His first patent, approved on February 10, 1874, was for a water closet for railroad cars. Latimer married Mary Wilson and their family grew in time with the birth of two daughters, Jeanette and Louise. He was soon elevated to the job of chief draftsman, a position he held during much of his eleven year employment with Grosby & Gould. He watched draftsmen in the office, and then went home and practiced his observations, using second-hand instruments and a book on drawing as a guide. Believing that “whatever a man knew he put in a book,” Latimer cultivated an interest in drafting, and taught himself to be a draftsman in his spare time. Keen insight into technical matters secured the young man employment as an assistant in the establishment of Grosby & Gould, a Boston firm of patent solicitors. He received an honorable discharge July 3, 1865, and resumed an active civilian career in Boston at the close of the Civil War.

Determined to obtain an education, but aware of the need to help support his family, Lewis Latimer apprenticed at night with his father in a store on Washington Street, becoming quite proficient in the paperhanging trade.īecause of his father’s background, Lewis Latimer had deep feelings concerning abolition, and in 1864 at the age of 16, he enlisted in the Union Navy during the Civil War. Lewis, nonetheless, developed an avid interest in drawing, musical performance, and writing literary composition.

George Latimer’s limited financial means as a self-employed barber and paperhanger enabled him to provide only a few years of grammar school for his four children. His father, a former slave, had fled to Boston from a Norfolk, Virginia plantation during the 1830s to get away from slavery. He was the fourth child of George and Rebecca Latimer. Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts on September 4, 1848, and reared in Boston. His self-made background was indeed one of talent, and his many abilities were destined to bring him recognition. Latimer’s great sense of accomplishment was outstanding, even in his childhood. Lewis Latimer was one of the pioneers in the electric light industry from its creation until it became worldwide in its influence.

Lew later birthplace