Science and Technology: African Inventors in the Americas

We learn very little about inventors of African descent. The inventors highlighted here do not represent an exhaustive list. It includes some of the early inventors in the Americas, whether  independent, corporate or government inventors. Notably, the drive to make the food production process  more efficient after the abolition of slavery in the Americas was not lost on many of these innovators.  




Photo: Thomas L. Jennings
(1791–1856)

Thomas L. Jennings was the first African to receive a patent in the United States of America. On March 3, 1821 he secured US Patent 3306x for discovering a process called dry-scouring. Jennings lived in New York as a free man. He owned and operated tailoring and clothing cleaners business. Dry-scouring is a process he developed for cleaning clothing through a dry process instead of a wet process. Yes,  the successful dry-cleaners can thank Mr. Jennings for his early innovation published to the world in 1821. Jennings used the profits secured from his patent to free members of his family who were still under slavery systems in some of the U.S. Jennings also used his wealth as a business man and inventor to financially support the abolition movement that was growing in many areas throughout the U.S. during his time. 




Photo of inventor Jan Ernst Matzeliger
(b. 9/15/1852 – d. 8/24/1889)

Jan Ernst Matzeliger was born in Paramaribo, Suriname (then Dutch Guyana). Matzeliger's mother was an Afrian born woman  into the Dutch slave society of Dutch Guyana. His father was a wealthy Dutch engineer.  Matzeliger came to the United States and settled into the New England region where he developed the shoe-lasting machine invention that assembled the upper shoe to the sole, receiving U.S. Patent No. 459,899 on September 22, 1891 -- an innovation that greatly increased efficiency in the shoe production process. Additional U.S. patents received by Matzeliger include the following: 274,207, 3/20/1883, Automatic method for lasting shoe; 421,954, 2/25/1890, Nailing machine; 423,937, 3/25/1890, Tack separating and distributing mechanism; 415,726, 11/26/1899, Mechanism for distributing tacks, nails, etc.




Photo: Norbert Rillieux
(b. 3/17/1806 - d. 10/8/1894)

Norbert Rillieux was born into privilege in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of a wealthy Creole mother and a white father who was an engineer. Rillieux and his brother were educated in France. By 1830, Rillieux was teaching applied mechanics at the École Centrale in Paris. When Rillieux returned to Louisiana, there was a growing demand to replace the dangerous "Jamaica Train" sugar manufacturing process. Rillieux developed a steam-driven process for making the sweet grainy substance. His U.S. patents include the following:

* 3,237, 8/26/1843, Improvement in sugar works

* 4,879, 12/10/1846, Sugar processing evaporator



Shelby J. Davidson was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1868 and graduated from Howard University and would read law and become admitted into the DC bar and Kentucky bar. Davidson became a government inventor and worked with the United States Treasury Department where he invented adding machine automations that increased the postal division's efficiency. Davidson received U.S. Patent No. 884,721 on April 14, 1908 for what is described as a paper-rewind mechanism for adding machines. In 1912, Davidson resigned with the government amid disputes arising from Davidson's rights to the adding machine. He practiced law and entered into the real estate market.

Alexander P. Ashbourne received patent no. 170,460 for designing a unique biscuit cutter on November 30, 1875. Ashbourne's cookie cutter innovated on the variety of shapes available for biscuits, cakes or cookies. The invention involved a plate, roller and springs system whereby the cutters presses down on the dough or batter into optional shapes. Ashbourne also obtained U.S. patents for various agricultural related patents described below:

* 163,962 (1875), Process for preparing coconut for domestic use; 194,287 (1877), Process of treating coconut; 230,518 (1880), Refining coconut oil

Drawing of Inventor Granville T. Woods
(b. 4/23/1856 - d. 1/30/1910)

Granville T. Woods focused his innovation in the area of railway electronic communication systems. On June 3, 1884, Woods received his first patent. This was for an improved steam-boiler furnace, U.S. Patent No. 299,894. Subsequently, Alexander Graham Bell's company would purchase the rights to his telegraphony patent, a device that allowed a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. The relationship with the Bell company enabled Woods to become a full-time inventor. Woods would go on to receive a patent for an automatic air brake, which is used to slow and stop trains. 

