He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world- This epitaph on the grave of George Washington Carver is proof enough of the contribution this great African-American made by inventing new agricultural technologies that revolutionized farming in several parts of the US. He refused several lucrative offers and kept working to produce several patents on farms and industrial products in the late 18th century and then in the first few decades of 19th century.

Many experts consider Benjamin Banneker the first African-American inventor, who blazed a trail of invention to be followed later by many other African-Americans. Banneker was a multi-faceted personality, as he was not only an inventor but also a leading light of the anti-slavery movement. He is remembered for bringing out a Farmer's Almanac. He is credited with building the first wooden pocket watch and predicting several celestial events on the basis of his own calculations. Interestingly he did all this through self-education. He died in 1806.

Madame CJ Walker is another famous African-American woman who changed the US cosmetic industry. From a laundry worker to the head of a business empire, she covered this journey in a period of 15 years. She invented a number of cosmetics and hair care products in the early years of the 20th century and never looked back.

In the last few decades, several African-American inventors have had a long-lasting influence in almost all fields by coming out with amazing inventions. Take for example Dr. Mark Dean. He holds more than 20 patents, including three of the original nine PCs of IBM. He has played an instrumental role in developing the 1-Gigahertz chip, which has phenomenal capacity. There is a long list of African-American inventors who, in the words of Walker, gave themselves a start to move ahead of others.