Louie's Space

Lewis H. Latimer

1848-1928
Lewis Latimer made many important contributions to early work in the field of electricity.

Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1848, six years after his parents fled slavery in Virginia. As a boy, Lewis's family was poor and Lewis worked odd jobs to help support his struggling family. In 1864, Latimer lied about his age and joined the United States Navy and fought for the Union in the Civil War. In 1866, he received an honorable discharge and moved to Boston.

In Boston, Latimer worked as an errand boy, then became a draftsman. He went on to work for Alexander Graham Bell and helped draft blueprints for the telephone. In 1879, he took a job at the American Electric Light Company. It was at this job that Latimer perfected what many consider his greatest contribution to science, the creation of a carbon filament for the light bulb. Latimer, along with Joseph Nichols, developed the idea to use carbon filaments and developed the process for efficiently manufacturing the filaments. Edison's early light bulbs used bamboo filaments, which burned out after only 30 hours of use. Latimer's and Nichol's patents made the light bulb more practical since they could be produced more inexpensively and lasted longer than bulbs with bamboo filaments.

Photo courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Division, Latimer Family Papers.

In 1880, Latimer accepted a job with Thomas Edison for whom he assisted in research and filed patents. Latimer became the only African American member of "Edison's Pioneers," Edison's elite team of engineers. While working for Edison, Latimer published the first handbook for engineering systems "Incandescent Electric Lighting." Latimer also patented a threaded wooden socket for light bulbs and supervised installation of electric street lights in cities such as London, New York and Philadelphia.