Black History Month Fact--Meet Lewis Howard Latimer

Black History Fact by Radio One

Lewis Howard Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on September 4, 1848, and was the youngest of five children.

Lewis Latimer joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 15. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy on July 3, 1865, he gained employment with a patent law firm, Crosby Halstead and Gould.

He learned how to use a set square, ruler, and other tools. Later, after his boss recognized his talent for sketching patent drawings, Latimer was promoted to the position of head draftsman earning $20.00 a week by 1872.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell employed Latimer, then a draftsman at Bell's patent law firm, to draft the necessary drawings required to receive a patent for Bell's telephone.