When you think of African-Americans you normally have vivid pictures of slavery, plantations, and the civil rights movement.  There is much more to African-American history then this.  Throughout American History, African-Americans have made many contributions not only to American culture but also to the technological advancements that have enabled the United States to become the single remaining superpower and the envy of the world in so many ways.

The list below is just a sampling of African-Americans that have made contributions to the development of the sciences, medicine, law, and the overall society in which we live. (Click on pictures for Reference links.)  These contributions range from the more common things we enjoy in our lives, such as Ice Cream, to their contributions to the more destructive Atomic Bomb.  Learn more about these people and others by clicking on the pictures for reference links or explore the links listed at the bottom of the page.
 
 
 
 

George Washington Carver, Jr	Lloyd Augustus Hall : Chemist and Inventor
Dr. Samuel Lee Kountz, Jr. : Kidney Specialist	James Andrew Harris : Nuclear Chemist
John R. Cooper : Chemist, Inventor	Percy Lavon Julian : Chemist , Stamp issued January 29, 1993
Moddie Daniel Taylor : Chemist	James Ellis Lu Valle : Chemist
George Edward Alcorn, Jr. : Physicist, Inventor	Norbert Rillieux : Sugar Chemist and Inventor
George R. Carruthers : Astrophysicist	Katherine G. Johnson : Physicist, Space Scientist, Mathematician
J. Ernest Wilkins, Jr. : Physicist, Mathematician, Engineer (Chemical/Nuclear)	Elijah McCoy : Inventor, Engineer
Lewis Howard Latimer : Inventor, Engineer (Mechanical and Electrical)	Garrett Augustus Morgan : Traffic Engineer
O.S. (Ozzie) Williams : Aeronautical Engineer	Otis Boykin : Inventor
Madame C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker) : Inventor, Businesswoman	Frederick McKinley Jones : Inventor
Granville T. Woods : Inventor	Philip Emeagwali  : "A father of the internet"-CNN
Charles Richard Drew : Physician, Surgeon

Suggested reading if you have a further interest in African-Americans and their many contributions to our way of life.

     Black inventors
     Aaseng, Nathan.

     A salute to Black scientists & inventors
     Empak Enterprises.

     Black pioneers of science and invention
     Haber, Louis.

     Black inventors of America
     Burt, McKinley.

     The hidden contributors : Black scientists and inventors in America
     Klein, Aaron E.

     African American firsts in science and technology
     Webster, Raymond B.

     African American inventors
     Sullivan, Otha Richard.

     To fathom more : African American scientists and inventors
     Jenkins, Edward Sidney.

     The colored inventor
     Baker, Henry E. (Henry Edwin).
 
 
 

Links of interest

• African Americans in the Hunmanities : 20th Century
• Bringing Black History into Focus
• The Faces of Science
• Mosaic Web
• Innovative Lives
• Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering
• Inventors & Inventions
• Encyclopedia Smithsonian
• Encyclopedia Smithsonian - Inventors and Innovation
• Margaret's Inventions
• Inventors Assistance League - Multicultural Resource Center
• AFRO-American Almanac

 

• African and African/Black American Organizations
• Multicultural Resource Center
• Fostering Diversity at Penn State
• Penn State Student Clubs and Organizations
• Penn State Altoona Student Organizations

 
 
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