Solomon Harper
Solomon Harper (October 8, 1895, Poplar Grove, Arkansas[1] - December 8, 1980, New York, New York[2] ) was an electrical engineer and inventor[3] known for creating the first electrically heated hair roller[4][5][6][7] and 28 other inventions.
Harper worked for various railways performing jobs like section head, construction and other locomotive work. In 1914, he applied for his first patent for his block system which he invented to prevent train collision. It was designed to prevent rear and head on collision and to prevent trains from running into open switches, to automatically reduce train's speed at dangerous places, and to stop trains at railways junctions.[9]
During the course of his career, he struggled to receive recognition and compensation for his inventions.[10] Harper was trained as an electrical engineer[9] and was a veteran. He was a politically active communist, and organized at least one march to picket the White House about unemployment in 1930.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "U.S., Social Security Death Index (Solomon Harper)". Ancestry.com. Retrieved June 18, 2025.; "U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 (Solomon Harper)". Ancestry.com. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
- ↑ "Solomon Harper". Daily News. December 19, 1980. p. 66.
- ↑ Center, Smithsonian Lemelson (July 23, 2014). "Solomon Harper Papers, 1957-1979". Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Hot and Steamy: Our Forever Love Affair with Hair Rollers". Conair Corporation. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ↑ Edmonds, Lauren. "Models walked in a historic fashion show dressed as items by Black inventors, from a hairbrush to a traffic light". Insider. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- 1 2 US 1772002, Harper, Solomon, "Electrical hair-treating implement", issued December 23, 1927
- ↑ US 2648757, Harper, Solomon, "Thermostatic controlled hair curlers, combs, and irons", issued October 24, 1951, assigned to Harold Watkiss (10%)
- ↑ Spark, Washington Area (March 6, 1930), Blacks, Whites Protest Job Losses: 1930 No. 2, retrieved July 19, 2021
- 1 2 "Solomon Harper Papers". Manuscript Division Finding Aids. Howard University. October 1, 2015.
- ↑ "archives.nypl.org -- Search results". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ↑ "RAGES: Mischief Out of Misery". Time. April 1935. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
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