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Blair, Henry

Henry Blair (1807–1860) was the second African American inventor ever to receive a patent.

He was born in Montgomery County, Maryland, U.S.A. in 1807. It is believed that he spent his life as a farmer and was a free man, because slaves were not able to receive patents. For a long time Blair was thought to be the first African American to receive a patent, and is still confused today as being the first. It was later found out that actually Thomas Jennings received a patent for his invention of the dry cleaning process in 1821.

Blair received his first patent on October 14, 1834 for his invention of the corn seed planter. It allowed the farmers to plant their corn much faster, and with much less labor. The machine also helped with weed control. He later received another patent in 1836 for the invention of the cotton planter. The cotton planter was very similar to the seed planter in the way that it was put together.

Blair was not an educated man; he could not read or write. At the time that he filed his patent applications he had to sign them with an “x” because he was unable to write his name. Another interesting note about Blair is that he is the only person in the United States Patent Office records to be identified as a “colored man”. No other inventor is identified by their race. Henry Blair died in 1860.

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