Blog Post

Pioneers of Power: Lewis Howard Latimer

Richard Simmonds • Sep 30, 2020

In this part of our Pioneers of Power series, we focus on Lewis Howard Latimer, the man who improved the electric light bulb and helped bring the telephone into the world.

Early Life

Lewis Howard Latimer was born in 1848 at a time when the USA was going through a period of great turmoil.

He was the youngest of four children and his parents were former slaves who had escaped from Virginia to Massachusetts.

Lewis’ father George was determined to live a free life and due to his lighter complexion was able to pose as a plantation owner with the darker-skinned Rebecca (Lewis’ mother) as his slave. However, after arriving in Boston, Massachusetts, he was recognized as a fugitive and jailed.

The incident was protested strongly and attempts to send George back to Virginia were hotly contested. Eventually, the issue was settled when an African American Minister paid for his release.

The US Civil War

Despite being set free, George remained terrified of being recaptured and being sold back into slavery, and in 1857 Lewis’ father fled the family home and disappeared. Now the man of the family, Lewis committed himself to providing for his mother and siblings. He took on any jobs that would offer him a wage but in 1861 the US Civil War erupted. Lewis wanted to play his part in the conflict and despite being underage managed to enlist into the US navy in 1864.

The war ended a year later, and Lewis left the military soon after. He then got a job at a law patent office as an office boy and it was there that he learned mechanical draftsmen. By watching the other draftsmen, Lewis soon became skilled and eventually worked his way up to the position of draftsman himself within a few years.

Whilst in this position Lewis’ imagination was unleashed and he dabbled with many ideas for new technologies and innovations. In the post war era, there was a boom in the form of new ideas and eventually he developed inventions of his own including an early version of an air conditioning unit.

The Telephone

Whilst working in Boston, Lewis was introduced to Alexander Graham Bell who was looking for someone to draw up the plans for his new invention, the telephone.

At this time, Bell was in a race to get the telephone patented before one of his rivals beat him to it. Latimer proved invaluable in this and together they worked long hours to draw up the blueprints. Thanks to Lewis’ expertise, Bell was able to submit the patent before his rivals. Without Lewis, another inventor may today be known for the invention of the telephone!

Hiram Maxim and Edison

Proving that he was one of the best at what he did, Lewis soon drew the attention of Hiram Maxim who in 1880 offered him a job at his company.

Maxim was the founder of the US Electric Lighting Company in Brooklyn, New York and Lews was given the job of mechanical draftsman. It was here that Lewis became acquainted with electric incandescent lighting.

At this time electric lighting was embroiled in a fierce rivalry between several prominent inventors and businessmen. As Lewis became an expert in the field, he was also assigned to supervising the installation of electric lighting in several cities around the world including London.

In 1884, Lewis was poached by Maxim’s arch nemesis, Thomas Edison.

Working for Edison, Lewis quickly established himself as an invaluable part of the company as his expertise as an electrical engineer provided him with the knowledge needed to guide Edison through the patenting process. Over the years he was tasked with protecting the company’s patents from infringements and even collected information from across the world to tackle any challenges from rival companies from Europe and elsewhere.

He rose the ranks to become Thomas Edison’s chief patent investigator and was often an expert witness in legal cases against those who sought to benefit from Edison’s inventions. Together the two men perfected the designs of the lightbulb and in 1890 Lewis wrote and published his book, Incandescent Electric Lighting:

A Practical Description of the Edison System. The book was a hit as it described how the incandescent lightbulb worked in easy to understand language.

Edison Pioneers

In 1918, Lewis was made one of the 28 charter members of the elite Edison Peers group, the only African American to have been chosen.

Lewis left Edison’s company shortly after and took up a job at a patent consultation firm until in 1922 his failing eyesight brought an end to his career. In 1924 his beloved wife Mary passed away and his health began to fail shortly after. He fell into a depression that was alleviated somewhat after his two daughters had a book of poems published to celebrate his 77^th birthday.

Latimer died on December 11, 1928 and left behind an amazing legacy. Without his skills and intelligence, two of the most revolutionary inventions of all time may never have seen the light of day. Lewis Latimer was truly the ‘Renaissance Man’.