Inventor Granville T. Woods defeated Edison in a patent lawsuit for the induction telegraph system that revolutionized transportation.
Granville T. Woods was a pioneering inventor with nearly 60 patents to his name. Photo: Heritage Art/Heritage Images
Granville T. Woods was the most successful black inventor of the late 19th century. Woods is considered the first African-American electrical and mechanical engineer after the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) and has been compared to other famous inventors such as Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse and Frank Sprague.
In 1887, Woods received a patent for the induction telegraph, a technology that transmitted messages between moving trains and train stations. His invention was a much-needed improvement to the communication system at the time, which was slow, poor quality, and prone to train collisions.
Not long after Woods patented his invention, Edison sued Woods, claiming that he had created similar telegraph technology first and should be granted a patent. Woods eventually won, but at a heavy financial and other cost.
"Woods' life—at times closer to a nightmare than the American dream—illustrates the harsh realities of being a black inventor in the late 19th century," historian Rayvon Fouché wrote in his 2003 book Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation: Granville T. Woods, Lewis H. Latimer and Shelby J. Davison. Ironically, Woods was dubbed the "black Edison" by the press for his contributions to science.
Granville T. Woods and his inventions
Woods was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1856. At the age of 10, he was forced to leave school because his parents could not pay for his education. Woods became an apprentice at a railroad shop, which set the stage for his engineering career.
Woods holds nearly 60 patents to his name. His inventions helped revolutionize the transportation industry, including the Dead Man's Handle, an automatic brake that slowed trains when the driver couldn't. Woods also patented an invention that led to the "third rail," a crucial device that provides power to trains so they can move, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Some biographers say Woods spoke and dressed elegantly, often wearing all black. He sometimes identified himself as an Australian immigrant, perhaps to gain more respect than saying he was African-American.
Woods founded Woods Electric in Cincinnati, Ohio, and developed hybrid gasoline-electric vehicles. Photo: Wikipedia
Legal battle with Edison
The synchronized multi-channel railroad telegraph system, which allowed for continuous transmission of messages between trains, was one of Woods’s most important inventions. However, before he could file for a patent, Woods contracted smallpox and was bedridden for months. When he recovered, Woods was shocked to learn that another inventor, Lucius Phelps, had already been credited with a version of the induction telegraph system.
Woods carefully used notes, sketches, and a working model of the invention to demonstrate that he began developing the technology first and successfully obtained a patent in 1887.
But the patent battle was not over. Edison then sued Woods, not once but twice, claiming that he had invented the induction telegraph first. Woods won both cases. According to some historians, Edison offered Woods a job at the Edison Company, but Woods declined.
Thomas Edison holding an incandescent light bulb at a party in New Jersey, USA in 1929. Photo: Underwood Archives
The Challenges of Being a Black Inventor
Woods eventually sold some of his patents and equipment to Edison and other industrialists, as well as several companies including Westinghouse, General Electric, and American Engineering. Historians say the decision to sell Woods' hard-won patents shows how difficult it was to market black American inventions to buyers - who were mostly white.
"Like most black inventors of the time, Woods had to acknowledge that an inventor's race affected the market value of his invention," Michael C. Christopher, a researcher at the University of Texas Austin, wrote in the Journal of Black Studies .
Some buyers of Woods' inventions did not pay him properly, or did not acknowledge his contributions. Sometimes, inventors lose all claim to their inventions after selling them and receive no profit at all.
Woods died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1910, in poverty and largely forgotten for decades. It was not until 2006 that he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Thu Thao (According to Business Insider )
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