List of African-American inventors and scientists


This list of African Americans inventors and scientists documents many of the African-Americans who have invented a multitude of items or made discoveries in the course of their lives. These have ranged from practical everyday devices to applications and scientific discoveries in diverse fields, including physics, biology, math, plus the medical, nuclear and space science.
African-Americans have been the victims of oppression, discrimination and persecution throughout American history, with an impact on African-American innovation. A 2014 study by economist Lisa D. Cook linked violence towards African-Americans and lack of legal protections over the period 1870-1940 to lower innovation.
Among the earliest was George Washington Carver, whose reputation was based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, which aided in nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their way of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts. He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP.
A later renowned scientist was Percy Lavon Julian, a research chemist and a pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants. He was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine, and a pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone, from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol. His work would lay the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills.
A contemporary example of a modern-day inventor is Lonnie George Johnson, an engineer. Johnson invented the Super Soaker water gun, which was the top-selling toy in the United States from 1991 to 1992. In 1980 Johnson formed his own law firm and licensed the Super Soaker water gun to Larami Corporation. Two years later, the Super Soaker generated over $200 million in retail sales and became the best selling toy in America. Larami Corporation was eventually purchased by Hasbro, the second largest toy manufacturer in the world. Over the years, Super Soaker sales have totaled close to one billion dollars. Johnson reinvested a majority of his earnings from the Super Soaker into research and development for his energy technology companies – "It's who I am, it's what I do." Currently, Johnson holds over 80 patents, with over 20 more pending, and is the author of several publications on spacecraft power systems.
NameYearsOccupationInventions / accomplishmentsReferences
Amos, Harold1918–2003MicrobiologistFirst African-American department chair at Harvard Medical School
Alcorn, George Edward, Jr.1940–Physicist, inventorInvented a method of fabricating an imaging X-ray spectrometer
Andrews, James J.1930–1998MathematicianPut forth the Andrews–Curtis conjecture in group theory with Morton L. Curtis, still unsolved
Alexander, Archie1888–1958Civil engineerResponsible for the construction of many roads and bridges, including the Whitehurst Freeway, the Tidal Basin Bridge, and an extension to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Bailey, Leonard C.1825–1918InventorFolding bed
Ball, Alice Augusta1892–1916ChemistExtracted chaulmoogra oil for the treatment of Hansen's disease
Banneker, Benjamin1731–1806Almanac author; surveyor; farmerConstructed wooden clock; astronomer; assisted in the survey of the original boundaries of the District of Columbia; authored a series of almanacs and ephemerides; naturalist: recorded observations on emergences of periodical cicadas and on the behavior of honey bees.
Banyaga, Augustin1947–MathematicianWork on diffeomorphisms and symplectomorphisms
Bashen, Janet1957–Inventor, entrepreneur, professional consultantFirst African-American woman to receive a patent for a web-based software invention, LinkLine, an Equal Employment Opportunity case management and tracking software
Bath, Patricia1942–2019OphthalmologistFirst African-American female physician to receive a patent for a medical invention; inventions relate to cataract surgery and include the Laserphaco Probe, which revolutionized the industry in the 1980s, and an ultrasound technique for treatment
Beard, Andrew1849–1921Farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, railroad worker, businessman, inventorJanney coupler improvements; invented the car device #594,059 dated November 23, 1897; rotary engine patent #478,271 dated July 5, 1892
Bell, Earl S.1977–Inventor, entrepreneur, architect, industrial designerInvented chair with sliding skin and the quantitative display apparatus
Benjamin, Miriam1861–1947Inventor, educatorInvented "Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels"; second African-American woman to receive a patent
Berry, Leonidas1902–1995GastroenterologistGastroscope pioneer
Bharucha-Reid, Albert T.1927–1985Mathematician, statisticianProbability theory and Markov chain theorist
Black, Keith1957–NeurosurgeonBrain tumor surgery and research
Blackwell, David1919–2010Mathematician, statisticianFirst proposed the Blackwell channel model used in coding theory and information theory; one of the eponyms of the Rao–Blackwell theorem, which is a process that significantly improves crude statistical estimators
Blair, Henry1807–1860InventorSecond black inventor to issue a patent; invented seed planter and cotton planter.
