Top 10 Famous African American Scientists and their Contributions

Famous African American Scientists

We live in the twenty-first century with modern comforts to help make our lives simpler and easier. It wouldn’t have been possible without the unrelenting efforts of numerous scientists and their useful inventions. America is one of the major hubs of new scientific discoveries and behind those are innumerable and even unknown African American scientists’ efforts. Before abolition of slavery blacks were prohibited from seeking formal education. Especially the South was a hotbed of rampant racism and social prejudice against blacks that disallowed slave literacy following a series of slave rebellions. As a result, most of their inventions were usurped by their owners and not given the right to have claim over their crafts. However, in 1870, this law was revised allowing blacks to hold patent. Even after the Civil War, African Americans were unable to find quality educational and vocational training equivalent to that of whites. Nonetheless, the blacks refused to give up striving for higher aims and proved their worth with their invaluable inventions. These famous African American scientists come from diverse field of knowledge making discoveries in physics, mathematics, medical, space and nuclear sciences.

Benjamin Banneker
Benjamin Banneker
The first name that comes up in the history of African American intellects is Benjamin Banneker. Born in 1973, in Baltimore County, Banneker was a celebrated almanac author, astronomer, clockmaker and mathematician. He made a clock himself after studying the workings of a friend’s watch. Moreover, he taught himself astronomical calculations so accurately that later he predicted a solar eclipse. He published a book on the subject predicting the eclipses. In fact, President George Washington appointed him to survey the borders of the original District of Columbia.

George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was another popular African American inventor and botanist. He was known for discovering an alternative to growing cotton helping hundreds of farmers in the process. Born in 1860, in Diamond, Missouri, Carver attended Simpson College after getting his application refused by Kansas University for being black. He received a Bachelors and Masters degree from Iowa State College in agricultural science. He introduced the method of planting peanut, soybean, and sweet potato so as to restore nitrogen in the soil which was completely consumed by cotton crops. Additionally, he was appointed the director of agricultural research in 1896 at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute.

Lonnie G. Johnson
Lonnie G. Johnson
Another Tuskegee alum, Lonnie G. Johnson, is a world renowned former Air Force and NASA engineer. Born in Alabama in 1949, Johnson went to study nuclear engineering at Tuskegee University and successfully completed his Masters degree. Afterwards, he was recruited by U.S. Air Force and the NASA space program where he assisted in developing the stealth bomber program. He is known for inventing the Super Soaker gun toy which turned out to be a massive success in early 1990s. Moreover, he established Johnson Research & Development where he invested all his energy into developing the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter that converts heat directly into electricity.

Ben Carson
Ben Carson
Born in Detroit, in 1951, Ben Carson is an eminent intellectual, scientific and political figure in recent times. He is best known for being the top neurosurgeon in America. Despite having a rough childhood and Carson made it to the big leagues through his mother’s efforts. Carson received Bachelors in psychology after earning a full scholarship to Yale. He then opted for neurosurgery at the School of Medicine at the University of Michigan. Soon he became a physician to hold the position of the director of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He gained fame in medicinal world by applying a groundbreaking method of separating two conjoined twins. Also his recent popularity is due to the fact that he is running as a Republican candidate in United States presidential elections, 2016.

Guion S. Bluford
Guion S. Bluford
The first African American to travel into space was Guion S. Bluford. Born on November 22, 1942, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bluford was a well-reputed pilot, astronaut and scientist. He received higher education from Pennsylvania State University earning a degree in aerospace engineering, 1964. He joined NASA after serving in Air Force as a decorated pilot. At the space shuttle, Challenger, he was appointed the mission specialist and spent 688 hours in space carrying out three different missions.

Mae C. Jemison
Mae C. Jemison
Speaking of astronauts, another name that comes to mind is Mae C. Jemison, who was the first female African American to travel through space. She attended Stanford University from where she attained a degree in chemical engineering and become a medical doctor from Cornell University Medical College. Soon after, she had the opportunity to be admitted into the astronaut training program which was a first time for a black woman. She was given the responsibility of conducting crew-related scientific experiments on the space shuttle for which she became science mission specialist.

Daniel Hale Williams
Daniel Hale Williams
Born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on January 18, 1856, Daniel Hale Williams was a celebrated physician and cardio-surgeon. Pioneering career in medicine rendered Williams to become the first surgeon to perform open-heart surgery in the United States. In addition to this achievement, he founded a Provident Hospital where he appointed interracial staff for the first time.

James West
James West
Scientific world of discovery witnessed a miraculous invention, when James West developed the electret transducer technology. West studied physics from Temple University and applied his learning at Acoustics Research Department at Bell Laboratories. Eventually, he invented a sensitive, inexpensive and compact microphone.

George Carruthers
George Carruthers
Another distinguished physicist to remember is George Carruthers. His inventions revolutionized the world of scientific technology. His notable inventions include the ultraviolet camera. The spectrograph helped NASA on their Apollo 16 mission capturing images of Earth’s atmosphere and exploring further mysteries of space.

Charles Drew
Charles Drew
Born in 1904, in Washington, medical researcher Charles Drew, came from African American heritage, made a groundbreaking discovery in medical field. He received his medical education from McGill University in Montreal and earned a Rockefeller Fellowship to study at Columbia University. He devised a process to store blood plasma for a longer period of time which helped in blood transfusion that saved lives of many. Additionally, he invested his reserves to establish two largest blood banks during the Second World War.

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