Three Black Inventors Who’ve Changed Your Life For The Better

February is Black History Month and is a time to celebrate African-American individuals who have changed their community.

Originally created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, the celebration was originally termed “Negro History Week” and was limited to the second week of February. But it was impossible to remember so many important figures in only a week, and the celebration soon became a month-long annual event.

“Black History Month is a time to acknowledge or celebrate what all the black people did for the black community,” says Eastside freshman Elijah Thornton.

Here are three black inventors whose work not only impacted their community but ours as well.

Alexander Miles

“I think it is time that the nation should awaken to the fact that the negro is a citizen and not a pest.”

Ever ridden an elevator? Well, you can thank Alexander Miles for keeping you safe. He invented a mechanism that could trigger shaft doors to open and close so people could have a safe ride without the risk of falling. Alexander was born in Duluth, Minnesota. He didn’t have any siblings, children, or even a spouse. He did, however, enjoy cutting people’s hair in his spare time. He passed away on May 7, 1918.

Lewis Latimer

“We create our future, by well improving present opportunities, however few and small they be.”

Thomas Edison may be remembered for inventing the lightbulb, but Lewis Latimer made the lightbulb much more practical. His invention with fixing the light bulb helped make electric lighting easier and affordable for the average household. Not only that, he helped contributing to inventing of the first telephone. Lewis Howard Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, due to parents who had fled slavery. He went on to work with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell before dying on December 11, 1928.

Dr. Patricia Bath

“Do not allow your mind to be imprisoned by majority thinking. Remember that the limits of science are not the limits of imagination.”

Dr. Patricia Bath created a laser tool that has helped restore or improve vision in patients worldwide. That device is known as the Laserphaco Probe and has been used to treat cataracts since 1986. She is the first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute and the first woman to lead a post-graduate training program in ophthalmology. In addition, she is the first woman elected as the honorary staff of the UCLA Medical Center. Patricia is currently 76 years old and lives in Harlem, New York.