Biography of Granville T. Woods, American Inventor

Granville T. Woods (April 23, 1856–Jan. 30, 1910) was a black inventor so successful that he was sometimes referred to as The Black Edison. He dedicated his lifes work to developing a variety of inventions, many relating to the railroad industry. By the time of his early death at age 53, Woods had invented 15 appliances for electric railways and received nearly 60 patents, many related to the railroad industry. Fast Facts: Granville T. Woods Known For: Highly successful black inventorAlso Known As: The Black EdisonBorn: April 23, 1856 in Columbus, Ohio or AustraliaParents: Tailer and Martha Woods or Martha J. Brown and Cyrus WoodsDied: Jan. 30, 1910 in New York, New YorkNotable Invention: Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph Early Life Granville T. Woods was born on April 23, 1856. Most reports indicate he was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Tailer and Martha Woods, and that he and his parents were free African-Americans by virtue of the  Northwest Ordinance  of 1787, which prohibited slavery from the territory that included what would become the state of Ohio. However, Rayvon Fouchà © wrote in a Woods biography that, based on census records, Woods death certificate, and journalistic accounts published in the 1890s, Woods was born in Australia and apparently moved to Columbus at a young age. Some biographies list his parents as Martha J. Brown and Cyrus Woods. Early Career Most sources agree that Woods had little formal education, leaving school at age 10 to work as an apprentice, studying to be a machinist and a blacksmith, and literally learning his skills on the job. Woods held a variety of positions in his early teens, including working as an engineer in a railroad machine shop and on a British ship, in a steel mill, and as a railroad worker. While working, Woods took courses in fields such as engineering and electronics, realizing that education was essential to developing the skills he would need to express his creativity with machinery.​  Some reports say he had up to two years of college course training in either electrical or mechanical engineering or both, possibly in an East Coast college from 1876 to 1878. In 1872, Woods obtained a job as a fireman on the Danville and Southern railroad in Missouri, eventually becoming an engineer and studying electronics in his spare time. In 1874, he moved to Springfield, Illinois, and worked in a rolling mill. Four years later, he took a job aboard the British steamer Ironsides. Within two years, he became its chief engineer. Settling Down His travels and experiences finally led him to settle in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he dedicated himself to modernizing the railroad and its equipment. Woods invented more than a dozen devices to improve electric railway cars and other devices for controlling the flow of electricity. His most noted invention at this point was a system for letting a train engineer know how close his train was to others, which helped reduce collisions. He also developed a system for overhead electric conducting lines for railroads, which aided in the development of overhead railroad systems in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. Woods eventually set up his own business, the Woods Electrical Co., in Cincinnati to develop, manufacture, and sell electrical apparatus. In his early 30s, he became interested in thermal power and steam-driven engines. He filed his first patent for an improved steam boiler furnace in 1889. His later patents were mainly for electrical devices. He also developed the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph, which allowed communications between train stations and moving trains. This made it possible for trains to communicate with stations and other trains so everyone knew exactly where the trains were at all times. Among his other inventions were an automatic air brake used to slow or stop trains and an electric car that was powered by overhead wires. It used a third rail system to keep the cars running on the right tracks. Other Inventors Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bells company, American Bell Telephone Co., purchased the rights to  Woods patent on an apparatus that combined a telephone and a telegraph. The device, which Woods called â€Å"telegraphony,† allowed a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. Proceeds from the sale gave Woods the luxury of being a full-time inventor. Success led to lawsuits. One was filed by famed inventor Thomas Edison, who sued Woods on a claim that he, Edison, was the inventor of the multiplex telegraph. Woods eventually won the court battle, but Edison didnt give up easily when he wanted something. Trying to win over Woods and his inventions, Edison offered Woods a prominent position in the engineering department of Edison Electric Light Co. in New York. Woods declined, preferring to