Granville Tailer Woods
Known as the ‘Black Edison,’ Woods was the first American of African ancestry to be a mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. Having held more than 50 patents, trains and streetcars were what he focused on in his work. One of his notable inventions was the Multiplex Telegraph, a device that sent messages between train stations and moving trains. This improved public transportation and made it safer for the cities of the United States.
