Mark Dean

Born March 2, 1957 Mark Dean is an inventor and computer engineer.He was born in Jefferson City, Tennessee and at a early age showed a love doing things like constructing tractors from scratch (this dude got mad got skills O_o)  He also was an athlete and great student, graduating from Jefferson City High School with straight A’s. Eventually he got a job at IMB and developed the (ISA) systems bus, a new system that allowed disk drives, printers and monitors to be plugged into computers. The end result was faster and better integration.(I had to do a lot of research for this one XD i am not the computer person…)Three of the company’s 9 patents are his and he has 20 patents in total.H continued to further educate himself and earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from  the Florida Atlantic University in 1982. Then, 10 years later, he got his doctorate in the same thing from Stanford.Mark Dean was put into the inventors hall of fame in 1997.

Honoring Dr. King

Eleven Facts About Nelson Mandela

Originally i was going to finish the Nelson Mandela post but after a lot of reading and writing and STILL not being done i decided to do a small post about him in the meantime.

• Nelson Mandela was on the USA terror list until he was 89 years old
• He was a great boxer which is where he got his love for strategy
• He ballroom danced
• His birth name meant trouble maker
• Winnie and Nelson ( the grandchildren in the Cosby Show) were named after Nelson Mandela and his ex wife.
• He was a master of disguise and a genius at avoiding arrest
• His favorite food was the lining of farm animals stomachs O.0
• A courtroom speech about him being ready to die saved his life (expressing a willingness to be executed helped keep him alive and Mandela was sentenced to life in prison.)
• He was highly skilled at passing notes in prison, leaving notes in discarded matchboxes, under piles of dirty dishes, and taped in toilet tanks. Using these methods,he and the other prisoners organized a hunger strike and improved their living conditions
• He declined offers to get out prison 6 TIMES because of principle
• He used sports to bring the country together

 

Nelson Mandela (Part One)

Nelson Mandela was born in Transkei, South Africa on July 18, 1918. His dad was Hendry Mphakanyiswa of the Tembu Tribe. Mandela was educated at University College of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand where he studied law.He joined the African National Congress in 1944 and was engaged in resistance against the ruling National Party’s apartheid policies after 1948. He went on trial for treason in 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961.After the banning of the ANC in 1960, he argued for the setting up of a military wing within the ANC. In June 1961, the ANC executive considered his proposal on the use of violent tactics and agreed that those members who wished to involve themselves in Mandela’s campaign would not be stopped from doing so by the ANC. This led to the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and sentenced to five years’ in prison with hard labour. In 1963, when many fellow leaders of the ANC and the Umkhonto we Sizwe were arrested, he was brought to stand trial with them for plotting to overthrow the government by violence. On June 12, 1964, eight of the accused, including Mandela, were sentenced to life in prison. From 1964 to 1982, he was in prison  at Robben Island Prison, off Cape Town after, he was at Pollsmoor Prison, nearby on the mainland.During his years in prison, Nelson Mandela’s reputation grew steadily . One thing i really like about Mandela is that he refused to compromise to get his freedom.Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990.

Charles Drew And The Blood Bank

Charles Drew was born June 3, 1904 to his mother a teacher and his father a carpet layer.He was a great athlete and scientist and his  talent for science was noticed by The American Board Of Surgery where he became a chief surgeon.In the late 1940’s before the USA entered World War II and right after he earned his doctorate he was recruited by John Scudder to help set up and administer an early prototype program for blood storage and preservation. He was to collect, test, and transport large amounts of blood for distribution in Great Britain Drew went to New York to direct the United States Blood Britain project. The Blood for Britain project was a project to help British solders and people by giving US blood to Great Britain. He created a central location for the blood collection process where people could go to give blood. He made sure all blood was tested before it was shipped out. He ensured that only skilled people handled blood plasma to avoid the possibility of contamination. The Blood for Britain program operated successfully for five months, with almost 15,000 people donating blood, and with over 5,500 vials of blood .As a result, the Blood Transfusion Betterment Association applauded Drew for his work. Out of his work came the American Red Cross Blood Bank.

The Real McCoy

Born May 2, 1844, Elijah McCoy was born free in Colchester Ontario.His parents were fugitive slaves who escaped from Kentucky to Canada.In 1847, the family returned to the US, settling in Ypslinati, Michigan. He had eleven siblings.At age 15, McCoy traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland for an apprenticeship and study. After some years, he was certified in Scotland as a mechanical engineer. After his return, he went back to living with his family.In Michigan the only work Mccoy could find was as a fireman and oiler at the Michigan Central Railroad.In a machine shop in Michigan McCoy also did more skillful work such as developing improvements and inventions.He invented a automatic lubricator for oiling the steam begins of trains and ships.He continued to refine his device and design more.He attracted attention from others like Booker T. Washington recognized him in his book Story Of The Negro. McCoy also patented for a folding ironing board and a lawn sprinkler.Lubricators using his name were not made into the 1920’s at the end of his career. He formed a company to produce his works.Eventually everyone began to realize how superior McCoy’s invention was and created the saying the real McCoy, meaning the” real deal” or “the real thing”.He married Ann Elizabeth Stewart in 1868 and she died four years later.He married again in 1873, to Mary Eleanor Delaney. They moved to Detroit when he found work there. Mary McCoy was one of the founders of the Phillis Wheatley Home for Aged Colored Men in 1898.He died in the Eloise Infirmary (Poorhouse) in Nankin Township that us now Westland, Michigan October 10, 1929.He was 86. He had continued to suffer from injuries from a car accident seven years earlier that his wife Mary died in.

