52 Great Black Inventions Past & Present
ANCIENT
1. Inclinometer
Invented by: Africans living in Egypt/Egyptians
Date: 5,000 years ago
Description: An instrument used by surveyors to measure an angle of inclination.
2. Paper/Papyrus
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 3,000 B.C.
Description: The ancient Egyptians invented the first paper like substance: papyrus,
woven from reeds, pounded together into a thin hard sheet.
3. The Clock
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 3,500 B.C. to 1,500 B.C.
Description: Shadow Clock/Sundial (3,500 B.C.)
Water Clock (1,500 B.C.)
4. The Condom
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 4,000 years ago
Description: Lengths of oiled animal intestines sealed at one end, used to prevent
venereal disease.
5. Perfume and Cosmetics
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 4,000 B.C. to 2,000 B.C.
Description: Aromatic plant matter burned as incense to gods and ancestors. Bathing
was seen as purifying oneself. Priests were required to bathe three times a day. The
bath was followed by lotions, pomades and perfumes, made in laboratories in temples
because the hot dry climate dried and cracked the skin. The dead were buried with
jars of perfumed oil. Cosmetics included eyeliner: an ivory kohl stick used to apply
eye pencil to the edge of the eyelid.
6. Cats and Dogs as Pets
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: Dogs 3,500 B.C. Cats 1,550 B.C.
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7. The First Wine Industry
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 3,000 B.C.
8. Coffee
Invented by: Ethiopians
Date: 1,000 A.D.
Description: An Ethiopian shepherd, 600-800 A.D., noticed his goats acting strangely
after eating cherry-red berries from a nearby shrub. They remained awake, jumping
and leaping around the whole night. The shepherd tasted some and they made him
wide-awake, also. A nearby monk crushed a few berries into a powder and poured
boiling water on them to make a drink. This was the first cup of coffee! It spread to
other monasteries and throughout the Moslem world.
9. Zoos
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 1,500 B.C.
Description: Thutmose III
10. Wigs
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,600 B.C.
Descriptions: Egyptians — shaved their heads, and then wore a wig.
11. The First Castle
Invented by: Ethiopians
Date: 100 A.D.
12. First Pregnancy Tests
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: unknown
Description: Urinating on wheat and barley. If it grew faster, you were pregnant!
13. Beekeeping
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,500 B.C.
Description: 5th dynasty Egyptians learned to cultivate honey 4,000 years ago.
14. Door Key
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,000 B.C.
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15. The Game of Darts
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: unknown
16. Bagpipes
Invented by: Multiple Peoples
Date: 400 B.C.
Description: Contrary to popular belief, bagpipes are not of Scottish or Irish origin.
Bagpipes are found in Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor and in every land where
people skin sheep and goats. The Greeks wrote about the bagpipe in 400 B.C.
Bagpipes were transmitted Africa had them 1,000 years before the Celtics!
17. The World’s Oldest Mining Map
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 1,150 B.C.
18. Brick Ovens
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,500 B.C.
Description: for cooking
19. Folding Stool
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,000 B.C.
20. Metal Plumbing Pipes
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 4,000 years ago
Description: A pyramid temple
21. Clowns (as entertainers)
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,500 B.C.
Description: Originated as court jesters.
22. Canal Building
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,400 B.C.
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23. Dentistry, Surgery and Surgical Instruments
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,600 B.C.
Description: The real father of medicine was not the Greek Hippocrates, after whom
doctors take the Hippocratic oath, but rather, an African living in Egypt called
Imhotep. Imhotep lived in 2,600 B.C., 2,000 years before Hippocrates was born. He
was a doctor, architect and high priest. He was the architect of Egypt’s first pyramid,
the step pyramid at Saqqara. He diagnosed and treated over 200 diseases and
performed surgery and practiced dentistry, all more than 4,000 years ago. As a side
note, circumcision started in Africa and spread abroad to other peoples.
24. Toys
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 1,100 B.C.
Description: Includes wooden crocodiles and dolls.
25. Potter’s Wheel
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 2,400 B.C.
26. The Calendar
Invented by: Egyptians
Date: 4,236 B.C.
Description: 4,236 B.C. is the earliest recorded year in history, based on the
Egyptians 365 day calendar.
MODERN
1. Improved Automatic Gear Shift 1932
Automatic Car Washer 1933
Invented by: Richard Spikes
Date: 1932-1933
2. Wooden Golf Tee
Invented by: Dr. George Grant
Date: 1899
Description: Dr. Grant who attended Harvard Dental School in 1870, was the son of
former slaves.
3. Traffic Signal
Invented by: Garrett Morgan
Date: 1914-1923
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Description: Gas mask was invented in 1914. Automatic stop signs invented in 1923.
4. Improved Gas Heating
Invented by: Alice Parker
Date: 1919
Description: Furnace with central heating.
5. Improved Fountain Pen
Invented by: William B. Purvis
Date: 1890
6. Improved Refrigerator
Invented by: John Standard
Date: 1891
7. Elevator Improvements
Invented by: Alexander Miles
Date: 1887
Description: Stopped people from falling down elevator shafts.
8. Pacemaker (Control Electrical Resistor)
Invented by: Otis Boykin
Date: 1961
Description: Used in all guided missiles. Boykin held 26 patents. His burglar-proof
cash register was unpatented.
9. Fire Extinguisher
Invented by: T.J. Marshall
Date: 1872
10. The “Real McCoy”
Invented by: Elijah McCoy
Date: 1872
Description: Automatic lubricating cup oils machines while in motion.
11. Potato Chips
Invented by: George Crum
Date: 1853
Description: Saratoga Springs, NY, very thin French fries.
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12. Fire Escape Ladder
Invented by: Joseph Winters
Date: 1878
13. Lawn Mower
Improved by: John A. Burr
Date: 1889
14. Portable Pencil Sharpener
Invented by: John L. Love
Date: 1897
15. Double/Compound Horseshoes
Invented by: Oscar E. Brown
Date: 1892
16. Curtain Rod
Invented by: Samuel R. Scottron
Date: 1889
17. Egg Beater
Invented by: Willie Johnson
Date: 1884
18. Pressing Comb
Invented by: Walter Sammons
Date: 1920
Heated comb that straightens hair
19. Automatic Refrigeration System for Long Haul Trucks
Invented by: Frederick M. Jones
Date: 1935
20. Clamping Mop
Invented by: Thomas W. Stewart
Date: 1893
21. Automatic Shoe Lasting Machine
Invented by: Jan Matzeliger
Date: 1886
Description: Increased production of shoes from 50 pairs a day to 700 pairs a day.
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22. The Street Letter Drop
Invented by: Philip B. Downing
Date: 1891
Description: Mailbox with hinged door
23. Blood Bank (Storing Blood Plasma)
Invented by: Dr. Charles Drew
Date: 1940
Revolutionized the medical profession and saved many, many lives
24. Open Heart Surgery
Invented by: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams
Date: 1895
25. The Ironing Board
Invented by: Sarah Boone
Date: 1892
26. Folding Cabinet Bed/Sofa Bed
Invented by: Sara Goode
Date: 1885
Copyright © 2015 by Randolph Jackson.
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