Famous African-Americans in technology

Today marks the beginning of Black History Month, which is a perfect time to commemorate the achievements of African Americans in the history of technology. This month-long observation began in 1926 as Negro History week under the suggestion of historian Carter G. Woodson. It was expanded in 1976 to become Black History Month. It is celebrated in the United Kingdom in October and in February in the United States and Canada, where it is also known as African-American History Month.

As this column generally deals with technological advances, it will now set out to remember some of those African Americans who have been most influential in our nation's development in this field. And while these innovators and their contributions are far too many to list in one column, here are just a few of the more noteworthy:

If you've ever used the phrase "The real McCoy," you may be interested to discover where it originated. Used as a means of describing something which is genuine, original or not an imitation, the phrase has been accredited by some as a reference to Elijah McCoy. Born in 1844, McCoy was a prolific engineer and inventor who worked in both Canada and the United States. During his lifetime, he received recognition by acquiring 57 patents, the most famous of which was for an automatically lubricating oil cup used in steam engines. It is said that McCoy's system was so superior to all imitators that railroad engineers insisted that their trains be outfitted with "The real McCoy" system. Whether this was the first use of the phrase is debated my some historians. A point that is not debated is the extent of McCoy's legacy. Holding patents for inventions ranging from ironing boards to lawn sprinklers, he was credited by the famous African American educator and political leader, Booker T Washington, as the most prolific black inventor in history at the time. Dying in 1929, McCoy left behind a legacy, which many believe revolutionized the field of industrial lubrication.

Another prolific inventor was Dr. Meredith "Flash" Gourdine. Gourdine earned the nickname "Flash" for his feats as a track and field star, which eventually led to an Olympic silver medal in the long jump in 1952. Gourdine's technological innovations occurred primarily in the field of electrogasdynamics. Chief among these was the Incineraid system, which was used to disperse smoke from burning buildings and fog from airport runways. His techniques also enabled him to develop the technology necessary to produce electricity cheaply and portably from low-grade coal in high voltages. Other applications of his research include allergen and pollution filtration systems, removing salt from seawater, and refrigeration. Gourdine served on the President's Panel on Energy in 1964 and was inducted into the Engineering and Science Hall of Fame in 1994. He passed away in 1998 at the age of 69 and left behind a body of work, which continues to affect the direction of advancement in the field of electrogasdynamics.

No less accomplished is Mark Dean, Chief Technology Officer for IBM's African and Middle Eastern divisions. A key member of the teams at IBM that first developed the personal computer, Dean holds three of IBM's original nine patents. Among his accomplishments during his tenure as engineer at IBM is his leadership of the team responsible for the development of the Industry Standard Architecture bus. This technology was crucial in early personal computers in that it allowed the different peripheral devices such as printers and modems attached to a motherboard to communicate with one another. Not satisfied with his success and wanting to learn more about his field, Dean returned to school and earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford in 1992. After returning to IBM, Dean was awarded the company's highest award, the title of IBM Fellow in both 1996 and 1997. He has also received the Black Engineer of the Year President's Award and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1999, Dean made further advances in the field of microprocessors as part of the team, which developed and tested the first one-gigahertz microprocessor. In 2001 Dean was elected as a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Today, Dean's patents and patents pending exceed 40, and he continues to set trends in the field of technology and computer innovation. As recently as last August, Dean, one of the original developers of the personal computer, stated in his personal blog that he now uses a tablet instead.

For more information about these and other African American innovators, visit:

http://inventors.about.com/od/blackinventors/Famous_Black_Inventors.htm

http://blackpast.org

http://www.blackhistorysociety.ca

http://www.blackinventor.com