Louis Latimer died on this day in Flushing, NY. Latimer began his career as one of Alexander Graham Bell's draftsmen ... but he quickly developed into a widely respected scientist and inventor. After leaving Bell's company, Latimer joined a little business called General Electric which was begun by some guy named Thomas Edison.

Latimer was the only African American engineer/scientist member of the elite Edison Pioneers research and development organization. One of Latimer's inventions was the filament for Edison's light bulb. Until Latimer's filament, Edison's light bulbs would burn only for a few minutes. Latimer's filament burned for hours.