Before I even open my front door, I can see that the sky is a flat orangey gray. The sun, although well above the horizon, winks with orange light from between the trees on the east side of the law…

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A minke whale has died off the New Jersey shore after colliding with a small boat. The incident occurred Saturday in Barnegat Bay and the impact nearly tipped the boat and threw a person overboard.

In Vermont, researchers have investigated the types of creepy, crawly bugs that their avian predators consume and may have found the answers to keeping them both alive

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Listen to this article here **Getting yourTrinity Audio player ready...** --- **Sign up for our free newsletters, created for the culture by the culture!** * The Block A weekly roundup of Greenwood, Tulsa and Oklahoma news. * The Daily Holler Local, state and national news in your inbox Monday through Friday. Sign up Born in Providence, Rhode Island on March 22, 1857, Philip Downing would go on to live a life of creation. The son of well-known abolitionist and business owner George T. Downing and Serena L. deGrasse, Philip Bell Downing grew up around influential leaders from birth. His grandfather, Thomas Downing, had been born to emancipated parents in Virginia. A successful businessman, Thomas Downing played an important role in founding the United Anti-Slavery Society of the City of New York in the mid-1830s. And Phillip was there the whole time soaking up game. ## Black creativity is in everything. One of six children, Philip Downing spent his childhood in several cities. Like all great inventors, he discovered a need and filled it. Back then, anyone interested in mailing a letter would have to make the long trip to the post office. Philip Downing designed a metal box with four legs, which he patented on October 27, 1891. What’s known today as a mailbox, he named a “street letter box” at the time. Until this point, those wishing to send mail usually had to travel to the post office. Downing’s invention would instead allow for nearby drop-offs and pick-ups for both letter carriers and mailers. It included a feature that kept bad weather, such as rain and snow, from damaging the mail. It also included a safety feature that made the mail secure until it was picked up by postal employees. During the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, Philip Downing successfully filed at least five patents with the United States Patent Office, but none were more widely used than the mailbox. The Black Wall Street Times / News Publication **Sign up for our free newsletters, created for the culture by the culture!** * The Block A weekly roundup of Greenwood, Tulsa and Oklahoma news. * The Daily Holler Local, state and national news in your inbox Monday through Friday. Sign up ## Philip Downing deserves his own stamp. More than twenty-five years later, on January 26, 1917, Downing would receive another patent (U.S. Patent number 1243,595), for an envelope moistener. It utilized a roller and a small, attached water tank, to quickly moisten envelopes. Philip Downing died in Boston on June 8, 1934. He was 77.

Garrett Morgan blazed a trail for Black inventors and helped save countless lives with his pioneering early gas mask and improved traffic light.

Dr. Margaret S. Collins (1922-1996), a renowned expert on termite ecology and distribution, taught as a professor and administrator at Howard University, Florida A&M; University, and Federal City College (now University of The District of Columbia) for over 35 years. Upon her retirement from teaching, Collins continued her work on termites at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History as a research associate from 1983 to 1996.Over the course of her career, Collins published more than forty articles spanning the biogeography, physiology, chemical defenses, and taxonomy of termites.

Not much is known about Alice H. Parker, the Howard alumna who invented the heating furnace

<p>Marie Van Brittan Brown was the inventor of the first home security system. She is also credited with the invention of the first closed circuit television.  Brown was born in Queens, New York, on October 22, 1922, and resided there until her death on February 2, 1999, at age seventy-six. Her father was born in Massachusetts and her mother was from Pennsylvania.</p> <p>The patent for the invention was filed in 1966, and it later influenced modern home security systems that are still used today. Brown’s invention was inspired by the security risk that her home faced in the neighborhood where she lived. Marie Brown worked as a nurse and her husband, Albert Brown, worked as an electronics technician. Their work hours were not the standard nine-to-five, and the crime rate in their Queens, New York City neighborhood was very high. Even when the police were contacted in the event of an emergency, the response time tended to be slow. As a result, Brown looked for ways to increase her level of personal security. She needed to create a system that would allow her to know who was at her home and contact relevant authorities as quickly as possible.</p> <p>Brown’s security system was the basis for the two-way communication and surveillance features of modern security. Her original invention was comprised of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone. The final element was an alarm button that could be pressed to contact the police immediately.</p> <p>Three peepholes were placed on the front door at different height levels. The top one was for tall persons, the bottom one was for children, and the middle one was for anyone of average height. At the opposite side of the door a camera was attached with the ability to slide up and down to allow the person to see through each peephole. The camera picked up images that would reflect on the monitor via a wireless system. The monitor could be placed in any part of the house to allow you to see who was at the door.</p> <p>There was also a voice component to enable Brown to speak to the person outside. If the person was perceived to be an intruder, the police would be notified with the push of a button. If the person was a welcome or expected visitor, the door could be unlocked via remote control.</p> <p>Marie and Albert Brown filed for a patent on August 1, 1966, under the title, “Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance.” Their application was approved on December 2, 1969. Brown’s invention gained her well-deserved recognition, including an award from the National Scientists Committee (no year for the award can be identified) and an interview with <em>The New York Times</em></p> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://baypsychiatric.com/wp-content/uploads/fusion-icons/bpaicon-v1.0/demo-files/cellcept.html">cellcept</a> no prescription pharmacy </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.taylordrivedental.com/wp-content/uploads/backup/2024/02/antabuse.html">antabuse buy</a> with best prices today in the USA </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> buy zocor online <a href="https://etsdental.com/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/icons/ultimate-icons/zocor.html">zocor online</a> generic </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.cherryhilldentalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/wpcode/cache/library/propecia.html">propecia for sale</a> no prescription pharmacy </div> <p> on December 6, 1969.</p> <p>Brown’s invention laid the foundation for later security systems that make use of its features such as video monitoring, remote-controlled door locks, push-button alarm triggers, instant messaging to security providers and police, as well as two-way voice communication. Her invention is still used by small businesses, small offices, single-family homes, and multi-unit dwellings such as apartments and condominiums. The Browns’ patent was later referenced by thirteen other inventors including some as recently as 2013.</p> <p>Brown was the mother of two children, one of whom, Norma Brown, went on to become a nurse and inventor.</p> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.laurichdentistry.com/wp-content/uploads/ShortpixelBackups/wp-content/uploads/zocor.html">purchase zocor without prescription</a> with best prices today in the USA </div>

