African Americans who made a DIFFERENCE... and have gone OVERLOOKED.

In honor of Black History month I've decided to kick EbonyChronicles back off with an article about the black people who have made ANY SORT of significant difference that has gone overlooked. So NO, this article will not be about Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcome X, or Rosa Parks; but it will be about our forgotten brothers and sister who have created a change for America.

Blood Bank- Dr. Charles Richard Drew ( 1904-1950): Dr. Richard Drew was a medical doctor and surgeon who created the idea for a blood bank and a way to store blood plasma for the long-term. When America went to war in 1941, Dr. Drew was named Director of the Blood Bank for the National Research Counsel, which collected blood for the US Navy and Army and also setting groundwork for Red Cross. The storage of blood in plasma for was groundbreaking and has saved many lives since Drew brought the process forward in the 1930's.


The SuperSoaker- Lonnie G. Johnson (1949- present): After a succesful career in the Air Force and being a Nasa scientist, Johnson created his most famous invention in 1982 after conducting an experiment at home on a heat pump that used water instead of Freon, resulting in his home made nozzle shooting water across the room. Along with his partner, Bruce D'Andrade, they created a workable prototype of the Supersoaker and filed for a joint patent in 1991. The SuperSoaker was the worlds first pressurized, high performance water gun and became the number one selling toy in the country with more than over 200 million dollars in sales. Overall Johnson has earned over 80 patents with 20 more pending and he continues to invent in the area of thermo and fluid dynamics, as well as toys.


Train-to-Station Communication System- Granville T. Woods ( 1856-1910): Woods began working a the early age of 10 in a machine shop nd studied alectrical and mechanical engineering from 1876-1878. He recieved his first patent in 1884 for a Steam Boiler Furnace. In 1885 he created a system called telegraphony, which allowed telegraph lines to carry voice signals. In 1887 he patented the induction telegraph for sending messages to and from moving trains. Im 1890, with his brother Lyates, he also patented emergency braking systems and devices relating to third-rail power.


Shoelasting Machine- Jan Ernst Matzeliger ( 1852-1889): A vet in the shoe factory where he operated a sole-sewing machine, Jan was responsible for attaching different parts of a shoe together. At that time there were no machines that could attach the upper part of a shoe to the sole, so it had to be done by hand. "Hand Lasters" were able to only produce about 50 pairs of shoes a day. In 1882 Matzeliger was able to perfect a shoe-lasting machine that could produce 150-700 pairs of shoes a day. By 1889 the demand for shoe lasting machines was so high that The Consolidated Lasting Machine Co. was formed, where Jan was given huge blocks of stock for his invention. His machine revolutioned the entire shoe industry, not only in America, but around the world.


Peanut Butter and over 300 other products made from peanuts- George Washington Carver (1860-1943): Born a slave, Carver later went on the earn his Masters degree from Iowa Agricultural College. He was later assigned to be the Director of Agricultural Reseach at Tuskegee Institute by Booker T. Washington. Carver delveloped many products from peanuts like his most famous, peanut butter and also peanut oil but not only did he develope pruducts from peanuts but also from sweet potatoes, soy beans, and pecans.

First African American Doctor-Edward Alexander Bouchet ( 1852-1918): Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Bouchet was the first African American to graduate from Yale University. I 1876, upon receiving a PH.D in physics from Yale, he became the first African American to obtain a Doctorates Degree, thus the first African American doctor in America.

First Successful Open Heart Surgery- Dr. Daniel Hale Williams (1856-1931): Williams was born in Pennsylvania and attended medical school in Chicago, where he received his M.D. in 1883. He founded the Provident Hospital in Chicago in 1891, and he performed the first successful open heart surgery in 1893.

Second African American woman to graduate from Medical School- Rebecca Cole (1846-1922): Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Cole was the second black woman to graduate from medical school (1867). She joined Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first white woman physician, in New York and taught hygiene and childcare to families in poor neighborhoods.   


Hair Care System and Beauty Products- Madame C.J Walker (1867-1919): Widowed at 20, Louisiana-born Sarah Breedlove Walker supported herself and her daughter as a washerwoman. In the early 1900s she developed a hair care system and other beauty products. Her business, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, amassed a fortune, and she became a generous patron of many black charities.

Laserphoco Probe- Patricia Bath (1942-Present): Born in Harlem, New York, Bath holds a bachelor's degree from Hunter College and an M.D. from Howard University. She is a co-founder of the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness. Bath is best known for her invention of the Laserphaco Probe for the treatment of cataracts.


This here is just grazing the surface of the many notably successful African American people who have risen above and beyond in our country, that have came before us and have paved the way for us to be where we are now. Although things still are not where they should be, if it weren't for the people listed here, and many more, not letting their circumstances hold them back who knows how far set back we would still be as a race in this country now.

MzBwnSkn

Ebony Chronicles Returns starting 02.01.12

I've been MIA for some months now due to difficulties with my laptop. It cuts off randomly and I can't have that happening in the middle of me writing and article. I'll be replacing the laptop i have now with a new one within this month so to give myself some time to build up some articles I'll be back starting the first of February.

MzBwnSkn