Lewis H. Latimer (THG file photo)
Lewis H. Latimer (THG file photo)

Telecom Heroes
Lewis H. Latimer

Lewis Howard Latimer, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848, was a pioneering African American inventor. He assisted Alexander Graham Bell with telephone patent drawings in 1876 and later improved the durability of light bulb filaments while at the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. Latimer patented a process for making longer-lasting carbon filaments in 1882, helping make incandescent lighting practical and affordable.

“We create our future by well improving present opportunities, no matter how few and small they are.”


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Telecom Heroes
Lewis H. Latimer


Lewis H. Latimer (THG file photo)

Lewis Howard Latimer, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848, was a pioneering African American inventor. He assisted Alexander Graham Bell with telephone patent drawings in 1876 and later improved the durability of light bulb filaments while at the U.S. Electric Lighting Company. Latimer patented a process for making longer-lasting carbon filaments in 1882, helping make incandescent lighting practical and affordable.

“We create our future by well improving present opportunities, no matter how few and small they are.”

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back to Lee de Forest
on to Mildred Lothrop