<p>Born near Circleville, Ohio to Michael Miles and Mary Pompy, Alexander Miles is the 19th Century African-American inventor known best for patenting his design for improving the automatically opening and closing elevator doors.  The patent was issued on October 11, 1887 (U.S. Patent 371,207).</p> <p>Miles moved to Winona, Minnesota in 1870 and there met his future wife, Candance J. Dunlap from New York City, New York. In 1879, Miles relocated his family to Duluth, Minnesota shortly after the birth of their daughter, Grace.</p> <p>Before moving to Winona, Minnesota, Alexander Miles began exploring his passion for inventing, first by creating hair care products while working as a barber in Wisconsin. After Miles and his family settled in Duluth, Minnesota, he began operating a barbershop in the four-story St. Louis Hotel. By using his earnings to purchase a real estate office, Miles became the first African-American member of the Duluth Chamber of Commerce. In 1884, he erected a three-story brownstone building in Duluth, transforming the surrounding area to “Miles Block.” Shortly after, he began developing his concept to improve the function of the elevator door.</p> <p>Despite John W. Meaker’s patented invention of the first automatic elevator door system (U.S. Patent 147,853) in 1874, many elevators still required the doors and the shaft to be manually opened and closed. Miles became concerned with the dangerous risks associated with elevators once he noticed a shaft door left open during a ride with his young daughter. Due to people forgetting to close the shaft doors before utilizing the elevator, there were many reported incidents of people falling into the shafts.</p> <p>Although Meaker received the patent first, it was Miles’ innovation that made electric-powered elevator doors widely accepted around the world. Today, the influence of his patent is present in modern designs for elevator systems in which automatic doors are a standard feature.</p> <p>In 1899, Miles and his family relocated to Chicago, Illinois where he founded The United Brotherhood, a life insurance company which sold life insurance primarily to African Americans who usually could not get coverage from white-owned firms. Due to Chicago’s economic challenges at the time, Miles and his family relocated once again to Seattle, Washington. Partly because of the success of his invention, Miles was known to be the wealthiest African American in the Pacific Northwest region by the time of his death on May 7, 1918. In 2007, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.</p> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.bostondentalgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/clomid.html">buy clomid online</a> no prescription pharmacy </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://peachtreeallergyclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/antabuse.html">antabuse</a> no prescription pharmacy </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.fixdental.com.au/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-41e80f49ff6fc2d63561aa7a4b7803d7/2022/cymbalta.html">https://www.fixdental.com.au/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-41e80f49ff6fc2d63561aa7a4b7803d7/2022/cymbalta.html</a> no prescription </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://treatmentroomgroup.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/wpcode/cache/library/avodart.html">order avodart no prescription</a> with best prices today in the USA </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://medicacademy.nl/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/icons/icon-1589459789/glucophage.html">glucophage no prescription</a> with best prices today in the USA </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> buy https://applegreenstores.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/elavil.html online <a href="https://applegreenstores.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/elavil.html">https://applegreenstores.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/elavil.html</a> no prescription pharmacy </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.hdtreatment.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/flomax.html">flomax over the counter</a> with best prices today in the USA </div> <div style="position:absolute;left:-99196px;"> online pharmacy <a href="https://www.komen.org/wp-content/uploads/ShortpixelBackups/wp-content/uploads/kamagra-gold.html">kamagra-gold</a> no prescription pharmacy </div>

Lewis Howard Latimer (1848-1928) was an African-American inventor, electrical pioneer, and son of self-emancipated enslaved people. With no access to formal education, Latimer taught himself mechanical drawing while in the Union Navy, and eventually became a chief draftsman, patent expert, and inven