Granville Woods Biography

Granville Woods was an American inventor who was a contemporary to greats of his time like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. He was the first inventor of African ancestry to be an electrical and mechanical engineer post the Civil War. Heralded as the ‘Black Edison’ by one newspaper, it is only ironic given that he once defeated Edison in court over a patent right. He even rebuffed Edison’s offer of partnership after the win, citing the reason that it would stifle his freedom of thought. He held more than 60 patents, a majority of which dealt specifically with communications and applications in the field of railways. But he also lived in times marred by racial discrimination, which meant that he had to continuously fight for his right to own his inventions in courts. He won some, lost many and while he did not get the recognition he truly deserved then, he is remembered today as one of the most understated pioneers of the 19th century whose inventions changed the way modern communication systems and railways function.