Lewis Howard Latimer

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Lewis Howard Latimer (September 4, 1848 – December 11, 1928) was an American entrepreneur and patent draftsman for the lightbulb and telephone.

Early life and family

Lewis Howard Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848, the youngest of Rebecca Latimer (1823-1910) and George Latimer (1818–1897)'s four children. Lewis' mother and father escaped from slavery in Virginia and moved to Chelsea, Massachusetts, on October 4, 1842. On the day they arrived in Boston, George was recognized by a colleague of his former slave owner and was arrested a few days later, on October 20, 1842. George's appeal attracted a lot of attention; he was portrayed by Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. In Chelsea, Massachusetts, he was eventually able to buy his freedom and live with his family.

As Latimer was young, he spent time (before his father's departure) helping his father in his barbershop. Lewis Latimer spent time with his father at night hanging wallpaper.

When Latimer was ten years old, his mother decided to split the family after the Dred Scott case found that individual slaves had to have the permission of their owner in order to become free; many slaves, like the Latimers, had lived free before fleeing into free states and becoming state citizens, but many slaves would not be returned to their owners if caught by interstate slave trappers. Lewis's father, George Latimer, had to leave his family's life because he had no evidence that he was free from slavery. He fled in order to shield his family.

Lewis and his brothers were sent to a farm school after his father had to flee and his mother had to divide the family, and his siblings were sent to stay with a family friend.

Lewis Howard Latimer joined the United States Navy at the age of 16 on September 16, 1864, and served as a Landsman on the USS Massasoit. After being awarded an honorable discharge from the US Navy on July 3, 1865, he began working as an office boy with Crosby Halstead and Gould, a patent law firm, earning $3.00 per week. He learned how to use a set square, ruler, and other drafting devices. Later, after his boss recognized his talent for sketching patent drawings, Latimer was promoted to head draftsman, earning $20.00 a week by 1872 ($438.59 today).

Lewis H. Latimer married Mary Wilson Lewis on November 15, 1873 in Fall River, Massachusetts. Mary was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and was the niece of Louisa M. and William Lewis. Emma Jeanette (1883–1978) and Louise Rebecca (1890–1963) were the couple's two children. Jeanette married Gerald Fitzherbert Norman, the first black person hired as a high school coach in the New York City public school system, and had two children: Winifred Latimer Norman (1914–2014), a social worker who served as the guardian of her grandfather's legacy, and Gerald Latimer Norman (1911–1990), who became an administrative law judge.

In 1879, Latimer and his mother, Rebecca, and his brother, William, moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, along with his father, Robert. They settled in "Little Liberia," a neighborhood that had been established in the early nineteenth century by free blacks. (The landmarked Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses are the last living buildings on this community's original foundations.) George A. Latimer and his brother, Jane, Janet, Margaretus T. Hawley, and their children were among the family members who were still living there, as well as her sister, Margaretus T. Hawley. In 1924, Mary was born in Bridgeport.

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Career

The Water Closet for Railroad Cars, which Latimer co-patented (with Charles M. Brown), was invented in 1874 (U.S. Patent 147,363).

Alexander Graham Bell's 1876 employs Latimer, then a draftsman at Bell's patent law firm, to draft the necessary drawings for Bell's telephone.

He moved to Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1879, and was recruited as assistant manager and draftsman for the United States Electric Lighting Company, a competitor of Thomas A. Edison. When Latimer was there, he invented a new method for producing carbon filaments aimed at reducing breakages during the carbonization process. During carbonization, this modification consisted of inserting filament blanks inside a cardboard envelope. He supervised the entire process for making Maxim lights, including glassblowing in 9 months in order to get the factory up and running in England.

He was accepted to work with Thomas Edison in 1884. In addition to the Edison work, he was also responsible for translating data into German and French as well as gathering the necessary details.

"Apparatus for cooling and disinfecting" was also a precursor to the air conditioner created by Latimer.

Latimer, a pioneer in 1894, sought a patent on a safety elevator that prevented the riders from falling out and into the shaft.

In 1924, after the Board of Patent Control dissolved Latimer, he went on to work with Hammer and Schwartz until he retired.

On February 11, 1918, Latimer joined the Edison Pioneers. Lewis Latimer was the first person of color to join this group of 100.

On September 13th, 1881, Latimer received a patent for the "Electric Lamp," an improved way to produce light using electricity, and another on January 17, 1882, an improved way to produce carbon filaments for lightbulbs.

In 1884, the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City recruited Latimer as a draftsman and an expert witness in patent litigation on electric lights. Incandescent Electric Lighting (1890), Latimer's first book on electric lighting (1990) and oversaw the installation of public electric lights in New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London.

He began working in the legal department when the Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1892.

He began as a patent consultant to law firms in 1911.

Lewis Howard Latimer joined the United States Navy at the age of 15 on September 16, 1863, and served as a Landsman on the USS Massasoit. Since being lauded by the US Navy on July 3, 1865, he began working as an office boy with a patent law firm, Crosby Halstead and Gould, earning a $10.00 per week salary. He learned how to use a set square, ruler, and other drafting devices. Later, Latimer was promoted to the position of head draftsman after his manager recognized his talent for sketching patent drawings.

Despite the fact that Latimer was no longer serving in the military, he remained patriotic. He was a founding and active participant of the Grand Army of the Republic. He served as both secretary and adjutant.

Latimer performed the violin and flute, made portraits, and wrote plays.

He was a pioneer of civil rights from the beginning. Lewis wrote a letter in 1895 about equality, safety, and opportunity in association with the National Conference of Colored Men.

At the Henry Street Settlement in New York, Latimer taught English and drafting courses to refugees.

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