John Standard obtained U.S. Patent No. 455,891. Born July 1891, John Standard was born in New Jersey. He improved on the original icebox by putting cold air-ducts or holds in special areas to help the air circulate within the icebox in order to keep foods fresher. His invention also provided a special place to keep the drinking water and other drinks separate from the food. This avoided liquids picking up the flavors and smells of other foods. 



Photo of inventor Lewis H. Latimer
(b. 9/4/1848 - d. 12/11/1928)

As a teenager, Lewis H. Latimer received an opportunity to work for the Boston patent firm Crosby, Halstead & Gould. He worked his way up to chief patent drawing draftsman where he began drafting for Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for the telephone. In 1874, Latimer secured his first patent for an "improvement in water-closet for railroad-cars". He moved from Boston area to Connecticut where he joined the United States Electric Lighting Company, working on electric lighting innovations while he worked on his owned lamp designs. He would later join Thomas Edison's company, which would become General Electric, and become a member of the legal department.

On February 17, 1891, Albert C. Richardson received Patent 446,470 for his  innovations in the food production, particularly improved churning processes. The American churn was traditionally a wooden appliance for making butter from cream skimmed from law milk. It was shaped like a barrel with a long wooden stick coming through a hole in the center top. Richardson's improvements included installing glass panels on both sides of the churn to see the butter. This helped preps determine whether it was ready. He also included a plate inside the churn for the butter to be placed for easier removal. Richardson's U.S. patents include the following:

• 255,022, 3/14/1882, Hame fastener
• 446,470, 2/17/1891, Churn
• 529,311, 11/13/1894, Casket-lowering device
• 620,362, 2/28/1899, Insect destroyer
• 638,811, 12/12/1899, Bottle

Judy W. Reed 1884 patent for dough kneading 

Judy W. Reed received U.S. Patent No. 305,474, received September 23, 1884, for a hand-operated dough kneader and roller that allowed for improved mixing that was more evenly distributed when processed through the rollers with corrugated slates. Little is written about Reed's life, but she has garnered the title of being the first African-American woman to receive a U.S. patent.

Joseph Lee received U.S. Patent No. 524,042 for a kneading machine invention on August 7, 1894. Lee's time saving invention mixed and kneaded the dough and also replaced the need to hand roll dough.

Robert P. Scott invented the corn silker and obtained U.S. Patent No. 524,223 on August 7, 1894. Corn silk is the silk-like thread fibers on the inside of the green husks removed from corn-on-the-cob. Removing corn silk proved both time consuming and difficult. The R.P. Scott Corn Silker helped to make this process faster and more efficient. 

Inventor Garrett A. Morgan, Sr.

Garrett A. Morgan, Sr. filed his patent application in 1922 and obtained U.S. Patent No. 1,475,024 on Nov. 20 1923 for an electrical traffic signal to be used at street intersections as a tool to control for the flow of safe traffic from automobiles, bicycles and pedestrians. In 1912, Morgan also obtained U.S. Patent No. 109,936 for a breathing device to be used to stop the flow of injurious gases to persons, later called the gas mask.

John T. White obtained U.S. Patent No. 572,849 on December 8, 1896 for the first commercial lemon squeezer.White's invention made it easier to squeeze all of the juice out of a lemon. It also separated the seeds and pulp from the juice, and prevented squirting. 



African-American inventor: Lloyd Ray dustpan 

Lloyd P. Ray received U.S. Patent No. 587,607 on August 3, 1897 for a new and useful improvement in dust pans. Ray's device included a metal collection plate that trash could be swept into, attached to a short wooden handle. 

Alfred L. Cralle received U.S. Patent No. 576,395 on February 2, 1897 for an ice cream mold and ice cream scooper (disher). This made serving ice cream in perfect round portions to fit on cones. 

 

Elbert R. Robinson received U.S. Patent Nos. 505,370, September 19, 1893, electric railway trolley and 594,286, November 23, 1897, casting composite or other car wheels.

FURTHER RESOURCES: Ohio State University's Knowledge Bank: African American Patent Holders Database

African Kingdoms: Medieval Warfare Between Ghana and Mali Empires

In 1230 C.E., the western Africa Ghana Empire fell under the warfare leadership of Sundiata Keita, leading to the rise of the Mali Empire in West Africa.

