Science, inventions & engineering
Lewis Howard Latimer
1848–1928
Massachusetts connection
Chelsea and Boston
Latimer was a Black inventor and skilled draftsman born in Chelsea. A draftsman makes careful technical drawings. He worked with important electrical inventions and developed improvements related to light bulbs. His life shows how drawing, reading, and practical knowledge can become tools for invention.
You can use your device’s reading tools or read with a partner.
Your turn, historian
Find a detail. Build an idea.
- What did this person or group do? Point to a detail in the reading.
- What problem did this person investigate? Who else helped make progress?
- What would you like to find out next? Which kind of source could help?
“Lewis Howard Latimer mattered because ___. A detail that supports my idea is ___.”
Follow the evidence.
This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.
Read the source: Smithsonian Institution ↗Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?