Edison, Bell, and the Westinghouse
tions and w ritings by that inventor,
C om pany bought som e o f the devices
w hen he died. The reader m ay wish
By 1880 he had estab lish ed his
he invented. Indeed, Woods brought
to know that m uch pertinent inform a­
ow n shop in C incinnati, O hio; and
tw o patent cases against the former;
tion is available at 49 Eremont Street,
a few years later he becam e in ter­
and in both cases, he was able to prove
San Francisco, C alifornia 94105.
ested in therm al p o w er and stem -
that he had earlier rights to inventions
Woods w as given to alm ost poetic
d riven engines.
claim ed by Edison. A fter the second
titling o f his inventions and to de­
H e filed his first patent in 1890,
loss to the black inventor, T hom as
scriptions o f their benefits to hum an­
on an improved steam -boiler furnace
E dison offered him a position; but
ity. Take for exam ple, the “ Synchro­
(the original is included in this text).
W oods turned it dow n, preferring to
nous M ultiplex Railway Telegraph,"
T he inventions o f this inspired
be his own m aster in the “Woods Elec­
o f 1887; designed “ for the purpose
tric C om pany.”
o f averting accidents by keeping each
n eer ab o a rd the B ritish steam er,
Eiijah J. McCoy
“Ironsides.”
Elijah J. McCoy, the son o f run­
away slaves, was bom in C anada. His
father, by dint o f hard labor in the
N orthwest woods, m anaged to send a
teenaged M cCoy to Scotland, tor an
education in mechanical engineering.
Upon return to the U nited Slates, the
already-im aginative young engineer
settled in Ypsilanti, M ichigan.
In 1870, he began experim enting
black inventor w ere catholic: A tele­
w ith lubricators for steam engines. At
this period, one o f the biggest prob­
phone, w hich he sold to the Bell Sys­
D escriptions o f the litigation and
train inform ed o f the w hereabouts o f
tem; a telegraph system w hich en­
the confrontations betw een these two
the one immediately ahead or follow­
abled m oving trains to com m unicate
giants are colorful and fascinating.
ing it, in com municating with stations
le m s in A m e ric a n in d u s try w as
“dow n-tim e”; this was due to the fact
that m achinery (and production) had
to be halted, w hile lubrication was
w ith each other and w hich was suc­
Ward H arris, a w ell-know n author­
from m oving trains; and in prom ot­
cessfully used in 1885 on the New
ity on Thom as Edison, left the w orld’s
ing general social and commercial in­
Rochelle Road.
m ost com plete collection o f inven­
tercourse.”
perform ed by hand oilers. Engineer­
In 1892, an electric railw ay sys­
ing-econom ists. in analyses o f the
tem o f his invention w as operated
A m erican economy for the post-Civil
at C oney Island, N ew York; and it
W ar p erio d , have estim a ted such
w as June 10, 1922, w hen he w as
losses to have been a full 22 percent
granted a patent on the A utom atic
o f the G ro ss P ro d u ct o r serv ice.
A ir B rake - jo in in g A ndrew Beard
M cCoy’s driving ambition was to find
as an inspired innovator in the field
so m e m eth o d w h ereb y m ach in es
o f railroad safety.
could be oiled as they worked.
In a ll,
In 1872, working in his own tiny
W oods
m achine shop, he developed a con­
vented fifteen
ta in er, o r cu p , w ith a tin y s to p ­
appliances b a­
cock. . that regulated the flow o f oil
sic to electric
onto m oving elem ents o f machines.
ra ilw a y s. H is
This was the first autom atic lubrica­
in v e n tio n
tor and since this date (July 23,1872),
1900,
m illions o f m achines a ll o ve r the
ent field - an
the m oon-exploration vehicles.
Celebrate Black History Month
e le c tric in c u ­
W hether this was a m atter o f N a­
val vessels, oil-drilling rigs, locom o­
tives. saw mill equipm ent, m ining or
b a to r fo r th e
M c M e n a m in s K e n n e d y S c h o o l
h a tc h in g
S 73 6 NE 3 3 rd
chickens.
c o n s tru c tio n m a c h in e ry ...n o one
c o n s id e r
how ­
entirely differ­
version o f his invention...including
even
in
ever, served as
world have been equipped with som e
w o u ld
in ­
of
H r tla iN . 8 r«|«n
249-3983
w w w m c M (*a m la (.c iM
a
C lo c k w is e
from
top:
Elijah
J.
