Lewis Latimer

Lewis Latimer was a famous African American inventor. His parents escaped from slavery but his father was later arrested and tried as a slave fugitive. Latimer enlisted in the Union Navy and later started working as a draftsman. Latimer developed a talent for drafting and excelled due to his creativity. He developed a carbon filament for the U.S. Electric Light company. His invention lead to mass production of the light bulb.  He also supervised the instillation of these lights in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London. Latimer later worked for Thomas Edison as his original draftsman. Latimer possessed many talents. As an inventor, author, poet, engineer and draftsman, Latimer was able to be the pioneer in the engineering as the only African American in his field.