Lewis H. Latimer House, Jim Henderson for Wiki 1

In 1885, Lewis H. Latimer began working for his old company’s rival, Thomas Edison. He first became a member of the engineering department at the company’s Manhattan headquarters at 42 Broad Street. He worked in this capacity until 1890. He was out, front and center in the department, doing what he did best, drawing the devices and electrical systems that would make Edison the leader in electricity. But while he was all about the work, some of the workmen still couldn’t believe they were seeing a black man in his position. For more on this remarkable man’s early life, please see Part One and Part Two of our story.

He had to take the time to prove himself to almost every new workman and new hire in the company. Some just couldn’t believe he could do the work, and didn’t want him near their projects. They couldn’t believe a “colored man” would be in his position, and he had to patiently prove to them that he was an expert in his field. One by one, he won them over by his expertise, and they soon realized that not only was he good, his abilities were far ahead of almost anyone else in the field, period.

In 1890, Latimer was hired in the legal department of the Edison Electric Light Company as the chief draftsman and patent expert. The growing field of electrical studies meant that new inventions were appearing literally every day. Inventors, including Thomas Edison, were being inspired by other people’s innovations, and they, in turn, would use those innovations to spring off into a new direction.

Like computer technology today, electricity was an exciting field to be in, but if someone wanted to make money by marketing the technology, they needed to make sure their inventions were unique, and could be patented to protect them from being copied, and they needed to be able to do it fast and accurately. Lewis Latimer was an expert in that end of the invention process. Edison’s hugely inventive mind, along with the talents of his assistants and staff, meant that the Edison Electric Company had a lot of patents to file.

Lewis Latimer was such an expert now in electricity and electrical systems that he too was able to join the invention process, and came up with innovations that were also patented. He invented a new filament for light bulbs that extended their lives, while working for Edison. He not only drew these inventions, he understood them, which was invaluable to the company, as he was often called as an expert witness in the many patent trials that took place at this time. Everyone was suing everyone else, in long drawn out lawsuits. The stakes were high, as winning meant the difference between financial success and ruin.

Latimer found himself on the witness stand often, defending Edison’s inventive processes and results. The same year he moved to the legal department, Lewis wrote the most thorough book on electrical lighting to date. It was called “Incandescent Electric Lighting: A Practical Description of the Edison System.” He was named as one of the Edison Pioneers, an elite and distinguished group of people who were hailed as being responsible for creating the electrical industry. He was the only African American in the group of 28. He considered Thomas Edison a friend and mentor, and always spoke and wrote very favorably of him.

In 1896, after years of protracted law suits, the Edison and Westinghouse Companies came together to form the Board of Patent Control. The advisory board’s purpose was to coordinate their future licensing and avoid expensive lawsuits. Latimer was asked to join the board, where he became its chief draftsman and full-time patent consultant. He was still busy inventing things on his own, and applying for new patents. Earlier in 1894 he created a new safety elevator, an improvement on all existing elevators.

He received a patent for his Locking Racks, a device for holding hats, coats and umbrellas. The device could be installed in public places like restaurants and hotels, and held the items securely against being misplaced or taken by mistake, or stolen. He invented an improved book supporter that kept books upright on shelves. He also came up with an early version of the air conditioner with the first HEPA filter. He called it an “Apparatus for Cooling and Disinfecting.” It was used in hospitals to prevent dust and particulates from circulating in public areas of the hospital, as well as in patients’ rooms.

In 1903, the Latimer family purchased a home in the predominantly white neighborhood of Flushing Queens. The house was on Holly Street. It wasn’t a fancy house, but a relatively new Queen Anne suburban cottage built between 1887 and 1889. The house had been constructed by, and for a family named Sexton. Lewis would live there for the rest of his life.

He immediately became a part of the community, and worked with others to establish a Unitarian church in the neighborhood. The Unitarians had been instrumental in helping him and others in his early life in Boston, and were a progressive denomination, in the forefront of the battle for civil and equal rights. As the son of former slaves, Latimer understood the battle African Americans faced in going from slaves to citizens. He had to prove himself worthy to hold every position he had ever had. He was quite active in organizations and with people working towards the cause of equality.

