Granville T. Woods was an entrepreneur and inventor, best known for developing the technology which allows trains, subways, and ships to communicate with one another. Woods was born on April 23rd, 1856, in Columbus, Ohio. His sharp mind was evident from a young age, and his parents worked hard to send him to school despite living in poverty. Sadly, he could only attend school until the age of ten, at which point he was forced to withdraw and begin working in order to help support his family.
Despite this tragic turn, Woods used his situation to his advantage. He began working at a railroad, which sparked an interest in engineering that led him to teach himself the basics of mechanics. Woods lived in a segregated area where Black people were not allowed in many libraries and academic buildings. Undeterred, Woods convinced White students to check out books for him, and he continued to teach himself engineering from these texts while working at the railroad.
By the time he was a young man, he had saved up enough money to move to New York City and enroll in college. In New York, he studied both mechanical and electrical engineering, learning skills which allowed him to develop his key inventions. After graduating and working temporarily as an engineer, Woods moved back to Ohio and devoted his time to developing his ideas. Woods first and best known invention was the “telegraphony,” or the multiplex telegraph, which was a device that allowed train operators to communicate with one another across long distances. This invention directly decreased the risk of train crashes, and operators and engineers could relay critical information with little delay.
This was a revolutionary technology, and it immediately caught the attention–and jealousy–of big players in the engineering world. Thomas Edison filed an erroneous lawsuit against Woods, attempting to steal the patent, but Woods prevailed in court. Alexander Graham Bell, one of Woods’ many admirers, offered to buy the patent from Woods instead. Woods had been hoping to move on to different plans, so sold his patent to Bell and moved back to New York to create an engineering and inventing company with his brother, Lyates.
In New York, Woods continued to optimize American transportation. His next patents were for the steam boiler furnace, an early form of electric trolley, an air-braking system for trains, and several iterations of an electrically-powered train. Many of these inventions are still in use today. Ships and trains rely on a modernized version of his telegraph system, and electric trolleys still use the track system he developed. Woods’ inventions truly revolutionized and connected America.
By Elizabeth Hudgens