Page 27 - Florida Sentinel 2-5-16 (2)

Black History: Inventions That Changed The World
ANDRE REBOUCAS
Andre Reboucas was born in 1838, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, trained at the Military School of Rio de Janeiro, and became an engineer after studying in Europe.
During the war, Reboucas designed an immersible device which could be projected underwater, causing an explosion with any ship it hit. The device
became known as the torpedo.
Reboucas died in 1898 in Funchal, Madeira, off of the coast of Africa.
LLOYD RAY
Lloyd Ray created and patented a device with a metal collection plate attached to a short wooden handle in which trash could be swept.
The device was patented on August 3, 1897 and is called a dustpan.
WILLIS JOHNSON
On February 5, 1884, Willis Johnson patented a device made up of a handle attached to a series of spring-like whisk wires used to help mix ingredients. Prior to his eggbeater, all mixing of ingredients was done by hand. And was quite labor-intensive and time-consum- ing.
Eggbeater
PHILIP B. DOWNING
The street letter drop mailbox with a hinged door that closed to protect the mail was invented by Philip B. Downing. Downing, an African American inventor, patented his new device on Octo- ber 27, 1891 (US Patent # 462,093).
BENJAMIN THORNTON
In 1935, Benjamin Thornton created a device that could be at- tached to a telephone and could be set to record a voice message from a caller. By utilizing a clock attachment, the machine could also forward the messages as well as keep track of the time they were made.
This device was the predecessor of today’s answering ma- chine.
CHARLES BROOKS
Charles Brooks designed the street sweeper and patented it on March 17, 1896. Prior to his in- vention, streets were cleaned manually by workers picking up trash by hand or sweeping it with brooms.
Brooks’ invention was made
of a truck with a series of broom-
like brushes attached which
pushed trash and debris off onto the side of the road.
JOSEPH DICKINSON
Joseph Dickinson was born
in Canada in 1855 and moved to
Michigan in 1870. He learned
about various types of organs
while working for the Clough and
Warren Organ Company in De-
troit in 1872. One of the organs
he designed was awarded a prize
at the Centennial Exposition in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in
1876 and Dickinson was quickly hired to build organs for major customers, including the Royal Family of Portugal.
Dickinson also invented a roller mechanism for the player piano which made the piano more reliable and able to play the sheet music in forward or reverse mode.
After marrying Eva Gould in 1884, Dickinson formed the Dickinson-Gould Organ Company along with his father-in-law. The company manufactured reed organs and Dickinson re- ceived numerous patents for them, the last coming in 1912.
PAGE 6-C FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2016