Meet the 1st Black electrical engineer who rose from poverty to own 60 patents
- Granville Trailer Woods was the first Black person to become an electrical and mechanical engineer
- He lived a huge chunk of his life in the 19th century and became a renowned professional
- In his prime, Granville made great inventions with over 60 patents, some of which are still useful today
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Granville Tailer Woods from Columbus, Ohio was the first Black person to become a mechanical and electrical engineer and a great entrepreneur.
The brilliant engineer rose to the peak of his career, having more than 60 patents to his name.
According to Blackhistory.com, Granville lived in the 19th century as he was born in 1856 in a financially humble family.
Due to the financial status of his parents, Granville was unable to be funded by them into college. He had to learn under a blacksmith who was in his area for quite some time.
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Granville picked up the skill quite fast as he soon became a machinist himself.
After gathering enough funds, the young man was able to go to college where he studied mechanical and electrical engineering.
When he started working after college, life began to get better for Granville. It was not so long after when he had to leave Ohio.
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In 1892 he moved his facilities to New York City. In his prime years, Granville rubbed shoulders with the likes of Thomas Edison.
On one occasion, reports indicate that Thomas Edison attempted to claim Granville's invention as his own but was defeated when the issue was sent to court.
The inventions by Granville Tailer Woods have made public transportation systems throughout the United States safer and better.
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Another of Granville's notable inventions was an improved telephone transmitter that combined the telephone and the telegraph.
He agreed to sell off the rights to the telephone transmitter. Later, what he sold off was acquired by AT&T. Sadly, he died on January 30, 1910 in New York City.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
