Black Inventors
Who's Inventions
Have Been Beneficial to Drag Racing
Edmond Berger |
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Some historians have reported that Edmond Berger invented an early SPARK PLUG on February 2, 1839. However, Edmond Berger did not patent his invention. |
Jack Johnson ( 1878-1946) |
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Jack Johnson was born John Arthur Johnson on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas.
The world's first African American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson patented improvements to the WRENCH on April the 18, 1922.
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Garrett Augustus Morgan
(1877 - 1963)
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The son of former slaves, Garrett Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877.
After witnessing a collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, Morgan took his turn at inventing a TRAFFIC SIGNAL. Other inventors had experimented with, marketed, and even patented traffic signals, however, Garrett Morgan was one of the first to apply for and acquire a U.S. patent - November 20, 1923.
Morgan sold the rights to his device to the General Electric Company for the astounding sum of $40,000.00 and it became the standard across the country. Today's modern traffic lights are based upon Morgan's original design. |
Richard Spikes (1884-1962) |
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Richard Spikes was an African-American engineer from San Francisco, California. He discovered a system of AUTOMOBILE DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS, which he installed on a Pierce-Arrow car in 1913. In 1932 he received a patent for an Improved AUTOMATIC GEAR SHIFT device..
(The first automatic gear shift was invented in 1904 by the the Sturtevant brothers) (Spikes' Improved Version was Invented February 28, 1932 and a Patent issued December 6, 1932). His object was to develop a gear shift where the gears for the various speeds were in constant mesh. Richard Spikes invented a novel clutch mechanism for his gear shift, he used levers to shift gears. For his innovative designs of transmission and gear-shifting devices, Spikes received over $100,000.00 in the 1930s.
Richard Spikes patented or developed
other Automotive inventions:
AUTOMATIC CAR WASHER (1913)
AUTOMATIC SAFETY BRAKE (1962):
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Frederick M. Jones(1893 – 1961) |
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Frederic M. Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 17, 1892.
He was an African American inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the National Medal of Technology and inductee of the Nationa Inventors Hall of Fame. Jones received a U.S. Patent on the
2-CYCLE GAS ENGINE on May 29, 1945 & again on March 11, 1947
Frederic Jones patented
other Automotive inventions:
- U.S. Patent ssued on December 21, 1943
Means for automatically stopping and starting gas engines.
- U.S. Patent issued on May 29, 1945 & March 11, 1947
Two-cycle gas engine.
- U.S. Patent issued on July 12, 1949
Starter generator.
- U.S. Patent issued on July 12, 1949
Means operated by a starter generator for cooling a gas engine.
- U.S. Patent issued on July 26, 1949
Means for thermostatically operating gas engines.
- U.S. Patent issued on September 26, 1950
Engine actuated ventilating system.
- U.S. Patent ssued on September 2, 1958
Control device for internal combustion engine.
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