maintain his independence. Early in his career during the summer of 1881, Woods contracted smallpox, which was in its last years as a major health threat in the United States. The often fatal illness sidelined Woods for nearly a year and left him with chronic kidney and liver disease that might have played a role in his early death. He suffered a stroke on Jan. 28, 1910, and died at Harlem Hospital in New York two days later. During his smallpox illness, Woods was quoted as saying he had to take extreme measures to support his family. Another reference, in 1891, mentioned that he was being sued for divorce. Generally, though, newspaper accounts referred to Woods as being a bachelor. Legacy Granville T. Woods dozens of inventions and patents made life easier and safer for countless Americans, especially when it came to railroad travel. When he died, he had become an admired and well-respected inventor, having sold a number of his devices to such industrial giants as Westinghouse, General Electric, and American Engineering. Decades later, many of his other patents have been assigned to major manufacturers of electrical equipment that play a substantial role in daily life. To the world, he was known as the Black Thomas Edison, and his numerous inventions and improvements to existing technology seem to support that characterization. Sources Granville T. Woods:  1856–1910.Encyclopedia.com.Granville T. Woods. Biography.com.Granville T. Woods. AfricanAmericanHistoryOnline.com.Granville T. Woods. Famous Black Inventors.

The s Historical Atlas Of Central Asia - 1579 Words

For millennia, civilizations on either side of the Eurasian Continent exchanged both products and ideas through the complex networks of the Silk Route. Central Asia, given its strategic position on this route, long served a critical role at the crossroads between East and West. However, while cultures on both ends of the networks have by and large been extensively researched, Central Asia — despite its centrality — is frequently ignored or marginalized; rather than claiming a separate area of study, it oftentimes retreats to the peripheries of a larger grouping, whether the Islamic world, the Sinosphere, or the Russian Empire. Yuri Bregel, on the other hand, proposes an alternative perception of the region. He contends that Central Asia†¦show more content†¦Climate is a dominant factor in the development of Central Asian civilizations. In the first map, titled â€Å"The Principal Geographical Features and Provinces,† Bregel paints the environmental condi tions of each locale with rich details (3). Deserts cast a pervasive presence in the map, limiting both human movement and patterns of settlement. Because of Central Asia’s high aridity, most population centers lie on the banks of Amu-Darya and Sir-Darya, the main rivers in the region, as well as their tributaries. These circumstances, together with the ubiquity of mountains in the south, produce a series of sedentary provinces such as Ferghana and Khorezm that are relatively isolated from one another. Furthermore, the deserts act as a natural barrier disjoining the mountain-based farming communities from the vast steppes to their north, where a more temperate climate and flat terrains encourage nomadic ways of life. Conflicts often arise when the two groups intersect, and the struggle between sedentary city-states and nomadic empires comprises a key theme in the history of Central Asia. Nowhere is the distinction between the two categories more apparent than in the drawing of political boundaries. Bregel explains in the preface that â€Å"various Central Asian states knew to protect theirShow MoreRelatedIndia Size and Location1398 Words   |  6 Pagescountry into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the mainland, lie the Andaman and Nicobar islands and the Lakshadweep islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea respectively. Find out the extent of these groups of islands from your atlas. †¢ The southernmost point of the Indian Union– ‘Indira Point’ got submerged under the sea water in 2004 during the Tsunami. LOCATION India is a vast country. 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Are Socrates’s Views on Death Consistent Throughout the Apology Free Essays