Boahen, Kwabena1964–BioengineerSilicon retina able to process images in the same manner as a living retina
Boone, Sarah1832–1905InventorIroning board allowing sleeves of women's garments to be ironed more easily
Bouchet, Edward1852–1918PhysicistFirst African-American to receive a PhD in any subject; received physics doctorate from Yale University in 1876
Bowman, James1923–2011PhysicianPathologist and geneticist; Professor Emeritus Pritzker School of Medicine; first tenured African-American professor at the University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences
Boykin, Otis1920–1982Inventor, engineerArtificial heart pacemaker control unit
Brady, St. Elmo1884–1966ChemistPublished three scholarly abstracts in Science; collaborated on a paper published in the Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
Branson, Herman1914–1995Physicist, educatorProtein structure research
Brooks, Charles1865– ?Inventor Street sweeper truck and a type of paper punch
Henry Brown1832– ?InventorInvented fire safe
Brown, Oscar E.18xx– ?InventorReceived a patent for an improved horseshoe
Brown, Marie Van Brittan1922–1999InventorInvented the home security system
Burr, John Albert18xx– ?InventorRotary-blade lawn mower patent
Cannon, Thomas C.1943–InventorLed a group of engineers who developed the Tactical Optical Fiber Connector, the first fiber optic connector deployed under battlefield conditions, and the ST Connector that helped make fiber optic communications affordable.
Cardozo, William Warrick1905–1962PediatricianSickle cell anemia studies; in October 1937 he published "Immunologic Studies in Sickle Cell Anemia" in the Archives of Internal Medicine; many of the findings are still valid today
Carson, Ben1951–Pediatric neurosurgeonPediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University; first surgeon to successfully separate craniopagus twins
Carruthers, George1939–AstrophysicistInvented ultraviolet camera/spectrograph, which was used by NASA when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972
Carver, George Washington1865–1943Botanical researcherDiscovered hundreds of uses for previously useless vegetables and fruits, principally the peanut
Chappelle, Charles W.1872–1941Electrician, construction, international businessman, and aviation pioneerDesigned long-distance flight airplane; the only African-American to invent and display the airplane at the 1911 First Industrial Air Show held in conjunction with the Auto Show at Grand Central Palace in Manhattan in New York City; president of the African Union Company, Inc.
Chappelle, Emmett1925–2019Scientist and researcherValuable contributions to several fields: medicine, biology, food science, and astrochemistry
Clark, Mamie1914–2005PsychologistConducted 1940s experiments using dolls to study children's attitudes about race
Clark, Kenneth1917–1983PsychologistFirst Black president of the American Psychological Association
Crosthwait, David, Jr.1898–1976Research engineerHeating, ventilation, and air conditioning; received some 40 US patents relating to HVAC systems
Curtis, James H 1935–Researcher, chemist Organic ionogen for aluminum electrolytic capacitors, cationic dialdehyde polysaccharides for wet strength paper and others, US Patent Office US Pat #3609467 US Pat #3547423 and others
Dabiri, John1980–BiophysicistExpert on jellyfish hydrodynamics and designer of a vertical-axis wind farm adapted from schooling fish
Daly, Marie Maynard1921–2003ChemistFirst black American woman with a PhD in chemistry
Dean, Mark1957–Computer scientistLed the team that developed the ISA bus, and led the design team responsible for creating the first one-gigahertz computer processor chip
Drew, Charles1904–1950Medical researcherDeveloped improved techniques for blood storage
Du Chaillu, Paul1831–1903Zoologist
explorer
Anthropologist		Explorer; first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later the Pygmy people of central Africa; identified as white throughout life, but his mother was a Réunionnais mulatto; settled in America and considered it his country by adoption; the full aspects of his ancestry were not uncovered until 1979, and are still little known today
Easley, Annie1933–2011Computer scientistWork at the Lewis Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Ellis, Clarence "Skip"1943–2014Computer scientistFirst African American with a PhD in computer science; software inventor including OfficeTalk at Xerox PARC
Ezerioha, Bisi1972–Automotive engineerDrag racing engineer and driver
Ferguson, Lloyd Noel1918–2011Chemist, educatorChemistry doctorate, first received
Fryer, Roland G., Jr.1977–Economist, social scientist, statisticianInequality studies
Gates, Sylvester James1950–Theoretical physicistWork on supersymmetry, supergravity, and superstring theory
Goode, Sarah E.1855–1905InventorCabinet bed invention; first African-American woman to receive a patent in the United States
Gilbert, Juan E.1969–Computer scientistAwarded the first Presidential Endowed Chair at Clemson University in honor of his accomplishments
Grant, George F.1846–1910Dentist, professorThe first African-American professor at Harvard, Boston dentist, and inventor of a wooden golf tee.