According to the Epic of Sundiata, the national epic poem of the Mali Empire (also referenced as Mandinka, Manding Empire, Manden Kurufa, Mandingo people, Mande language), the Mali federation of nation-states included nearly all of the land between the Sahara Desert to the coastal borders of the modern day nations of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal. The Mali Empire would control most of west Africa for two centuries.

Sundiata Keita's Medieval Warfare in West Africa

Sundiata Keita, also known as Sogolon Djata or Mansa Sundiata, was from the Keita clan and born in the village of Niani near the modern day borders of Mali and north-east Guinea. The loosely federated Mandinka kingdoms were ruled by the medieval Ghana Empire (cir. 790 C.E., also known as the Wagadou Empire) under King Soumaoro Kanté during Sundiata’s youth. The modern country of Ghana shares no territory with the medieval Ghana Empire, though some of its inhabitants claim ancestral lineage with the inhabitants of the mediæval empire.

Mandika Kingdom-States Battle the Ghana Empire

Sundiata devoted his life to the overthrow of the Ghana Empire and was exiled after waging war against the medieval Ghana Empire by mobilizing the loosely federated Mandinka kingdom-states. In 1230 C.E., Sundiata led a rebellion against King Soumaba Cisse from the then Kangaba kingdom-state in the south-western region of the modern day Mali nation's Koulikoro Region. Kangaba was then an important gold mining region among the Mandinka kingdom-states.

The Battle of Kirina near the Koulikoro Mountains of Bamako, Mali

Medieval West Africa was ruled by three major empire nations, the Ghana, Mali and Songhai. These kingdoms were part of a region historically referred to as the Western Sudan, which extended from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Africa. Trade routes were numerous across the Western Sudan region.

In 1235 C.E., Ghana Empire forces were led by the Sosso region king Soumaoro Kanté, also known in historical accounts as Sumanguru Kanté. Soumaoro converged at the Koulikoro Region of modern day Bamako, Mali in an important battle with the Mandinka forces. The historic African military Battle of Kirina is cited by historians as the final defeat of the mediæval Ghana Empire. Military legend provides that Soumaoro was not killed but disappeared into the Koulikoro mountains of Bamako.

Sundiata was crowned Mansa or "King of Kings.” His three sons succeeded him to the throne of the Mali Empire: Mansa Khalifa Keita, Ouati Keita and Wali Keita. The famous tales of Mansa Musa (b. 1307 C.E.), the son of Sundiata's brother Abu-Bakr, chronicles his travels and trade to distant lands in East Africa and the Middle East. While part of the royal kingdom family of the Mali Empire, Mansa Musa's grandfather Abu-Bakr and father Faga Laya did not ascend the Mali Empire throne as Mansas.

Mansa Musa Rules Mali Empire and Travels to Mecca

According to Ibn-Khaldun's history of the Malian kings, Mansa Musa’s legendary caravan across Africa from Timbuktu to Mecca occurred in 1324 C.E. The historical accounts provide that Mansa Musa traveled with a band of 60,000 people; 12,000 slaves; 500 workers; 300 pounds of gold; and the nation’s foremost poets, artists, and scholars.

While the year of Mansa Musa's death is debated among modern historians, his reign is generally thought to have lasted about 25 years. The recorded rule of Mansa Musa’s son Mansa Maghan was from 1332 to 1336 C.E.. Mansa Suleyman, Mansa Musa’s older brother, ruled the Mali Empire from 1336 to 1360 C.E..

Further reading:

“The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Century Kings of Mali,” by N. Levtzion, The Journal of African History, Vol. 4, No. 3. (1963).

42 Laws of Maat Under Kemet Law

Maat was the rule of law and moral justice among the ancient Kemet people, and the divine cosmological order within their mythology, astronomy, and astrophysical studies.

Kemet is the name the native African people of the country now known as Egypt called themselves in their surviving writings. Many scholars refer to the people as "kmt" or Kemet. The surviving artifacts of the Kemet viziers and scribes evidence that Kemet rule of law was “Maat,” contained at least in part in observing the 42 Laws of Maat.

