When we think of the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s and early 1900’s we often think of the great inventors of the era Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford and the like. We also think of the great Industrial Barons like J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Andrew W. Mellon, and John D. Rockefeller. However, we often ignore the contributions of lesser-known inventors and their contributions to the era. For example, a report from the National Geographic informs us that during the 1800’s African Americans filed over 70 patents. While we cannot ignore the contributions of men like Andrew Carnegie and Phillip Armour who redefined steel and agricultural marketing, of equal importance are the contributions of minority inventors like Andrew Jackson Beard’s contribution to farming and the railroad industry and Lydia Newman’s contribution to the personal care industry. But the thing that ties all these inventions from all the different industries involved is the way they found to improve production and distribution methods to create the economic powerhouse that America has become.

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