Lewis
Howard Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts
on September 4, 1848. He learned mechanical drawing in the patent attorney
office of Crosby and Gould, Boston, Massachusetts. He invented a toilet
system for railroad cars in 1873, referred to as water closet for railroad
cars. He also invented an electric lamp with an inexpensive carbon filament
and a threaded wooden socket for light bulbs. He supervised the installation
of carbon filament electric lighting in New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal,
and London. He was responsible for preparing the mechanical drawings for
Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for his telephone design. Lewis
Latimer had the distinction of being the only African American member of
the Edison Pioneers, a member of Thomas Edisons engineering division of
the Edison Company. He joined the Edison Electric Light Company in 1884
and conducted research on electrical lighting. In 1890 he published Incandescent
Electric Lighting, a technical engineering book which became a guide for
lighting engineers. For years he served as an expert witness in the court
battles over Thomas Edison s patents. At the time of Latimer's death in
1928, the Edison Pioneers attributed his "important inventions" to a "keen
perception of the potential of the electric light and kindred industries."