The Goddess Maat as the Cosmological Origin of Kemet Rule of Law

Heliopolis-era creation stories from the Kemet people report that in the beginning Atum emerged from the Isfet (chaos) of Nu (primordial waters). Atum created the god Shu (personification of air/cool dryness) and goddess Tefnut (personification of moisture) from Nu. Shu is depicted in the Kemet iconography as an ostrich feather.

Under Kemet cosmology, Maat is designed to avert chaos (Isfet) and maintain truth (Maat). The symbol for truth, justice, balance, and order is the Goddess Maat. The iconography for Maat in the hieroglyphs depict the single ostrich feather (Shu), worn atop Goddess Maat’s head.

During the reign of Pharaoh Menes, around 2925 B.C.E., after the unification of upper and lower Kemet, archaeological finds evidence administration of the 42 Laws of Maat among the Kemet people as deduced from Kemet coffin texts or funerary papyri dating from this period.

The Duat, the Hall of Two Truths, and the Weighing the Ka (Heart)

Photo: Plate 3 of the Papyrus of Ani. 42 Laws of Maat, or 42 Negative Confessions, or 42 Admonition to Goddess Maat

The duat (underworld as the place for judgment) is where the popular Kemet funerary scene of the Hall of Two Truths is depicted in the various versions of the “Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Papyrus of Ani,” edited by E.A. Wallis Budge. A closer interpretation of the title from the Kemet language is said to be “Book of Coming Forth by Day.” The Budge translation was a funerary text written for the "coming forth" of Kemet scribe Ani.

In Chapter 30B of The Papyrus of Ani entitled “Chapter for Not Letting Ani’s Heart Create Opposition Against Him, in the Gods’ Domain,” we see the deceased scribe standing before his own heart/soul (ka) on the scale of Maat. On the opposite scale is the Goddess Maat’s feather of truth (Shu). The head of the Goddess Maat is depicted atop the scales of justice. Thoth, also known by other names such as Tehuti, stands holding a tablet and a writing tool to record the results from the scales. The ibis-headed Thoth is the patron saint of Maat scribes and priests.

Petitioner Announces the 42 Divine Principles of the Maat

In Chapter 125 of The Papyrus of Ani, we find the petitioner led by Anubis into duat and pronouncing his/her 42 affirmative declarations, listed below from Budge’s public domain translation of the 42 Divine Principles of Maat:

1. I have not committed sin.
2. I have not committed robbery with violence.
3. I have not stolen.
4. I have not slain men or women.
5. I have not stolen food.
6. I have not swindled offerings.
7. I have not stolen from God/Goddess.
8. I have not told lies.
9. I have not carried away food.
10. I have not cursed.
11. I have not closed my ears to truth.
12. I have not committed adultery.
13. I have not made anyone cry.
14. I have not felt sorrow without reason.
15. I have not assaulted anyone.
16. I am not deceitful.
17. I have not stolen anyone’s land.
18. I have not been an eavesdropper.
19. I have not falsely accused anyone.
20. I have not been angry without reason.
21. I have not seduced anyone’s wife.
22. I have not polluted myself.
23. I have not terrorized anyone.
24. I have not disobeyed the Law.
25. I have not been exclusively angry.
26. I have not cursed God/Goddess.
27. I have not behaved with violence.
28. I have not caused disruption of peace.
29. I have not acted hastily or without thought.
30. I have not overstepped my boundaries of concern.
31. I have not exaggerated my words when speaking.
32. I have not worked evil.
33. I have not used evil thoughts, words or deeds.
34. I have not polluted the water.
35. I have not spoken angrily or arrogantly.
36. I have not cursed anyone in thought, word or deeds.
37. I have not placed myself on a pedestal.
38. I have not stolen what belongs to God/Goddess.
39. I have not stolen from or disrespected the deceased.
40. I have not taken food from a child.
41. I have not acted with insolence.
42. I have not destroyed property belonging to God/Goddess.

After the petitioner’s testimony containing the 42 affirmative declarations, the weighing of the ka for truth, and the reading of the scales, it is said that the doer of Maat is administered Maat. If the petitioner is deemed by the Goddess Maat to be in substantial compliance with the 42 Laws of Maat the petitioner passes from duat to the Field of Reeds (Arus) where Osiris sits as the final gatekeeper.