McCoy, Jan
M a tz e lig e r
and McCoy's
in v e n tio n ,
the
au to ­
matic engine
lubricator.
purchase.. unless inspection revealed
that it w as equipped w ith the “Real
M cCoy.” That is how a black m an’s
nam e becam e a by-w ord in the indus­
trial sectors o f the w orld.
M cC oy w ent to patent over 50 lu­
bricating units and 25 other ingenious
mechanical devices useful not only to
industry - but to all mankind. For ex­
am ple, the lawn sprinkler (patented
on Septem ber 26, 1899).
Jan Matzeliger
Ja n M a tz e lig e r w as b o rn in
Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana, o f parents
who were former slaves. A slender and
erect young man, know n for a keen
sense o f humor, he began work in a
Lynn. Massachusetts, shoe factory in
1877. Here he was shocked to find that
one shoe alone took hours to complete.
T he reason for this w as that hand
lasters had to painstakingly pleat the
leather and fitted uppers to the soles.
To young Matzeliger it seemed incred­
one minute. His invention was an im­
Granville T. Woods
ible that by 1877, no machine had been
mediate success. Its adoption created
(1856-1910)
devised for the operation. He decided
thousands o f new jo b s, where before
From the subw ays o f New York, to the
immediately that he was the man who
only a few master craftsmen were re­
"fruited plains” o f the M idwest; from
could solve the problem.
quired. S h o e p ric e s w ere cu t a n d
the Rockies to our Western shores; and,
There seems to have been a com ­
wages doubled. Thousands o f white
indeed, w herever else in the w orld that
m on pattern to the m akeup o f these
immigrants left their European poverty
a
black inventors: initiative, resource­
to come to work in the prosperous in­
m e an in g fu l...w e are indebted to the
fulness, independence, and a trem en­
dustry created by this black innovator.
prolific outpouring o f electrical and
d o u s d riv e and w ill to su rm o u n t
Exports quickly jum ped from one mil­
mechanical genius from an Australian-
obstacles, the unconquered spirit!
lion pair to eleven million pair per year
b om black man.
“ Song
of
th e
R a ils ”
is
M a tz e lig e r p ro m p tly re n te d a
Within five years. Lynn. M assachu­
The parents o f Granville T. Woods
room over the Old West Lynn M is­
setts. becam e the w orlds largest shoe
em igrated to the U S. when he was six­
sion Here he constructed prototypes
manufacturing center
teen. He had had little formal education,
o f his ideas, using scraps o f wood, old
F o r rea so n s u n d eterm in e d , the
having been apprenticed out as a bel-
cigar boxes, and improvised tools. Af­
Patent office delayed its stamp for six
lows-blower at the age o f ten But even
ter several years o f experim ent and
years and Jan Metzeliger sold his Patent
so, his inquiring mind expanded this rail­
m uch trial and error, he felt that he
to Sydney A. Winslow, who promptly
road yard job into an informal school.
w as on the right track. By using an
founded the United Shoe company.
In his early teens, he mastered the
old forge, abandoned by a local black­
In ju s t a few y e a rs , W in slo w
m echanics o f the locom otive engine,
sm ith, he was able to mold the needed
b ought up 40 sm aller co m p an ies,
even paying from his m eager earnings
gears and cams.
hired hundreds o f w orkers and in ­
for tutorage from the m aster mechanic.
creased the value o f his product from
Consequently, when his family settled
a m ere $220,000 to $242,631,000!
in M issouri, he was quickly em ployed
By 1883, he had evolved a fantas­
tic piece o f machinery, which com ­
bined so many different operations that
The Automatic Shoe Last M achine
as an engineer by the Iron Mountain
it could manufacture an entire shoe in
was patented on Septem ber 22,1891.
Railroad. Later he becam e C hief engi-
Lewis Howard Latimer, received his first patent in 1874. He later became
a skilled draftsman for such greats as Alexander Graham Bell and Hiram S.
Maxim, founder of The U.S. Electric Lighting Co. As a student of Hiram S.
Maxim, Latimer unlocked the Secret of The light bulb, as we know it
today, “Carbon Filaments.” Latimer’s invention made it possible for
Electric lights to be installed in homes.
Today Let’s celebrate the fact that Our
History is your History
# PACIFIC POW ER
A PacifiCorp Company