Percy Lavon Julian

Born in Montgomery AlabamaApril 11,1899 Percy Lavon Julian was the first of 6 children to James Sumner Julian and Elizabeth Lena Julian. James, like his wife, a graduate of Alabama State University was employed as a clerk in the Railway Service of the Post Office, and his father was a slave Elizabeth worked as a school teacher. Among his childhood memories was finding a lynched man hung from a tree while walking in the woods near his home, which had a great influence on him. While it was unheard of f at the time for black people to pursue an education beyond the eighth grade, Julian’s parents steered all of their children toward higher education.Julian went to DePauw University  in Indiana. The college rarely accepted black students. He was not allowed to live in the college dormitories and first stayed in an off-campus boarding home, which refused to serve him meals. It took him days before he found an somewhere he could eat. He worked firing the furnace, as a waiter, and doing other jobs in a fraternity house. In return, he was allowed to sleep in the attic and eat at the house. Julian graduated from DePauw in 1920 . By 1930 Julian’s father had moved the entire family to Indiana so that all his children could attend college at DePauw. The father was still working as a railroad postal clerk.Julian wanted to obtain his doctorate in chemistry, but learned it would be difficult for an African-American. After graduating from DePauw, Julian became a chemistry teacher at Fisk University. He then received an Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and went to Harvard in 1923 for his M.S. Worried that white students would resent being taught by an African-American, Harvard renewed his teaching assistantship. He was unable to complete his Ph.D. at Harvard.In 1929, while an instructor at Howard University, Julian received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to continue his graduate work at the University Of Vienna where he earned his PhD in 1931. He studied under Ernest Spath and was considered an impressive student. In Europe, he found freedom from the racial prejudices that had nearly stifled him in the States. He freely participated in intellectual social gatherings, went to the opera and found greater acceptance among his peers. During Julian’s life he earned more than 138 chemical patents.He died of liver dance on April 19, 1975.

 

 

Garret Morgan And The Streetlight

Garret Morgan also invented the streetlight after witnessing a horrible accident at an intersection.His invention was a hand-cranked mechanical sign system using signs that could be switched relatively easily by a traffic control officer.His device was relatively simple, yet had key additional safety features that many others at the time did not have. In addition to having stop and go signs, it had an “all stop” signal that could be used to clear the intersection to allow pedestrians to cross or to stop cross-traffic before signaling a different direction to proceed. It also had a warning position to indicate general caution at times when the device operator was not present. In addition to the signs, his device featured lights and warning bells that worked when powered by a battery or a connection to a mains power source.Eventually people made their alterations, and the streetlight became what it is today.

Garret Morgan And The Gas Mask

The gas mask has a lot of importance, because before Garret Morgan, firefighters and others that take advantage of Garret Morgan’s ingenious invention had to inhale potentially fatal fumes.Although this fact is undeniable, Garret Morgan had to hire a white actor to take credit for his invention in order to sell and get people to use it.For demonstrations of the device, he sometimes adopted the disguise of “Big Chief Mason”, a purported full-blooded Indian from the an Native American Reserve in Canada.He would demonstrate the device by building a noxious fire fueled by tar, sulphur, formaldehyde and manure inside an enclosed tent. Disguised as Big Chief Mason, he would enter the tent full of black smoke, and would remain there for 20 minutes before emerging unharmed.His invention became known nationally when he led a rescue that saved several men’s lives after a 1916 tunnel explosion under Lake Erie.Before Garret Morgan arrived, two previous rescue attempts had failed. The attempted rescuers had become victims themselves by entering the tunnel and not returning. Morgan was roused in the middle of the night after one of the members of the rescue team who had seen a demonstration of his device sent a messenger to convince him to come and to bring as many of his hoods as he could.He arrived o still wearing his pajamas, and brought his brother Frank and four of the masks with him. Most of the rescuers on the scene were initially skeptical of his device, so he and his brother personally went into the tunnel along with two other volunteers, and succeeded in pulling out two men from the previous rescue attempts. He emerged carrying a victim on his back, and his brother followed just behind with another. Others joined in after his team succeeded, and rescued several more. His masks were also used to retrieve the bodies of the victims that did not survive. Morgan personally made four trips into the tunnel during the rescue, and his health was affected for years afterward from the fumes he encountered there. Cleveland’s newspapers and city officials initially ignored Morgan’s act of heroism as the first to rush into the tunnel for the rescue and his key role as the provider of the equipment that made the rescue possible, and it took years for the city to recognize his contributions.City officials requested the a hero fund commission to issue medals to several of the men involved in the rescue, but excluded Morgan from their request, even though without him,  the probability of someone surviving were very low.

Garret Morgan

Born March 4, 1877 Garret Morgan moved to Cincinnati Ohio when he was 14 years old in search of a job.He spent most of his time as a teenager as a handyman for a wealthy lawyer.He quit school at a young age so that he could work, however he hired his own tutor and continued his studies.In 1895 he moved to Cleveland Ohio and repaired sewing machines for a clothing manufacturer.His first invention was actually a belt fastener for sewing machines which he invented while he was still repairing sewing machines.He married his first wife, but that ended in divorce.Word of his skill spread and many job opportunities opened.In 1907, Morgan opened his own sewing machine and shoe repair shop. It was the first of several businesses he would own. In 1908, Morgan helped found the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, and that same year, he married his second wife, Mary Anne Hassek, and together they had three sons. In 1909, he and his wife expanded their business by opening a shop called Morgan’s Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store. They had 32 employees, and made coats, suits, dresses, and other clothes.A few years later he developed the safety hood.

He then went on to develop his traffic control signal, for which he filed for a patent in 1922.

He developed glaucoma in 1943, and was functionally blind and in poor health in his later life.

Morgan died on July 27, 1963,at the age of 86, and is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

(I will share more details on Morgan and his inventions later)