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Mark Dean:
Co-Inventor of the Modern IBM-Compatible PC

Invention

Microcomputer System with Bus Control Means for Peripheral Processing Devices

Mark Dean and his co-inventor Dennis Moeller created a microcomputer system with bus control means for peripheral processing devices.

Invention Impact

Their invention paved the way for the growth in the Information Technology industry by allowing the use of plug-in subsystems and peripherals like disk drives, video gear, speakers, and scanners.

Inventor Bio

Born in Jefferson City, Tennessee, Dean received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee, his MSEE from Florida Atlantic University and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Early in his career at IBM, Dean was chief engineer working with IBM personal computers. The IBM PS/2 Models 70 and 80 and the Color Graphics Adapter are among his early work; he holds three of IBM’s original nine PC patents.

Currently, Dean is Vice President of Systems Research. Dean was named an IBM fellow in 1996 and in 1997 received the Black Engineer of the Year President’s Award.

In 2004, Dr. Dean was selected as one of the 50 Most Important Blacks in Research Science

Dean holds more than twenty patents.

Otis Boykin:
Computer Resistor & The Pacemaker

 Inventions:

Otis Boykin invented an improved electrical resistor used in computers - radios - television sets and a variety of electronic devices. Boykin's resistor helped reduce the cost of those products. Otis Boykin also invented a variable resistor used in guided missile parts, a control unit for heart stimulators, a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter.

What he is most famous for is inventing the pacemaker, a medical contraption made to prevent heart failures. The pacemaker is made up of three parts: a silver dollar sized generator, wires that attach to the heart, and an electrode at the wire's tip. Inside the generator, a battery and a tiny computer to regulate the heartbeat. The battery lasts up to five years and sounds off an alarm when it needs to be replaced. The pacemaker keeps the heart beating through the use of electronic pulses. The electrode shocks the heart if it is beating too slowly and decelerates the heart when it is beating too quickly.

Inventor Bio

After graduating from Fisk University and the Illinois Institute of Technology, Otis Boykin worked in a laboratory testing automatic controls for airplanes. He later worked as a consultant for several firms and as a successful inventor.

Boykin died of a heart failure in 1982.

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Garrett Morgan:
The Gas Mask & Traffic Signal

 Inventions:

Garrett Morgan was an inventor and businessman from Cleveland who invented a device called the Morgan safety hood and smoke protector in 1914. On July 25, 1916, Garrett Morgan made national news for using his gas mask to rescue 32 men trapped during an explosion in an underground tunnel 250 feet beneath Lake Erie. Morgan and a team of volunteers donned the new "gas masks" and went to the rescue. After the rescue, Morgan's company received requests from fire departments around the country who wished to purchase the new masks. In 1914, Garrett Morgan was awarded a patent for a Safety Hood and Smoke Protector.

As American consumers began to discover the adventures of the open road, accidents were frequent. After witnessing a collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, Garrett Morgan took his turn at inventing a traffic signal.  The patent was granted on November 20, 1923. Garrett Morgan also had his invention patented in Great Britain and Canada.

Garrett Morgan stated in his patent for the traffic signal, "This invention relates to traffic signals, and particularly to those which are adapted to be positioned adjacent the intersection of two or more streets and are manually operable for directing the flow of traffic... In addition, my invention contemplates the provision of a signal which may be readily and cheaply manufactured."

Inventor Bio

The son of former slaves, Garrett Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877. His early childhood was spent attending school and working on the family farm with his brothers and sisters.

Although Garrett Morgan's formal education never took him beyond elementary school, he hired a tutor while living in Cincinnati and continued his studies in English grammar.

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