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The next time you pick up your clothes at the dry cleaner, send a thank you to the memory of Thomas Jennings. Jennings invented a process called ‘dry scouring,’ a forerunner of modern dry cleaning. He patented the process in 1821, making him likely the first black person in America to receive a patent.Feb 27, 2019
Thomas L. Jennings was the first black man to receive a patent. The patent was awarded on March 3, 1821 (US Patent 3306x) for his discovery of a process called dry-scouring which was the forerunner of today’s modern dry-cleaning. Jennings was born free in New York City, New York in 1791.
Inspired by frequent requests for cleaning advice, he began researching cleaning solutions. Jennings found that many of his customers were unhappy when their clothing became soiled. However, because of the material used to make the garments, conventional methods at the time were ineffective in cleaning them.
Three months after President George Washington signed the Patent Act in April 1790, Samuel Hopkins, a white man from Philadelphia, received the first U.S. patent for “an Improvement in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process.”11 It would be 31 years—1821—before Thomas Jennings became the …
An American dry cleaner, Wiliam Joseph Stoddard, is credited with developing the first non-gasoline-based solvent but it was Michael Faraday, a prominent chemist, who discovered tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or “perc” which has been a solvent favorite for 80 years.
Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa. These include steam engines, metal chisels and saws, copper and iron tools and weapons, nails, glue, carbon steel and bronze weapons and art (2, 7).
Lewis Howard Latimer
Maxim, and Thomas Alva Edison. He played a critical role in the development of the telephone, and invented the carbon filament, a significant improvement in the production of the incandescent light bulb.
At the time, it was very unusual for an African-American woman to own a business or receive a patent. However, there is a wise saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” This truly applies to Sarah Goode’s unique idea.
But it’s worth revisiting that past during Black History Month, because the pre-Google era saw one of the most momentous black contributions to the development of the internet: the invention of internet search itself, by Alan Emtage.
The inventor Otis Frank Boykin, known for inventing the wire precision resistor, was born on August 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas.
Frederick Douglas Patterson | |
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Known for | First African American car manufacturer |
Children | 2 |
Parent(s) | Charles Richard Patterson (father) |
May 18, 1838
The state of California, USA, has started to phase out the use of tetrachloroethylene for dry-cleaning, and any new uses have been banned as from 2008, while use in pre-existing machines is to be discontinued by 2023 (California EPA, 2008).
French dye-works operator Jean Baptiste Jolly developed his own method using kerosene and gasoline to clean fabrics. He opened the first dry-cleaners in Paris in 1845.
Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as “perc” or “PERC”, and “PCE”), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2.
Laundering is a cheaper method of cleaning fabrics. No hazardous chemicals are used during the cleaning process. It consumes a little amount of energy during the process, up to 50 percent less energy than the dry cleaning process.
In general, single clothing items should cost under $20 (and some will be under $10), coats can cost anywhere from $13 to $100 depending on the type, draperies and comforters will cost around $20 to $40, and wedding dresses can cost as much as $500 or more.