Graves, Joseph L.1955–Evolutionary biologist
Green, LisaLinguistSpecializes in syntax and the study of African American English
Greenaugh, Kevin1956–Nuclear engineer
Griffin, Bessie Blount1914–2009Physical therapist, inventorAmputee self-feeding device
Hall, Lloyd1894–1971Chemist
Harris, James A.1932–2000Co-discovered Rutherfordium and Dubnium at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
Hawkins, Walter Lincoln1911–1992ScientistInventor at Bell Laboratories
Hodge, John E.1914–1996Chemist
Holley, Kerrie1954–Computer scientistIBM's 1st black Distinguished Engineer and 2nd black IBM Fellow. Inventor of several software engineering techniques including system and methods for locating mobile devices using location and presence information
Jackson, John W1953–2007Electrical Engineer, inventorCo-inventor of imaging x-ray spectrometer.
Jackson, Mary1921–2005Mathematician, Aerospace engineerNASA's first black female engineer
Jackson, Dr. Shirley1946–PhysicistHelped develop technologies leading to the invention of the touch-tone telephone, portable fax, solar cells, fiber optic cables, and the technology enabling caller ID and call waiting. However, in a recent article from MIT, there is no evidence that she helped to develop these technologies.
Jarvis, Erich1965–NeurobiologistDuke University neuroscience bird songs studies
Jennings, Thomas L.1791–1856InventorFirst African American to be granted a patent
Johnson, Isaac18xx– ?InventorHeld patent for improvements to the bicycle frame, specifically so it could be taken apart for compact storage
Johnson, Lonnie1949–Mechanical engineer, nuclear engineer, inventorInvented Super Soaker while researching thermal energy transfer engines; worked with NASA; holder of over 80 patents
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Johnson, Katherine1918–2020Physicist, mathematicianMade contributions to the United States' aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA.
Jones, Frederick McKinley1893–1961InventorInvented refrigerated truck systems
Julian, Percy1899–1975ChemistFirst to synthesize the natural product physostigmine; earned 130 chemical patents; lauded for humanitarian achievements
Just, Ernest1883–1941Woods Hole Marine Biology Institute biologistProvided basic and initial descriptions of the structure–function–property relationship of the plasma membrane of biological cells
Kittles, Rick1967–GeneticistWork in tracing the ancestry of African Americans via DNA testing
Kountz, Samuel L.1930–1981Transplant surgeon, researcherOrgan transplantation pioneer, particularly renal transplant research and surgery; author or co-author of 172 articles in scientific publications
Latimer, Lewis1848–1928Inventor, draftsman, expert witnessWorked as a draftsman for both Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison; became a member of Edison's Pioneers and served as an expert witness in many light bulb litigation lawsuits; said to have invented the water closet
Lawson, Jerry1940–2011Computer engineerDesigner of Fairchild Channel F, the first programmable ROM cartridge-based video game console
Lee, Raphael Carl1949–Surgeon, biomedical engineer Paul and Aileen Russell Professor, Pritzker School of Medicine; MacArthur Fellow, Searle Scholar, founder and chairman, Avocet Polymer Technologies, Inc.; founder and chairman, Renacyte BioMolecular Technologies, Inc; discovered use of surfactant copolymers as molecular chaperones to augment endogenous injury repair mechanisms of living cells; holder of many patents covering scar treatment therapies, tissue engineered ligaments, brain trauma therapies, and protective garments
Lynk, Beebe Steven1872–1948ChemistTeacher at West Tennessee University
Mahoney, Mary1845–1926NurseFirst African American to study and work as a professionally trained nurse in the United States
Matzeliger, Jan1852–1889InventorShoe assembly Machine
McBay, Henry1914–1995ChemistHis discoveries allowed chemists around the world to create inexpensive peroxide compounds
McCoy, Elijah1844–1929InventorInvented a version of the automatic lubricator for steam engines, McCoy learned a great deal of his skills from a mechanical apprenticeship when he was age fifteen .
