Lewis Howard Latimer Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Lewis Howard Latimer
OCCUPATION: Engineer, Inventor
BIRTH DATE: c. 1842
DEATH DATE: c. 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH: Chelsea, Massachusetts

Best Known For

Lewis Latimer was an inventor and engineer who worked on the construction of the first telephone.

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Lewis Howard Latimer

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Synopsis

Lewis Latimer invented a “water closet for railroad cars” (1873) and drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone. In 1881 he devised a method for making a carbon filament for a light bulb made by one of Thomas Edison's competitors, and then supervised that firm's installation of electric lights in New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London.

Profile

Inventor and engineer, born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA. After serving in the US Navy during the Civil War, he studied drafting, eventually becoming chief draftsman for both General Electric and Westinghouse. He invented a ??water closet for railroad cars?? (1873), and drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone. In 1881 he devised a method for making a carbon filament for a light bulb made by one of Thomas Edison's competitors, and then supervised that firm's installation of electric lights in New York City, Philadelphia, Montreal, and London. In 1884 he went to work for Edison's company.