- by Vanessa Cross

References:

• "Maat the Moral Ideal in Ancient Egypt," by Maulana Karenga (Sankore Publisher, 2006).
• "The Book of the Dead," edited by E.A. Wallis Budge (Gramercy Publisher, 1995).
• “Maxims of Good Discourse” writings of the notable Kemet vizier and scribe Ptah-Hotep (accounting of some procedural laws under Maat).

The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal



The African Renaissance Monument, Senegal, Africa. 



The African Renaissance Monument, also referred as Monument to the African Renaissance and
Monument De La Renaissance Africaine, is a bronze statue perched on a hill in Dakar, Senegal. The representation of a man, woman and child emerging from a volcano was inaugurated at a ceremony on April 3, 2010, featuring hundreds of drummers and dancers. The African Renaissance Monument stands erect against the West African skyline in Senegal at 164 feet high, taller than the Statue of Liberty in the U.S.A.
 

Marking 50 Years of an Independent Senegal

 

The unveiling marked Senegal's 50 years of independence. Senegalese President Aboulaye Wade has said he hopes the public monument will attract tourists to the West African country, and defended the public monument in writing, stating “[t]his African who emerges from the volcano, facing the West ... symbolizes that Africa which freed itself from several centuries of imprisonment in the abyssal depths of ignorance, intolerance and racism, to retrieve its place on this land, which belongs to all races, in light, air and freedom.”

“It's impossible to miss Senegal's new 160-foot (49 meters) African renaissance monument,” wrote NPR reporter Ofeibea Quist-Arcton. “Perched high on a hill, the mighty Soviet-style bronze statue of a man, woman and child overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and dominates the horizon of the capital, Dakar.”

Public Monument Creates Controversy

President Wade authorized the public works project in the capital of Dakar, described by some as an African Eiffel Tower and others as a work that should never have been commissioned. Its $27 million dollar (£17m) cost and style stirred complaints from many in the predominantly Muslim country.

Ndeye Fatou Toure, a member of the Senegalese Parliament, said the statue was an “economic monster and a financial scandal in the context of the current crisis,” noting that half of Senegal's population lives below the poverty line. Additionally, the choice of garb for the African family was seen as an affront to the Muslim sensibility of public discretion.

Ebrima Sillah, a Senegalese journalist, stated that many Senegalese fine artists took offense that Wade commissioned a crew of 50 North Koreans to construct the public sculpture. President Wade made a public statement that he chose the North Korean crew because they were known as experts in constructing large public monuments.

African Statue Draws Pan-African Delegates
 

Aerial Photo: Monument to the African Renaissance

Nineteen African heads of state attended the unveiling ceremony in Dakar. Notable public dignitaries included Bingu wa Mutharika, the Malawian and African Union president, as well as the African presidents of Benin, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania and Zimbabwe. Additionally, a delegation of 100 African-Americans attended the ceremony, including Reverend Jesse Jackson and Senegalese-American singer Akon.

“It brings to life our common destiny,” said President Wade at the unveiling ceremony, according to a Reuters report. “Africa has arrived in the 21st century standing tall and more ready than ever to take its destiny into its hands.”

After 40 years as president of Senegal, the 83 year old Wade announced that he will seek re-election in 2012. With close links to Washington D.C., the peanut and fish exporting former French colony has been cited for decades as an example of African democracy. In September 2009, Senegal was awarded a $540 million grant by the U.S. federal government to encourage its continued good governance.

References:

• "Senegal unveils 'African Renaissance' statue," by Mark John and Richard Valdmanis, Reuters (4/3/10)
• "For Many in Senegal, Statue Is a Monumental Failure," by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR (1/5/2010)

Bessie Coleman: Aviation Barnstormer

Photo: Bessie Coleman was the first American of any race or gender to earn an international pilot's license and she was the first person of African descent to obtain a license.

The young Coleman dreamed of a racehorse society and not one of mules. It is in her generation that the Wright Brothers would build the flying machine and American pilot fighters would lead Europe through The Great War (World War I).

The Young Bessie Coleman

Bessie Coleman was born in rural Atlanta, Texas on January 26, 1892 to a family laboring as sharecroppers. Coleman completed high school after an intensive self-study after she could no longer afford studies at the Colored Agricultural and Normal University in Langston, Oklahoma in 1910.

