Although Thomas Edison is recognized as the inventor of the light bulb, it was Lewis Howard Latimer who played an important role in the development of the device.  In 1881, he patented a method for making carbon filaments, allowing light bulbs to burn for hours instead of minutes.  To add to that, he also drafted the drawings that helped Alexander Graham Bell receive his patent for the telephone!

Lewis Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on 04 September 1848.  He was an inventor and engineer and the youngest of four children born to George and Rebecca Latimer, who had escaped from slavery in Virginia, six years before he was born.  Captured in Boston and brought to trial as a fugitive, George Latimer was defended by abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.  George, his father, was later able to purchase his freedom, with the help of a local reverend.  George vanished shortly after the Dred Scott decision in 1857 from fear of being returned to the South to be forced back into slavery…

After his father’s disappearance, Lewis worked to help support his mother and siblings.  At the age of 16, in 1864, Lewis lied about his age in order to enlist in the United States Navy during the Civil War.  Following his departure from the Navy, he took an entry level job at patent law office.

He taught himself the art of mechanical drawing while working at a patent firm by observing the draftsmen at the firm.  Recognizing Lewis’ talent and determination, the firm partners promoted him from an errand runner to draftsman!  During the span of his career as a draftsman, Mr. Latimer worked closely with, both, Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell, in addition to designing and developing his own works including an improved railroad car bathroom and an air conditioning unit.