Latimer, Lewis Howard

Latimer, Lewis Howard (1848-1928), was an African American inventor and draftsman. He contributed to the development of incandescent electric lighting.

Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He taught himself drafting and mechanical drawing while employed by a firm of patent attorneys. In the mid-1870's, he provided the drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for the telephone.

In 1880, Latimer was hired by the United States Electric Lighting Company. There, he patented a method for producing carbon filaments that greatly increased the life of incandescent lights (see Electric Light). He also supervised the installation of electric lighting in New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London. In 1883, he began working as an engineer and draftsman for inventor Thomas A. Edison. Latimer wrote the first textbook on the Edison lighting system, Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System (1890).

Contributor: David F. Channell, Ph.D., Prof. of Historical Studies, Univ. of Texas, Dallas.

Latimer, Lewis Howard

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