Lewis Howard Latimer overcame many obstacles to make great achievements in life.

The youngest of four children, Latimer was born to former slaves after a church in Boston bought his parents' freedom for them and helped them move north. But life was not easy for even free African Americans. Since he worked with his father, young Latimer attended school only occasionally. He attended long enough to skip a grade and to discover that his favorite subjects were creative writing and art – particularly drawing.

Like many children at the time, much of Latimer's childhood was spent helping earn money for his family. At first, the boy helped his father at his barbershop during the day and hung wallpaper with him at night. Later Latimer sold newspapers – one of which was The Liberator, an abolitionist paper. Another job he had was as office boy, doing odd jobs.

Soon, however, the Civil War broke out. Latimer's two older brothers had already joined to fight with the Union. At 16, Latimer was too young to join, but he lied about his age and signed up with the Navy. There he worked as a cabin boy on a gunboat until the end of the war in 1865.

After the Civil War ended, Lewis Latimer worked as an office boy for a patent company. A patent company receives information from inventors to prove they created their own original invention. If they have proof, they are awarded a patent from the government, which protects their invention from being copied. One thing inventors provide is a draft of their invention. A draft is a drawing with precise instructions and measurements.

Since he loved drawing, Latimer was fascinated by this mechanical drawing, or drafting. In his free time, the young man taught himself to draft. When the company saw how well he could draft, they promoted him to draftsman. One inventor saw Latimer's drafts and asked that Latimer draw his new invention. That inventor was Alexander Graham Bell and his invention was the telephone. After drafting the telephone, Latimer helped Bell apply for the patent as well.

More people took notice of Latimer's drafting talent. It was unusual for an African American to have such a skilled job; and Latimer's drafts were especially good. Hiram Maxim was the owner of an electric company as well as an inventor. When Maxim saw Latimer's work, he hired Latimer on the spot. Having worked on only one electrical device – the telephone – Latimer had to teach himself electrical engineering as well.

Soon, Latimer was setting up public lighting systems for entire cities. He traveled to places such as New York City; Montreal, Canada; Paris, France; and London, England, to install lights and teach people how to create and maintain them. To communicate directly with his workers, Latimer had to quickly learn French. Also, both he and his wife learned German while living in London.

Latimer grew tired of this job, however. He needed a more challenging position. The draftsman had already been creating his own inventions. In fact, he had developed a way to create part of the light bulb so it would burn longer. He had received a patent for this carbon filament, which was eventually sold to Thomas Edison. The filament greatly improved Edison's electric light bulb.

After working for several other electric companies, Thomas Edison himself hired Lewis Latimer. Besides being chief draftsman, Latimer helped Edison's electric company apply for patents. He also defended the company's patents in legal battles.

Edison also encouraged Latimer to write a book. Latimer's book was the first electrical engineering manual. Known as the "bible" of electrical engineering, the book helped engineers for many years. The book was published in the same year Latimer finished a book of original poetry.

In time, an exclusive team of scientists, including Latimer, founded "Edison Pioneers." This respected organization was dedicated to keeping alive Edison's spirit of pioneering. Lewis Latimer was the only African American in the group.

Lewis Latimer invented various types of devices. He created a flushing water closet, now called a toilet, for railway trains. Latimer was known for his machine gun. He also created an early version of the air conditioner that purified the air.

Of course, the inventor is most known for his work on the incandescent light bulb. His carbon filament was used in light bulbs until 1920 when technology advanced enough to use tungsten. Latimer also created the threaded socket, which allows the bulb to screw into a fixture.

Lewis Latimer was many other things besides an inventor and draftsman. He had a family of his own, developed his creative side, and participated in community activities. Lewis married Mary when the Civil War ended. They had two daughters after returning from overseas, where Latimer worked for Maxim.

Latimer's daughters had his book of poetry published many years after he wrote it. He also wrote plays, which were performed and were known for their comedy. After hours of drafting at work, Latimer often went home to draw portraits. He also played violin and flute, often accompanied by his daughters. Thus, he never lost his creative interests.

Along with his other activities, somehow Latimer also found time to be active in his community. He founded a Unitarian church in his neighborhood, a branch of the very church that had helped his parents out of slavery. He supported civil rights and was active in an organization for war veterans. For a time, Latimer taught German immigrants English and taught many of them drafting.