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BLACK HISTORY: Inventor Gerald A. Lawson

1. Otis Boykin

Otis Boykin was born on August 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas, and was the founder of the Artificial Heart Pacemaker Control Unit.

2. Gerald A. Lawson

Lawson is the founding father of the modern-day video game, and he created the first home gaming system with interchangeable game cartridges.

3. Garrett Morgan

Garrett Morgan was an inventor and businessman from Cleveland who is best known for inventing a device called the Morgan safety hood and smoke protector in 1914.

4. Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie George Johnson is an American inventor and engineer who holds more than 80 patents. Johnson is best known for inventing the Super Soaker water gun, which has ranked among the world's top 20 best-selling toys every year since its release.

5. Fredrick McKinley-Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones was a prolific early 20th century black inventor who patented more than sixty inventions in divergent fields with forty of those patents in refrigeration. He is best known for inventing the first automatic refrigeration system for trucks.

Who's your favourite black inventor? Enter our Made by History competition and have your say! For those interested, email a 500-word essay explaining who your favourite black inventor is and why to madebyhistory@thevoicemediagroup.co.uk or post to: The Voice newspaper, Unit 220, Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, London, SE1 6TE.

The deadline for all entries is October 31, 2017 at 12 noon.

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