This Black History Month, I’m sharing stories of black inventors and their contributions to our lives with products we’ve come to know and love. Follow to learn about other black inventors and their products throughout the month!

Have you ever lived in tight quarters where you have to use your limited space efficiently? Maybe in New York City or another location where every square foot counts. Solutions for this could include furniture that serve multiple purposes.

I learned an African-American woman, who was born into slavery then moved to Chicago once freed after the Civil War, invented a bed as a solution. The bed could be folded up to serve as a roll-top desk with room for storage. This was the precursor to the Murphy Bed.

The Inventor: Sarah E. Goode
An African American woman, Sarah E. Goode invented a bed to make small apartments more livable.

The Product: Folding Cabinet Bed
U.S. Patent No. 322,177: Cabinet Bed (1885). Goode was the second known African-American woman to receive a United States patent.

The Pain Point
Goode owned a furniture store and heard complaints from customers who couldn’t fit furniture in their small spaces, including a bed.

The Solution
Goode’s husband Archie was a carpenter and she came up with the folding cabinet bed as a solution to maximize small spaces.

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Do you own a Murphy Bed? Have you ever used one? Let me know below!

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.

This Black History Month, I’m sharing stories of black inventors and their contributions to our lives with products we’ve come to know and love. Follow to learn about other black inventors and their products throughout the month!

Do you use smart light bulbs? You can schedule when they come on, change the colors to set the mood in a room or dim them from your phone. There were many innovations that paved the way for smart lighting.

I learned this is possible thanks to the invention of an African-American inventor, electrical pioneer and patent expert. We often hear about Thomas Edison as the inventor of the light bulb. They worked together at General Electric. Latimer’s invention of the carbon filament improved the incandescent light bulb.

The Inventor: Lewis H. Latimer
An African American man, Lewis H. Latimer invented invented a more efficient and durable electric light bulb with a carbon filament

The Product: Carbon Light Bulb Filament
U.S. Patent No. 252,386: Process of Manufacturing Carbons (1882)

The Pain Point
Earlier filaments used more incendiary materials, like bamboo, and the light bulbs died after just a few days.

The Solution
Latimer’s filament used carbon which increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs and was a more affordable option to an incandescent light bulb.

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Do you use smart light bulbs? I would love to hear in the comments!

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.

This Black History Month, I’m sharing stories of black inventors and their contributions to our lives with products we’ve come to know and love. Follow to learn about other black inventors and their products throughout the month!

Have you captured any audio recently? Whether while recording a video for TikTok, creating a video for YouTube or creating an introduction video for LinkedIn, a special sound-capturing feature is used.

I learned this is possible thanks to the invention of an African-American inventor and acoustician, who holds over 250 patents. Today, the technology he created exists in over 90 percent of all microphones produced for cell phones, baby monitors, hearing aids, and video cameras.

The Inventor: James E. West
An African American man, James E. West invented the foil electret microphone which paved the way for the sound-capturing feature in cell phones

The Product: Foil Electret Microphone
U.S. Patent No. 3,118,022: Electroacoustic Transducer (1964)

The Pain Point
West was tasked with creating a more sensitive and compact microphone while working at Bell Labs in 1960 alongside his colleague Gerhard M. Sessler.

The Solution
West invented the foil electret microphone, which was considerably less expensive to produce than the typically used condenser microphones.

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Which devices do you have that use this technology to capture audio? I would love to hear below!

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.

This Black History Month, I’m sharing stories of black inventors and their contributions to our lives with products we’ve come to know and love. Follow to learn about other black inventors and their products throughout the month!

Do you own a smart thermostat? You can use it to set the temperature in your home from your phone, schedule preferred temperatures based on your arrival time or enhance heating and cooling to conserve energy.

In learning about home automation products, I never knew an African-American woman made the technology possible with her invention.

The Inventor: Alice H. Parker
An African-American woman, Alice H. Parker invented the heating furnace which paved the way for modern heating and thermostats.

The Product: Heating Furnace
U.S. Patent No. 1,325,905: Heating Furnace (1919)

The Pain Point
Parker was a native of Morristown, New Jersey and grew tired of cold winters due to the lack of heat distribution from a fireplace in her home.

The Solution
Parker invented a natural gas-powered furnace that evenly distributed heat throughout the house. She also created special air ducts that could be individually controlled from each room.

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Do you own a smart thermostat? Did you know that Alice H. Parker invented the heating furnace? Let me know below!

Dasanj Aberdeen

Dasanj Aberdeen is an entrepreneurial spirit who embodies the combination of left-brain logic and right-brain creativity. She is a consultant and proponent of multidisciplinary education, approaches and pursuits. She writes about their benefits in modern times and integrating multiple interests into a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle. She’s a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University with a concentration in Technology & Innovation Management, jointly delivered by the Fox School of Business and College of Engineering.