QUEENSLINE
This famous inventor is buried in a Queens cemetery
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 23-APRIL 29, 2021 17
In conjunction with the Greater
Astoria Historical Society,
TimesLedger Newspapers presents
noteworthy events in the borough’s
history.
Born on April 23, 1856, in Columbus,
Ohio, Granville Tailer Woods was
an American inventor who held over
60 patents related to telephones, telegraphs,
streetcars and other industries.
An early African American mechanical
and electrical engineer in the late 19th
century, he was nicknamed the “Black
Edison.” Granville Woods passed away
in New York City in 1910 and is buried in
St. Michael’s Cemetery in Queens.
The future prolific inventor was born
into a poor family in Columbus. Woods
was raised with a brother named Lyates,
who also went on to become an inventor,
and the brothers collaborated in their
work. Due to the family’s strained circumstances,
however, Granville Woods
left school at age 10 and went to work as
an apprentice in a machine shop.
In the 1870s, the young man worked
on the railroads — first as a fireman and
then as an engineer — and then worked
aboard a Great Lakes steamer as Chief
Engineer. In the 1880s, he moved to Cincinnati
and established his own business
as an engineer and inventor.
In 1884, the visionary inventor received
his first patent for a steam boiler
furnace, and the following year he patented
a device called “telegraphony.” His
new invention allowed telegraph stations
to send voice and telegraph messages in
Morse Code over a single wire, and he
sold the patent rights to American Bell
Telephone Company. Woods went on to
patent more telecommunications technology,
and defended his patents against
lawsuits from Thomas Edison. The Wizard
of Menlo Park later offered Granville
Woods a job with the Edison Company,
but the young inventor declined the offer.
Not content with helping people
communicate better, Woods moved
on to finding better ways to power the
trains he knew so well. In 1888, he innovated
an existing system of overhead
electricity conducting lines to power
trains. In the same year, he patented a
more powerful, safer third rail system
as the Blizzard of 1888 highlighted the
need to bury power lines. He later sold
his invention to General Electric. In the
1890s, the great inventor and his brother
moved their research work to New York
City. Here, Woods also created the “safety
dimmer,” which controlled electrical
lighting in theaters and consumed 40%
less energy than conventional lighting.
Here in New York, Granville Woods
continued his important work on rail
technology. His next great creation was
the “power pick-up device,” which forms
the basis for the modern third rails used
by transit systems. Toward the end of
his career, he also received several patents
for an improved train air brake
system. By the time he passed away on
January 30, 1910, many of his inventions
were manufactured by major makers of
electrical equipment.
Although buried in an unmarked
grave in St. Michael’s Cemetery, several
of these prominent companies donated
funds to purchase a headstone for this
renowned inventor who rose from poverty
and discrimination in post-Civil
War America. In 2004, the New York
City Transit Authority issued four million
MetroCards commemorating the
inventor’s pioneering work in third
rail technology. And in 2008, the corner
of Stillwell and Mermaid Avenues in
Coney Island was named Granville T.
Woods Way.
For further info, call the
Greater Astoria Historical
Society at 718-278-0700 or www.
astorialic.org.
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LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
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