Celebrating Black Inventors and Innovators: Part Two

Ready for part two of “Celebrating Black Inventors”? Here’s Doug with more!

Museum Interpreter, Doug Daye

Guitar

Watercolor of man with guitar by artist Wayman Adams (from the Villa Finale Collection).

Robert Flemming Jr. a former civil war veteran and former slave, had the guitar patented on March 3rd, 1886. He also received a Canadian patent on April 5, 1887. Flemming’s guitar, which was called the “Euphonica,” produced a louder and more resonant sound than the traditional guitars. With the success of his guitar, he went on to become a music teacher and run his own guitar manufacturing business. Flemming’s guitar design is still used to this day!

Player Piano & Arm for Record Player

Villa Finale’s 1957 Decca HiFi record player can only be viewed during our special “Music for Your Eyes” tours (from the Villa Finale Collection).

Joseph Dickenson was a musical instrument designer born in Canada in 1855. He moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1870, where he joined the very prominent Clough and Warren Organ Company designing his own successful line of reed organs. He also developed new devices to improve the function of the previous player pianos. Dickinson’s new piano could begin playing at any point in the musical roll and did not have to start at the beginning. His new player pianos became highly sought after. His invention was patented on June 11, 1912.

He received a number of other patents for his musical inventions, including the arm for the record player which he received a patent for on January 8, 1918.

Electric Lamp

One of the many lamps with lusters found throughout Villa Finale (from the Villa Finale Collection).

While Thomas Edison is credited with the invention of the light bulb, it was Lewis Latimerwho had the idea to create the electric lamp with his partner Joseph N. Nichols. After fighting briefly in the Civil War, Latimer went to receive work as an office assistant at a patent firm where he fostered his skill for drafting and was soon able to do blueprint work. This gained the attention of Alexander Graham Bell who had him draw blueprints for the telephone. He went on to work for Hiram Maxim whose United States Electric Company was in competition with Thomas Edison. Latimer supervised the installation of the electric light bulb in various locations but came up with the idea to create a longer lasting bulb which used carbon filaments, resulting in the creation of the electric lamp. He and Nichols patented the electric lamp on September 18, 1881 and went on to work for Edison himself.

To learn more about Lewis Latimer, check out this article from the National Trust for Historic Preservation!

https://savingplaces.org/stories/a-new-york-city-museum-shines-a-spotlight-lewis-latimer#.YkWx2ijMLIU

Stay tuned for Part 3!!