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Amazing Facts About Foundational Black Americans
1887 — Cincinnati, Ohio
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Did you know a Black American inventor patented a system that let moving trains talk to each other for the first time—and twice defeated Thomas Edison in court when he tried to claim credit?
Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1856, Granville T. Woods received only a few years of formal schooling before apprenticing as a machinist and blacksmith. Through night school and relentless self-study, he trained himself in electrical and mechanical engineering.
In 1887, Woods patented the induction telegraph—a system that allowed moving trains to communicate with each other and with rail stations for the first time. Before this invention, trains on the same track had no reliable way to warn each other of danger.
The invention was so valuable that Thomas Edison filed patent suits claiming he was the true inventor. Woods took Edison on in court—and won both times. Edison then offered Woods a partnership. Woods refused, choosing to remain an independent inventor.
Over his lifetime, Woods earned nearly 60 patents. His work on train communication, electric railways, the third rail, and automatic braking shaped the railroads and subways still in use today.
Granville T. Woods was born on April 23, 1856, in Columbus, Ohio. Largely self-taught and trained in electrical and mechanical engineering, he became one of the most prolific Black American inventors, holding nearly 60 patents. His induction telegraph allowed moving trains to communicate with stations and each other, preventing accidents. He twice defeated Thomas Edison in patent disputes and refused Edison’s offer of partnership, choosing to remain an independent inventor. He died on January 30, 1910, in New York City and is buried in St. Michael’s Cemetery in East Elmhurst.
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