Coleman sought to enter flying school but her application was denied because of her race and gender. She decided to move from Oklahoma north, with two of the thirteen siblings that had relocated to Chicago. Through study and hard work, Coleman opened a beauty shop in Chicago where she would employ her family members immigrating from Texas to Chicago.

First Licensed Woman Pilot to Bessie Coleman's Last Flight in Florida

Photo: Bessie Coleman and her plane in 1922

Bessie Coleman began studying the French language in Chicago and soon bought a ticket from Chicago to France in 1919. In France, she studied at the Ecole d'Aviation des Freres Caudon at Le Crotoy. After completing the program, she successfully tested to earn her International Flying License. She became the first woman of African descent to earn a pilot's license. Bessie Coleman obtained her pilot's license on June 15, 1921, after The Great War. Amelia Earhart received her pilot license from the National Aeronautic Association, the U.S. chapter of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, on May 15, 1923.

Bessie Coleman died like she lived, in the air. On April 30, 1926 in Jacksonville, Florida, Coleman sat in the cockpit of a new plane, not the Curtis Jenny. Coleman's plane mechanic took up the new plane for a test flight. When the plane malfunctioned, Coleman fell from cockpit's opening. The plane crashed several hundred feet in the practice session. Her planned elaborate air show in Florida would never occur. Coleman's body was taken by train from Orlando to Chicago to ten thousand mourners who would pay their last respects to the flying legend. Bessie Coleman is buried at the Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois, USA.

Photo: African American aviator. Bessie Coleman.

After Bessie Coleman, African flyers such as the Five Blackbirds, the Flying Hobos (James Banning and Thomas Allen), the Tuskegee Airmen, Cornelius Coffey, John Robinson, Willa Brown and Harold Hurd would take to the skies. In 1929, William J. Powell established the Bessie Coleman Aero Club. Since 1931, the Challenger Pilots' Association of Chicago has flown over Chicago's Lincoln Cemetery in honor of Bessie Coleman. Beginning in 1977, women pilots in the Chicago area have organized and associated as the Bessie Coleman Aviators Club.

Further Reading: Hardesty, Von. "Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African American in Aviation and Space History," (HarperCollins Publishers, 2007).

William Hall: Africans in Nova Scotia, Canada

Photo: William Hall

The early Africans who settled in Nova Scotia were primarily fleeing from colonial America. William Hall's parents, Jacob and Lucy Hall, escaped slavery from either Maryland or Virginia -- depending on the commentator -- during the War of 1812. The Hall family arrived in Nova Scotia as part of the Black Refugee movement whereby Africans were brought to Canada by the British Royal Navy in exchange for their assistance in resisting the rebelling British colony that would later become known as the United States of America.

During the War of 1812, the British frigate Leonard intercepted a slave ship bound from Africa to the United States and forced it to deposit its “ivory cargo” at Halifax. Among the freed captives hitherto marked to be auctioned as slaves in the southern states was William Hall’s father Jacob. Hall’s mother, Lucinda, who was a slave on a plantation near Washington, escaped her bondage when the British sacked and set fire to the American capital. She boarded one of the British warships that had conducted the raid and put into Halifax afterwards. - Excerpt from "Canada And The Victoria Cross: Of Rebellion And Rescue," by Arthur Bishop, March 1, 2004, Legion Magazine. 

Born April 15, 1827 at Horton, Nova Scotia, William Hall (born William Edward) worked in Nova Scotian shipyards before going to sea with trading vessels at the age of 17 years. From 1847 to 1849, Hall served in the American merchant navy aboard the USS Ohio. On January 4, 1847, the Ohio sailed for the Gulf of Mexico arriving at Veracruz on March 22, 1847 to help in the siege of the city in the Mexican-American War. Veracruz soon surrendered.

Bombardment of Sebastopol by HMS Rodney, Crimean War (1854)

Hall enlisted in Royal Navy on February 2, 1852, and served on the flagship Victory. He entered the Crimean War in 1954, serving on the Rodney. He also served on the Shannon as Captain of the Foretop. In 1857, he won the Victoria Cross for bravery while fighting in the Siege of Lucknow in what is known by the British as the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was the first person of African descent and the first Canadian to win the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in the British Royal Navy.

