Benjamin Banneker was a largely self-educated mathematician, astronomer, compiler of almanacs, inventor, and writer.
1731-1806
1942-
Scientist George Carruthers began building telescopes as a child. In his adult life, NASA used his inventions to explore space and Earth’s atmosphere.
1939-
George Washington Carver was an agricultural chemist whose development of products derived from peanuts revolutionized the South's agricultural economy.
1864-1943
1904-1950
1883-1941
Doctor Mae C. Jemison is the first African American woman ever to be a U.S. astronaut. In 1992, she flew into space aboard the Endeavour.
1956-
1949-
1899-1975
1863-1939
Inventor Garrett Morgan blazed a trail for African American innovators with his patents for hair straightening, a gas mask, and automated traffic signals.
1877-1963
James West is an American inventor who developed the foil electret microphone in 1962, what is now used in 90 percent of all contemporary microphones.
1931-
1858-1931