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Black Inventors & Pioneers
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Household & Domestic Inventions
40 entries in this discipline.
Alexander, Nathaniel
Improved folding chair with a pivoting, integrated book rest, designed for churches, Sunday schools, auditoriums, and choirs
unknown
Ammons, Virgie
Fireplace throat damper
1908-2000
Ashbourne, Alexander P.
Spring-loaded biscuit/cake cutter (hinged molding board with interchangeable shaped plates to cut a whole batch at once); pioneering processes for refining, treating, and preparing coconut oil for domestic use
c.1820-1915
Bailey, Leonard C.
Folding cabinet bed (U.S. Patent 629,286, 1899), adopted by the U.S. Army; also patented an Army-adopted hernia truss and a rapid mail-stamping machine, and co-founded Washington's Capitol Savings Bank
1825-1918
Benjamin, Miriam
Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels
1861-1947
Boone, Sarah
Improved ironing board
1832-1904
Bradberry, Henrietta M.
'Bed rack' — a collapsible, pedal-operated attachment for the foot of a bed to hang and air out/freshen bedclothes after use
unknown-1979
Brown, Henry
Patented a lockable receptacle for storing and preserving papers (U.S. Patent 352,036, 1886), an early forerunner of the strongbox; often described as a fire-resistant safe, though the patent itself claims a compartmented, lockable paper-storage container
1832-unknown
Brown, Marie Van Brittan
Home security system with video monitoring
1922-1999
Chase, Leah
"Queen of Creole Cuisine" who built Dooky Chase's Restaurant in New Orleans into a civil-rights meeting place and fine-dining landmark; James Beard Lifetime Achievement honoree (2016) and the inspiration for Princess Tiana, Disney's first Black princess
1923-2019
Eglin, Ellen
Improved clothes-wringer design
1849-unknown
Elkins, Thomas
Improved chamber-commode (multi-function furniture) and an improved refrigerating apparatus using evaporative water cooling; also a combined dining/ironing table and quilting frame
1818-1900
Fisher, Abby
Author of a celebrated 1881 Southern cooking cookbook; built a successful pickle and preserves manufacturing business
c.1831-1915
Goode, Sarah E.
Folding cabinet bed
1855-1905
Grant, Clara
Improved heated ('hot') comb for straightening hair
unknown
Hammonds, Julia Terry
Apparatus for holding yarn-skeins — a simple, inexpensive device for holding and winding yarn, silk, and other fibers
unknown
Harper, Solomon
Electrically heated hair-treating implement (first electrically heated hair roller/curler) and later thermostatically controlled hair curlers, combs, and irons
1895-1980
Harris, Ada
Improved hair straightener — a hinged, heated implement with a toothed comb portion to separate hair and flat faces to press it straight
1870-unknown
Hawkins, Joseph
Patented an early gridiron cooking device
unknown
Hemings, James
First American trained as a French chef; introduced macaroni and cheese, French fries, crème brûlée, and ice cream to American cuisine
1765-1801
Jackson, Augustus
Improved method of manufacturing ice cream (using salt to control freezing) and popular eggless 'Philadelphia-style' recipes; packaged and distributed in tins
1808-1852
Jenkins, Christina M.
'Hair-Weev' technique — a method of permanently attaching commercial hair to a person's natural hair by interweaving strands with cord-like material on a weaving frame
1920-2003
Jennings, Thomas L.
Dry cleaning process ('dry scouring')
1791-1856
Johnson, Willis
Mechanical egg beater and ingredient mixer: a double-chambered, hand-cranked machine that could beat batter and eggs separately or simultaneously
unknown
Kenner, Mary
Adjustable sanitary belt; bathroom tissue holder
1912-2006
Lewis, Anthony L.
Window cleaning device, ancestor of the modern squeegee
unknown
Love, John Lee
Portable hand-held pencil sharpener (the 'Love Sharpener') with an internal compartment to catch shavings; also an improved plasterer's hawk
c.1865-1931
Mangin, Anna M.
Pastry fork — a kitchen implement with angular tines and cutters to work butter/lard into flour, beat eggs, mash potatoes, and prepare dressings without touching the food by hand
1844-1931
Parker, Alice H.
Gas-powered central heating furnace
c.1895-unknown
Ray, Lloyd P.
Improved dust-pan with a reinforced floor-contact edge and a removable, spring-fastened adjustable handle
1860-unknown
Reed, Judy W.
Improved dough kneading and rolling machine
c.1826-c.1905
Richardson, William H.
Reversible baby carriage design with independently rotating wheels
unknown
Russell, Malinda
Author of the first known cookbook by an African American
c.1812-unknown
Sammons, Walter H.
Improved heated hair-straightening ('hot') comb, pre-heated before use to smooth coarse or curly hair more safely
1890-1973
Sampson, George T.
Automatic clothes dryer using stove-heated frame design; sled propeller
c.1861-c.1940
Stanard, John
Improved refrigerator (manually filled ice chamber with better insulation and air circulation); also an improved oil stove
1868-1900
Stewart, Thomas W.
Improved mop with a clamping head and lever-operated wringer, plus a detachable/replaceable mop head
unknown
Turner, Madeline M.
'Turner's Fruit-Press' — a mechanical fruit/citrus juicer that fed fruit through cutters to halve it, then pressed the juice between plates in a multi-stage, assembly-line-like process
unknown
White, John Thomas
Improved lemon squeezer: a three-part (press, strainer, receptacle) hinged device that extracts juice while separating seeds and pulp and catching the juice
unknown
Wright, Zephyr
White House cook for President Lyndon B. Johnson; personally influenced his support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964
1915-1988