Lewis Howard Latimer

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the life and work of Lewis Howard Latimer, the son of a runaway slave born in Boston in 1848 from his beginnings as a draftsman to his first invention water closets for railroad cars, to his expertise in inventing, installations, drafting and patenting. It also looks at how his invention of a better method of producing carbon filaments ultimately transformed the future of incandescent lamps.

Outline
Dates of Life and Work
Education Experience in Social Context
Area of Expertise
Contribution to the Field of Science and Society
Historical Significance of his Work

From the Paper:

"While working at Crosby and Gould, Latimer began his career as an inventor. In 1873, he was granted a patent for his first invention water closets for railroad cars (Klein, 1971, pp. 99-100). His belief that electricity would play a significant role in the future led him to join Hiram Maxim's United States Electric Lighting Company (Klein, 1971, p. 100). At U.S. Electric, Latimer succeeded in increasing the life of the carbon filament of the early light bulbs. In 1881, Latimer and J.V. Nichols, another Maxim employee, claimed the patent for making improvements in incandescent electric lamps (Klein, 1971, p. 101). In the following year, Latimer invented a globe support for the electric arc lamps (Klein, 1971, p. 101)."

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