When asked to list the important inventors in our history, we generally forget the people who came up with the small stuff who make important improvements to the original concepts and inventions. We credit Thomas Edison with the lightbulb, but at that time it would be just another gadget too expensive for anyone but the rich in private use, had it not been for Lewis Latimer. <\/p>\n
He invented the carbon filament inside the bulb and went on to invent ways of mass producing it, making the incandescent bulb affordable to most people. This little-known African American draftsman and patent expert worked with Alexander Graham Bell to patent his telephone and with Edison to submit his patents correctly and get them approved. We remember Bell and Edison, but they both gained fame and fortune because of Latimer. Is he remembered? Not so much.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn inventor Thomas E. Murray had the second largest number of U.S. patents for his inventions, outdone only by Thomas Edison, who was a contemporary and friend. No one remembers Murray, but we use his inventions every time we open a fuse box, look at outdoor electric signage, or use a dimmer switch to turn down the lights. He also invented the spark plug, the electric socket, and design of the chains strapped on tires for winter driving. Is he a household name? Nope.<\/p>\n %<\/span><\/span> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> Single Page<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An important inventor, the Scottish-born Gair was instrumental in the development of the East River waterfront and industrial area we now call Dumbo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11099,"featured_media":538439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_html":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_src":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7679,7646],"tags":[7570,4631],"districts":[],"class_list":["post-537459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dumbo","category-history","tag-robert-gair","tag-suzanne-spellen"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"How Innovator Robert Gair Built an Empire of Boxes in Dumbo","url":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/robert-gair-dumbo-brooklyn-inventor-gairville-boxes-packaging\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/robert-gair-dumbo-brooklyn-inventor-gairville-boxes-packaging\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/dumbo-robert-gair-collage-2-scaled.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/dumbo-robert-gair-collage-2-scaled.jpg"},"articleSection":"Dumbo","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Spellen"}],"creator":["Suzanne Spellen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Brownstoner","logo":""},"keywords":["robert gair","suzanne spellen"],"dateCreated":"2024-10-23T23:56:18Z","datePublished":"2024-10-23T23:56:18Z","dateModified":"2024-10-24T11:42:07Z"},"rendered":"