Henry Blair (inventor)
Henry Blair | |
|---|---|
 The drawing of the Seed-Planter by Blair used on the patent application in 1836. | |
| Born | Henry Blaire c. 1807 Glen Ross, Maryland, United States |
| Died | 1860 |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Inventor Farmers |
| Known for | The second African American to obtain a patent |
Henry Blair (c. 1807–1860) was the second African American inventor to receive a US patent (after Thomas L. Jennings).[1]
Personal life
[edit]He was born in Glen Ross, Maryland, United States, in 1807.[citation needed] When he registered his first invention, Glenn-ross, Montgomery County, Maryland was given as his address.[2] Blair died in 1860.[3]
Inventions
[edit]His first invention was a seed-planter,[4] patented October 14, 1834, which allowed farmers to plant more corn using less labor.
On August 31, 1836, he obtained a second patent for a cotton planter.[3] This worked by splitting the ground with two shovel-like blades which a horse pulled along. A wheel-driven cylinder followed, dropping the seed into the newly plowed ground.[1] Blair had been a successful farmer for years and developed the inventions to increase efficiency in farming.[5]
In the patent records, Blair is listed as a "colored man," making this identification the only one of its kind in early patent records. Blair signed his patents with an "x", suggesting he was illiterate.[6][better source needed] It is not known whether Blair was enslaved or free when he registered his patent.[3] When his patents were granted, United States patent law allowed freed and enslaved people to obtain patents.[3] In 1857, this law was challenged by an enslaver who claimed that he owned "all the fruits of the slave's labor," including their inventions.[3] This resulted in a change of the law in 1858, which stated that enslaved people were not citizens and could not hold patents.[3] In 1871, six years after the American Civil War ended, the law was changed to grant all men patent rights.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Henry Blair". Inventors. The Black Inventor On-Line Museum. 2011. Archived from the original on 18 August 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Institute (Philadelphia, Pa ) Franklin; Pa.), Franklin Institute (Philadelphia (March 17, 1835). "Journal of the Franklin Institute". Elsevier – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f g Ray Spangenburg; Diane Moser (March 2003). African Americans in science, math, and invention. Infobase Publishing. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-0-8160-4806-9. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ The Mechanics' magazine, museum, register, journal, and gazette. M. Salmon. 1836. pp. 320–. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "The Black Inventor On-line Museum." Accessed December 4, 2012. http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/henry-blair.html Archived 2013-08-18 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Henry Blair". Projects by Students for Students. Many of Maryland's Distinguished African Americans. Archived from the original on 18 February 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
External links
[edit]- The patent text and drawings for the Seed-Planter from Today in Science.
- The patent text for the Cotton-Planter from Today in Science.