<b>Lewis H. Latimer</b>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><img style="width: 181px; height: 259px;" src="http://www.nabtp.org/news/newsarchive/365blackhistory/latimer.gif"/>


Black Inventor, Louis Howard Latimer, Died On December 11, 1928, In New York.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">Latimer Was Born In Chelsea, Massachusetts And Was The <span style="font-style: italic;">Only Black Member</span> Of The <span style="font-style: italic;">Edison Pioneers</span>, An Organization Of Scientists Who Worked With Thomas Edison.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">On January 17 1882, <span style="font-style: italic;">U.S. Patent No. 252,386</span> Was Assigned To Latimer For The Process Of Manufacturing Carbons. The Process Significantly Improved The Quality Of Carbon Filaments Found In Electric Lamps.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">Latimer Had Earlier Patented An Electric Lamp, Commonly Referred To As The Latimer Lamp, That Was Widely Used In His Day. Earlier He Received Patents For A Pivoting Bottom For Train Bathrooms And Water Closets That Opened And Closed Automatically.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Master Draftsman, Latimer Prepared The Drawings For Alexander Graham Bell's 1876 Patent Application For The Telephone.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">In Additition To His Technical Skills, Latimer Also dabbled In Writing Poetry. "<span style="font-style: italic;">In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It</span>." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr</span>