An article written by John Schlipp, (an Intellectual Property Librarian and Professor of Library Science at W. Frank Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University (NKU)), for the Northern Kentucky Tribune newspaper. www.nkytribune.com
Our Rich History: Granville Woods, the black Thomas Edison, was noted inventor and held many patents
By John Schlipp
Special to NKyTribune
A note from the “Our Rich History” editor: In celebration of the beginning of Black History Month, we honor the vast achievements of African-American inventor, Granville Woods. Nationally acclaimed as the “Black Edison,” Woods first achieved notable success in the Cincinnati region.
In 1888 Granville Woods, a highly respected Black inventor, was “unmercifully beaten” by Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) employees. Woods had purchased a first-class ticket on the L&N from Cincinnati to Nashville, and during the first leg of that journey to Louisville, sat in relative comfort in first class. Upon arriving in Louisville, however, a new crew “objected to a colored man riding through the ‘Dark and Bloody Ground’ [the South] in first-class style, and attempted to eject him from the car.” When Woods resisted, the crew beat him (“A Colored Man’s Rights,” Cincinnati Post, June 25, 1888, p. 4).
Of all the possible ironies in history, this incident should be recorded in the history books. After all, it was Granville Woods’ many inventions that literally made American railroads safe, fast, and efficient. One of his principal patents, in fact, enabled instantaneous telegraphic communication between the conductors of moving trains and station masters. Thanks to Woods, at any time railroads could keep track of where their trains were, thereby preventing unnecessary collisions.
Granville T. Woods. Source: The Evening Repository, March 12, 1892, p. 12.
By 1904 Granville Woods held 35 patents (“Brain to the Front,” Cleveland Gazette, April 23, 1904, p. 2). In the United States, a patent is a property right granted by the federal government. It gives an inventor the right to the benefits of commercialization of their invention. Patents provides innovators an incentive to invent by owning the fruits of their intellectual labor for a specified period of time.
Despite the huge hurdles........
To read the entire article please click here.