome in the palace than in the humblest home.”
Corresponding with black intellectuals, Latimer insisted on full citizenship and integration of African Americans into society. He bought a large house in the mostly white borough of Queens, which is now a museum in his honor. And in 1908 he helped found what is now the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Queens, where his portrait hangs in the sanctuary.
Next fall the congregation will begin a yearlong centennial celebration.