Granville T. Woods was a inventor and electrical engineer developed inventions that were awarded 27 patents by the U.S. Patent Office between 1884 and 1903. Wood is known as the “Black Edison.”

Woods born on April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio attended school until he was 10 years old then he left school to start work. Woods worked at mechanic’s shop, where he developed a fascination with railroad equipment.  Woods was an avid reader and astute learner, started to focus all his extra time and attention to mastering electrical engineering. At 20-years-old he enrolled in a technical college and trained for two years in electrical and mechanical engineering.  After graduation, with no job prospects in Ohio, he worked as an engineer on a British steamer which allowed him to travel the world.  Woods later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he formed the Woods Electric Company.  The decision to become an entrepreneur stemmed in part because of his difficulty in finding work.

Woods first patent came in 1884, by 1887 Woods developed the most important of his inventions, the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph which allowed communication between moving trains and train depots.  One year later he developed a system for overhead electric conducting which helped power locomotives.  In 1889 he filed his first patent for an improved steam-boiler furnace.

Woods competed with more prominent inventors of the era including Thomas Edison who alleged invention of the multiplex telegraph and filed a lawsuit to support his claim.  Woods won the legal challenge prompting Edison to offer him a prominent position in the engineering department of Edison Electric Light Company in New York.  Woods declined the offer, preferring to maintain control over his inventions.

Woods died in Cincinnati in 1910 at the age of 54  Over the course of his lifetime he held 27 patents including a dozen for inventions which made electrical railways safer and more efficient.

Sources:

Butler, G. (2007, January 17). Granville T. Woods (1856-1910). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/woods-granville-t-1856-1910/

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