Latimer was a firm believer that the Constitution, if followed, demanded social justice for black people. He met with many of the black intellectuals of the day, including Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Bishop Theodore Holly and Richard Theodore Greener. The latter was the first African American to graduate from Harvard. Greener was a scholar and diplomat, and one of the organizers of the National Conference of Colored Men, which took place in Detroit, in 1895. He invited Latimer to speak, but he could not attend. Instead, Latimer wrote,

“If our cause be made the common cause, and all our claims and demands be founded on justice and humanity, recognizing that we must wrong no man in winning our rights, I have faith to believe that the Nation will respond to our plea for equality before the law, security under the law, and an opportunity . . . to enjoy with our fellow citizens of all races and complexions the blessings guaranteed us under the Constitution, of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

The Latimer household became a gathering place for many of the leading black cultural and political leaders of their day. The poet-composer James Weldon Johnson, his brother, composer J. Rosamund Johnson, composer Harry T. Burleigh, actor and singer Paul Robeson and writer and activist W.E.B. DuBoise, among others, were all guests at the Latimer house.

Latimer lived his life in the belief that any man could become better by self-improvement. He was living proof. He had taught himself drafting as a young man, practicing at night after sweeping up and running errands in a patent law firm in Boston, by day. Everything to be learned, he believed, was in a book somewhere. Plus one could be observant and learn from everyone around him. With that in mind, he designed two extensions on his house. In 1906, he began volunteering to at the Henry Street Settlement. He taught drafting, a marketable skill that could lift anyone from poverty into a good job.

Since he was self-taught in so many fields, he naturally collected a lot of books on many different subjects. His library, which has been preserved, contains a variety of volumes, many first editions. He also believed that the arts and sciences went together, as well. An educated person knew both, and to that end, he and his family enjoyed concerts, lectures and plays. He played the flute and wrote poetry, and painted. His wife played the guitar, and both of his daughters were formally trained in music and art.

In 1911, the Board of Patent Control dissolved. Lewis Latimer once again found himself without a job, and no prospects. Despite his reputation and skills, he was not able to get a job until he was hired by an old friend and colleague, Edwin Hammer, another of Edison’s Pioneers. He became Hammer’s patent consultant until 1922, when ill health caused him to retire at the age of 74. He died on December 11, 1928, at the age of 80. The Edison Pioneers published an obituary. It read, in part:

“He was of the colored race, the only one in our organization, and was one of those to respond to the initial call that led to the formation of the Edison Pioneers, January 24th 1918. Broadmindedness, versatility in the accomplishment of things intellectual and cultural, a linguist, a devoted husband and father, all were characteristic of him, and his genial presence will be missed from our gatherings.”

The Latimer home passed to his daughters, Louise Latimer and Jeanette Latimer Norman. Louise was an artist, and used the house as her studio, and rented out rooms to students and senior citizens. Louise died in 1963, and her sister had passed away before her, so the house went to Jeanette Latimer Norman’s husband, Gerald, and their two children, Judge Gerald L. Norman and Dr. Winifred L. Norman. They sold the house to a neighbor, who sold the house again. That last buyer sold the house to a developer in 1988, who wanted to tear it down to build two multi-family homes.

Within months, a Save the Latimer House Committee was formed to move the house. Dr. Norman and Rev. Timothy Mitchell of the nearby Ebenezer Baptist Church began fundraising. Rev. Mitchell was able to have the house moved to its current site in Leavitt Field, across the street from the Latimer Gardens Housing Project, which was named after Lewis Latimer. Queens Borough President Clare Shulman provided $25K to help finance the move, and the developer donated the house.

In 1994, the house was moved and set on new permanent foundations. It was ceded to the Department of Cultural Affairs which now runs the Lewis H. Latimer house as a house museum, under the direction of the Historic House Trust. The house is a repository of Lewis Latimer’s life and works, as well as the works of other black inventors and scientists who have been left out of the pantheon of America’s great inventors and innovators. It’s a museum worth visiting, not just for African Americans, but everyone. The house was landmarked by the LPC in 1995.GMAP

The sources for this biography were many, including the LPC designation report for the Latimer house, which contained a detailed biography. Also the Queens Public Library’s exhibition on Lewis Latimer, called a Blueprint for Change. It was an excellent source for not only Latimer’s life, but the life and times he lived in.

Lewis Latimer and the rest of the Edison Legal Department. 1894. Photo: Queens Public Library
Lewis Latimer and the rest of the Edison Legal Department. 1894. Photo: Queens Public Library
Latimer in later life. Photo: Wikipedia
Latimer in later life. Photo: Wikipedia

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