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Black History: Inventions That Changed The World
WILLIAM PURVIS
William Purvis realized how much of an inconvenience it was to have to carry around a bottle of ink whenever you needed to sign a contract or fill out legal papers. He there- fore decided to do something about it.
On January 7, 1890, Purvis received a patent for the fountain pen. The pen elimi- nated the need for an ink bottle by storing ink within a reservoir within the pen which is then fed to the pen’s tip.
In addition to his fountain pen, Purvis, a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also successfully patented a number of other in- ventions.
Between 1884 and 1897 he patented bag machines, a bag fastener, a hand stamp, an electric railway device, an electric railway switch and a mag- netic car balancing device. He also is believed to have invented, yet not patented several other devices such as the edge cutter found on aluminum foil, cling wrap and wax paper boxes.
ALBERT RICHARDSON
Albert Richardson created numerous de- vices, but also created devices that were com- pletely unrelated to one another.
On February 17, 1891 Richardson patented the butter churn. The device consisted of a large wooden cylinder container with a plunger-like handle which moved up and down.
On November 13, 1894, Richardson patented the casket lowering device which con- sisted of a series of pulleys and ropes or cloths which ensured uniformity in the lowering process. This invention was very significant at that time and is used in all cemeteries today.
In addition to these devices, Richardson patented a hame fastener in 1882, an insect destroyer in February of 1899, and an improvement in the design of the bottle in December of 1899.
Butter Churn
GEORGE CRUM
The son of an African American father and a Native American mother, George Crum was working as the chef in the summer of 1853 when he incidentally invented the chip.
The invention came about after a customer in- sisted his potatoes weren’t sliced thin enough. Crum sliced a new batch of potatoes as thin as he possibly could, and then fried them until they were hard and crunchy. Finally, to top them off, he added a generous heaping of salt. To Crum's surprise, the dish ended up being a hit and be- came a new snack.
Crum never attempted to patent his invention, the snack was eventually mass-produced and sold in bags – providing thousands of jobs nation- wide.
DAVID FISHER
David Fisher’s first invention was aimed at freeing up time for carpenters and furniture makers. Fisher developed the joiner’s clamp, which he patented on April 20, 1875.
The joiner’s clamp held together furniture parts as they were glued. It also applied, balanced pressure, which caused the wood to bind together, faster and stronger than was previously possible.
On March 14, 1876, Fisher patented the furniture caster. This device was a free turning wheel that could (when combined with a few others) allow heavy items to move around a room on rollers, safely and efficiently.
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