â€Å"A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live. † Martin Luther King said these words urging the importance of living with a cause. Socrates was a man who strictly lived his life with a purpose, and according to Plato’s Apology, died for the right to practice philosophy. We will write a custom essay sample on Are Socrates’s Views on Death Consistent Throughout the Apology or any similar topic only for you Order Now What perhaps is most interesting about Socrates’s view is his outlook on death. Death, to many, is a frightful end; something to be avoided for as long as one possibly can. Socrates disagrees, as seen most clearly in his very last speech prior to the conviction of his death. But was this acceptance of death with open arms Socrates’s view throughout the Apology? I believe yes, and it can be seen clearly first in Socrates’s defense speech, then the response to the question of what verdict Socrates himself sees fit, otherwise known as the epitimesis, and lastly in the speech immediately following the ruling of death. Since the beginning of the Apology, Socrates has proclaimed that he, in fact, knows â€Å"nothing† and because he understand this about himself, it makes Socrates wiser than most. I believe that this fundamental understanding of himself is the foundation for all of Socrates’s views, including his interesting take on death and the end. Throughout the defense speech as well as after, Socrates uses tactics that one convicted of a serious crime would do his best to avoid. Resorting to sarcasm, suggesting the overwhelming ignorance of the jurors, as well as very subtly over-exemplifying his own superior wisdom are all examples of his interesting behavior at court, that, many claim, resulted in Socrates condemning himself to death. During the defense speech, Socrates rhetorically asks himself why he would continue to partake in an activity that puts him in danger of the death penalty. He answers, â€Å"You are mistaken†¦if you think that a man who is worth anything ought to append his time weighing up the prospects of life and death. He has only one thing to consider†¦whether he is acting justly or unjustly. (28a-b, p. 54). Socrates clearly believes in the importance of being a good man and an asset to society. His duty, he feels is to lead a just philosophic life, as God ordered him to do, and Socrates feels that to abandon his responsibility for fear of death would not only be humiliating, but shameful and dishonorable as well. In fact, Socrates states that if he did act cowardly and leave his post for fear of death, it would then be just to convict him for disobeying the oracle and failing to adhere to his duties. Socrates believes that whether or not he is acquitted or not, he will never stop philosophizing or change his ways, not even if he has to â€Å"die a hundred deaths† (p. 56). It is not his fear of appearing cowardly, but Socrates’s lack of fear of death that can be directly connected to his core belief that the greatest injustice of all is thinking one knows what he does not know. Socrates explains that fearing death is dreading what one does not know, therefore is a form of the greatest injustice. â€Å"I shall never feel more fear or aversion for something which, for all I know, may really be blessing than for those evils which I know to be evils† (p. 55). Socrates goes beyond what many men fail to see, the fact that fearing the unknown is futile, and because of this very understanding he remains so steadfast in his beliefs and welcomes death when it comes calling. Closer to the end of the defense speech, Socrates brings up the idea that if executed, another practicing philosophy just as he did will come to the city. Socrates seems to enjoy subtly tormenting the jurors and almost threatening them with the appearance of another â€Å"Socrates†, as if to suggest the nuisance caused with his actions is immortal. Socrates’s defense speech, hardly served any sort of â€Å"defense† at all. Instead it seems that the preconceptions and slander that the jurors had about the convicted were actually proved, as Socrates continued to dispel any remorse towards his actions and fear towards forthcoming death. The second part of the Apology is when Socrates is asked to present his epitimesis, or an alternate punishment after the death penalty is issued. The alternate punishment Socrates offers, full of sarcasm and pure ridicule towards the jurors, is a free dinner. Socrates sees his will to philosophize as betterment to the city and its people, so therefore a reward, rather than a punishment, seems appropriate. â€Å"I set myself to do you †¦what I hold to be the greatest possible service: I tried to persuade each one of you not to think more of practical advantages than of his mental and moral being† (p. 65). His actions, Socrates believes, are free of wrongdoing and only benefit the jurors be attempting to convince them of caring for a morally just life. His clear derision of the jurors does anything but help Socrates’s case, and as wise man, though he does continue to refute that fact, he understands this. Any other man convicted of a serious crime, and endangered by the possibility of the death penalty would never dream of ridiculing the jurors in the manner in which Socrates continues to do so. As Socrates believes he has done nothing wrong, he also mentions in an almost apathetic way that he has already done as much as he can to convince the jurors of his just innocence. He then goes to mention that as he believes in his innocence, that proposing an alternate penalty proves to be unnecessary. Socrates also states that as he has no knowledge of