Montgomery, Benjamin
1819-1877 · Contribution: 1850s
Steam-powered boat propeller for shallow water navigation
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Designed an adjustable steam propeller for navigating shallow waters, though as an enslaved person he was legally barred from holding the patent himself.
Life & background
Born into slavery, Montgomery was a skilled engineer entrusted with managing his enslaver's plantation shipping operations. He designed an adjustable steam-powered boat propeller for shallow-water navigation, though slavery-era law prevented him from securing his own patent.
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica; Library of Congress (Benjamin T. Montgomery Family Papers)
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