McLurkin, James1972–Roboticist
McWhorter, John1965–LinguistSpecializes in the study of creole language formation
Montgomery, Benjamin1819–1877InventorDesigned a steam operated propeller to provide propulsion to boats in shallow water
Moore, Willie Hobbs1934–1994PhysicistFirst African American woman to earn a PhD in Physics on vibrational analysis of secondary chlorides
Morgan, Garrett1877–1963InventorInvented an early version of a gas mask called a smoke hood, and created the first traffic light that included a third "warning" position which is standard today. Morgan also developed a chemical that was used in hair products for hair-straightening.
Mensah, Thomas1950-Inventor
Miles, Alexander1838–1918InventorInvented electric elevator doors that automatically open and close
Nriagu, Jerome1944–GeochemistStudies toxic metals in the environment; supporter of the lead poisoning thesis of the decline of the Roman Empire
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Oyekan, Soni1946–Chemical engineerInventions in oil refining
Parker, Alice H.1895–InventorFurnace for Central Heating
Poindexter, Hildrus1901–1987Bacteriologist, epidemiologistWork on the epidemiology of tropical diseases, including malaria
Petters, Arlie1964–PhysicistWork on the mathematical physics of gravitational lensing
Quarterman, Lloyd Albert1918–1982Scientist, fluoride chemistManhattan Project, worked with Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi
Renfroe, Earl1907–2000Orthodontist
Rillieux, Norbert1806–1894Engineer, inventorInventor of the multiple-effect evaporator
Robinson, Larry1957–Environmental chemistInvestigated possible role of arsenic in the death of Zachary Taylor; interim president of Florida A&M University
Ross, ArchiaTurn of 20th centuryInventorA runner for stoops, bag closure device, a wrinkle-preventing trouser stretcher, a garment-hanger, and a holder for brooms and like articles.
Russell, Jesse1948–Engineer, inventorWireless communications engineer
Sammons, Walter1890–1973InventorPatent for hot comb
Sowell, Thomas1930–Economist, social scientistEconomist, social theorist and political philosopher
Steele, Claude1946–Psychologist, social scientistStereotype threat studies
Stiff, Lee1941–MathematicianPresident of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics from 2000 to 2002
Snyder, Window1976–Computer engineerSecurity engineer at Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple
Temple, Lewis1800–1854Inventor, blacksmith, abolitionistInventor of the toggling whaling harpoon head
Thomas, Vivien1910–1985Surgical technicianBlue baby syndrome treatment in the 1940s
Turner, Charles Henry1867–1923ZoologistFirst person to prove that insects can hear and can distinguish pitch, that cockroaches can learn by trial and error, and that honeybees can see color; first African-American to receive a PhD from the University of Chicago
Tyree, G. Bernadette19xx–Biochemist Program Director, Division of Musculoskeletal Diseases, at National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health
Tyson, Neil deGrasse1958–AstronomerResearcher and popular educator in astronomy and the sciences
Vaughan, Dorothy1910–2008MathematicianWorked for NACA and NASA at Langley Research Center
Valerino, Powtawche1980EngineerWorked for JPL and NASA at Langley Research Center
Walker, Arthur B. C., Jr.1936–2001AstronomerDeveloped normal incidence multilayer XUV telescopes to photograph the solar corona
Walker, C. J.1867–1919InventorCreated black cosmetic products
Ward, Dawn N.1973-Organic chemistryCreates compounds to treat Hepatitis C
Washington, Warren M.1936–Atmospheric scientistFormer chair of the National Science Board
West, James E.1931–Acoustician, inventorCo-developed the foil electret microphone
Wilkins, J. Ernest, Jr.1923–2011Mathematician, engineer, nuclear scientistEntered University of Chicago at age 13; PhD at 19; worked on the Manhattan Project; wrote over 100 scientific papers; helped recruit minorities into the sciences
Williams, Daniel1856–1931SurgeonThe first black person on record to have successfully performed pericardium surgery to repair a wound.
Williams, Scott W.1943–Mathematician
Williams, Walter E.1936–Economist, social scientist
Woods, Granville1856–1910InventorInvented the synchronous multiplex railway telegraph
Wright, Jane C.1919–2013Cancer research and surgeonNoted for her contributions to chemotherapy and for pioneering the use of the drug methotrexate to treat breast cancer and skin cancer
Wright, Louis T.1891–1952SurgeonLed team that first used Aureomycin as a treatment on humans
Young, Roger Arliner1899–1964ZoologistFirst African-American woman to receive a doctorate degree in zoology