death, whether it is to be feared or welcomed, he cannot possibly choose another punishment for himself. Furthermore, Socrates continues to say that if he is able to avoid the death penalty, he will never flee from his duties to society and stop philosophizing. â€Å"†¦to let no day pass without discussing goodness and†¦examining both myself and others is really the very best thing a man can do†¦life without this sort of examination is not worth living†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 6). It is made clear in the epitimesis, that Socrates is wholly committed to leading a good, just life, and practicing philosophy, whether or not his life is depended on it. Socrates truly believes in his innocence well as his cause, and therefore cannot succumb himself to pleading for another verdict. After the penalty of death has been announced, Socrates seems relatively calm. He mentions that he is so far along in life as it is, death seems timely, and claims that the jurors would have escaped the irksome task of a hearing had they had a little patience and let Socrates die of natural causes. After hearing that one is to be put to death, most would try whatever is left in his or her power to save themselves. Socrates, however, staying true to his beliefs of truth and justice refuses to â€Å"weep and wail† because he feels that doing so would not only dishonor himself, but result him in acting unjustly. â€Å"I would much rather die as the result of this defense†¦ in a court of law, just as in warfare, neither I nor any other ought to use his wits to escape death by any means† (p. 67). Socrates feels that attempting to run from death would result in admitting himself to evil, which he also suggests the jurors are condemning themselves to by prosecuting an innocent man. Socrates believes to die as a just man, rather than live his life any other way, and attempting to escape the finalized verdict would not only be catering to injustice, but would be seen as an insult to everything Socrates has practiced in his life thus. Therefore, Socrates accepts death as a blessing, and also characterizes it as two possible things; a dreamless sleep, or a migration to another place. For the first, Socrates welcomes this possibility, calling it a â€Å"marvelous gain†, considering it calming. If death is a truly a migration to another place, Socrates sees it has a chance to meet and converse with the brilliant minds of the past, and would love to experience such an opportunity. â€Å"I am willing to die ten times over if this account is true†¦at least it would be an wonderful personal experience to join them there†¦heroes of the old days who met their death through an unjust trial†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 70). Not only does Socrates mention how interesting it would be to meet wise men, but he also states that he would want to philosophize with them and try and determine who amongst them is truly wise, exactly the actions for which he is in court for. This shows his avid determination for his cause, and fearless attitude towards death, that even after his end he will continue to practice his duties and adhere by his just beliefs. Socrates’s core belief is understanding that he knows what he does not know, and thinking otherwise is a tremendous injustice. And because of this sole belief, he is able to form his fearless views on death and the afterlife. Socrates argues that since we cannot fathom any understanding of the afterlife, there is no use in fearing or running from it, and doing so would be unjust. Socrates does hold this view throughout the entire Apology. The only difference between the speeches may be that Socrates seems more welcoming of death in the final speech, after the verdict is finalized. However, this is not a proof of any sort of altering views. Instead, I believe that Socrates always talked about welcoming death when the time for it arrives, using it as an example of a probable end rather than a confirmed one. After Socrates feels that he has exhausted his own defense and preached the importance of justice and truth, and the verdict to death is the final conclusion, he is able to easily accept the end, and welcome it, since he would much rather see to dying as just man, instead of living in any other manner. In conclusion, Socrates’s principle beliefs allowed him to keep his views on death and the afterlife consistent throughout his trial as noted in Plato’s Apology. Socrates unswervingly remains true to this values of justice, refusing to succumb to the mercy of the jurors, and continuing to try to convince the court of his innocence through what was morally correct, as well as deity-approved duties. His vow to never give up on his morals and obligations to the city and its people enabled Socrates to die a noble, honorable, and just man, who instead of fleeing from death, embraced it. How to cite Are Socrates’s Views on Death Consistent Throughout the Apology, Papers