Contents
Lewis Latimer
Improving carbon-filament manufacture and helping develop early electric lighting.
Telephone drawings · Carbon manufacture
- Born
- 4 September 1848
- Birthplace
- Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States
- Died
- 11 December 1928
More people
Lewis Latimer
Lewis Latimer was an American inventor and patent draftsman whose technical work supported major nineteenth-century electrical technologies.
Early life
Family history
His parents escaped slavery before his birth.
Self-taught draftsman
Learned technical drawing after serving in the US Navy.
Career
- 1860s–1870s
Patent work
Developed drafting skills in a patent-law office.
- 1880s
Electric lighting
Worked with Hiram Maxim and patented a carbon-filament manufacturing process.
- 1884 onward
Edison company
Worked on electrical installations, technical documentation and patents.
Contributions
Telephone drawings
Prepared patent drawings associated with Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone.
Carbon manufacture
Patented an improved method for producing carbon filaments.
Lighting manual
Wrote Incandescent Electric Lighting.
Beyond engineering
Writing and music
Wrote poetry and pursued artistic interests.
Community
Supported civic and educational activities in New York.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