Image: 2010 Canadian postal stamp issue of William Hall.

Hall retired from the colonial wars to Horton Bluff, Nova Scotia. He died on August 25, 1904 and was buried at Lockhartville at the Hantsport Baptist Church Cemetery.

Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt: The Queen that Would Become a Pharaoh




Ancient Egyptian statue (painted limestone) remain showing bust of Queen Hatshepsut that was originally attached to a larger stone work representing the queen as the god Osiris.

"I have restored that which was in ruins. I have raised up that which was destroyed." 

- Queen Hatshepsut

There was a woman who ruled over Egypt from 1479 to 1458 B.C. -- the 18th dynasty, the New Kingdom. During that time the word "Egypt" did not exist. The best English translation of the name the Nile Valley natives called themselves in ancient Egypt is Kemet. For 21 years, as queen regent to her young stepson Thutmose III and surrounded by the great kingdoms of Nubia, Kush, and Punt, Queen Hatshepsut (meaning "foremost of noble ladies") ruled this valley. 



Photo: Valley of the Kings, royal cemetery at Luxor that embraces Hatshepsut's mortuary temple.

It was not until 2007 that Hatshepsut's lost mummy was not discovered. In 1903, archaeologist Howard Carter found a sarcophagus that belonged to Hatshepsut in KV20 Valley of the Kings. The sarcophagus, a cubicle funeral receptacle for a corpse, was empty. Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Mummy Project and secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities honed in on mummy KV60a, discovered more than a century earlier and then deemed a minor tomb. It had no gold or other jewels but was tested and determined to be the late queen regent.

This was a far cry from the treasures found in the tomb of pharaoh Tutankhamun. There was no gold or other jewels adorning Hatshepsut's mummy, only the remains of the ancient Egyptian royal family. It was soon discovered that there was a concerted effort to eradicate the historical record of her reign. Thumose III, her co-regent and successor, systemically removed evidence of her rule during the time he was too young to rule. Temples, obelisks and monuments underwent a systematic chisel job.

Born in the 15th century BC, Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and Aahmes, both of royal lineage. She would marry Thutmose II, the son of her father by another. The marriage of Hatshepsut as wife-sister to Thutmose II was part of the traditions used to fortify royal lineages. Thutmose II fathered one child, Isis, not with Hatshepsut -- to whom he never bore children.  Isis bore the male child Thutmose III. After Thutmose II's death in 1479 BC, Thutmose III was too young to assume control as the male royal. Hatshepsut was allowed to rule as the young pharaoh's queen regent.



Queen Hatshepsut effectively ruled the Egyptian kingdom for about 21 years. In public, she portrayed herself as a man, the traditional gender of a pharaoh. She wore male clothing and a pharaonic beard. Suggestions of her femininity are portrayed, however, in the surviving sculptures that depict her with feminine breasts. Hatshepsut's dynastic rule was a clear break from the traditional role of the queen regent, such as seen in other Nile Valley royal dynasties like that of Nigiste Negaste (Empress Regent) Zewditu Menelik of Ethiopia.

Photo: only remaining obelisk of Karnak, erected by Pharaoh Hatshepsut

Queen Hatshepsut was a grand renovator of shrines and temples, from Nubia to Sinai. Four great granite obelisks were erected at Karnak, at the temple of the great god Amun. During her reign hundreds of monumental public works were commissioned, including focused public efforts on Thebes, her capital, which is known today as Luxor and Karnak.

One of the Karnak obelisks commissioned by Hatshepsut read: "Now my heart turns this way and that, as I think what the people will say. Those who see my monuments in years to come, and who shall speak of what I have done."  One of the four great obelisks erected by Pharaoh Hatshepsut still stands.

Queen Hatshepsut established international trading partners with kingdoms as close as Nubia and Punt, as well as those across the great seas. Her rule was a time of economic growth for her people.

Today, the tomb of Hatshepsut is said to be in one of the two of the Egyptian Museum's Royal Mummy Rooms. If visiting, however, check to determine status because the location and public presentment of certain antiquities change and are limited during social and political upheaval in a region.

Above video: on-site lecture at Temple of Queen Hatshepsut