WOODS, GRANVILLE T.

WOODS, GRANVILLE T. Having patented over fifty inventions during his lifetime, Granville T. Woods (1856-1910) was the most prolific of all black American inventors. Among other things, he patented a galvanic battery (1888), an incubator (1900), and an automatic air brake (1902). His most noted and significant invention was the induction telegraph system (1887), which increased the safety of rail travel by permitting moving trains to directly communicate with each other or with central station operators. Such an improvement did much to prevent rail collisions and traffic congestion.