Otis Frank Boykin (August 29, 1920 March 26, 1982) was an American inventor and engineer. His father started as a carpenter but later became a church minister. Boykin was born August 29, 1920 in Dallas, Texas. Otis Boykin Inventions and Accomplishments. This resistor would later be used in radios and televisions. Bellis, Mary. [8] In the early 1960s, Boykin was a senior project engineer at the Chicago Telephone Supply Corporation, later known as CTS Labs. Meanwhile, he continued working on resistors until the end of his life. Thanks to the, Perhaps Boykins greatest contribution came in 1964, when he created a, Otiss work was instrumental in making the components of the pacemaker longer-lasting and manufacturable at a lower cost, which in turn helped increase access to the therapy to improve patient care,, To discover our many amazing NIHF Inductees, we invite you to, Learn the February Star Signs of Great Hall of Famers, 2023 NIHF Inductee James A. Parsons Jr.: Metallurgist and Educator, 2023 NIHF Inductee Marjorie Stewart Joyner: A Trailblazer in the Beauty Industry, National Inventors Hall of Fame Instagram, Leadership Intern Program (High School & College Students), Apply for the Collegiate Inventors Competition. To protect his inventions from imitations, Otis Boykin patented all his researches. Apart from electronics, he developed other improvements. Otis Boykin (1920-1982) According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Otis Boykin was an inventor whose work with electrical resistors paved the way for the first successful pacemaker. He joined various companies during his researching period. [4] Boykin attended Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, where he was the valedictorian, graduating in 1938. By the time of his death in 1982 from heart failure, Boykin had presented several inventions, including a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter. He began to invent products on his own, with some of his noteworthy inventions including a wire precision resistor used in televisions and radios and a control unit for the pacemaker. National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) Inductee Otis Boykins innovations to electronic resistors enabled the development of many of the devices we use every day. Invented Resistors for Pacemakers. As a mathematician for the American Optical Company in Buffalo, N.Y., he perfected lens design for microscopes and ophthalmologic uses. Her experiments with theoretical physics paved the way for numerous developments in the telecommunication space including the touch-tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID, call waiting, and the fiber-optic cable. September 14, 1968; Otis Boykin, Famous Black Inventors: A Rich ThoughtCo. Otis Boykins most notable contribution to science was likely the circuit improvements he made to pacemakers after losing his mother to heart failure a contribution that has saved countless lives since. In World War II, he played a major role in developing the first large-scale blood banks and blood plasma programs. Boykin had 26 patents in his name and is famed for the development of IBM computers, burglar-proof cash register, chemical air filters, and an electronic resistor used in controlled missiles and other devices. Otis Boykin. In fact, hes often called The Bill Gates of Africa.. [11], Boykin patented as many as 26 devices. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Orville Wright, Biography: You Need to Know: Garrett Morgan, Alexander Graham Bell: 5 Facts on the Father of the Telephone. He earned the CulturalScience Achievement Award for his progressive work in the medical field. "Boykin's Electric Device Aid in Eisenhower Crisis. Meet Marie Van Brittan Brown. Inventor and engineer Lewis Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1848. Boykin pursued graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1946 to 1947, but unfortunately, he had to drop out when his family could no longer afford to pay tuition. From a humble background as the son of a carpenter, he worked his way up the society. It was here that he did much of his pacemaker research. Boykin invented about 26 electronic devices and earned 11 patents. Though some of the inventions were done in Europe, all of his patents were registered in the US. Found in everything from televisions to smartphones, variations of Boykins resistor designs enable the precise regulation of electrical current within a circuit. After graduating high school, he attended Fisk College in Nashville, Tennessee. Croak holds over 135 patents, primarily in voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP), some in other areas. Otis Boykin was born on Aug. 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. [4] The two men later went into business, opening an electronics research lab in the late 1940s. Despite this setback, Boykin realized that a Masters Degree was not a pre-requisite for inventive competence. Theelectrical engineer and inventorwill forever be known as one of the most talented scientists of the 20th century. He later worked at P. J. Nilsen Research Laboratories. Boykin was born on August 29, . This inspired him to help improve the pacemaker. Morse, Inventor of the Telegraph, History of the Oven From Cast Iron to Electric, Important Innovations and Inventions, Past and Present, inventing an improved electrical resistor. Some of his lesser known inventions include a burglar-proof cash register and a chemical air filter - both of which were never produced. His father was a carpenter, who later became a minister. Additionally, Boykins device would enable the development of the control unit for the artificial heart pacemaker, a device created to produce electrical shocks to the heart to maintain a healthy heart rate. His mother, Sarah, was a maid, who died of heart failure when Otis was a year old. [5] One of his mentors was Dr. Denton Deere, an engineer, and inventor with his own laboratory. Like BlackAmericaWeb.com onFacebook. Boykins achievements led him to work as a consultant in the United States and in Paris from 1964 to 1982. In 1964, Boykin moved to Paris, creating electronic innovations for a new market of customers. Otis Boykin is an African American scientist famed for his inventions in the world of microelectronics. He focused primarily on resistors technology that reduces the flow of electricity to allow the safe operation of an electronic device. Otis Frank Boykin was born on August 29, 1920, in Dallas, Texas. They insisted on the authentic device, calling it the Real McCoy.. This genius also designed an improved railroad car bathroom and an early air conditioning unit. And thanks to the Academy Award nominated film, Hidden Figures, were now all familiar with the amazing contributions of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. South Carolina Constitutional Convention adopted, (1976) Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, Who, Then, Will Speak for the Common Good?, (1864) Frederick Douglass On The Mission Of The War. Soon he was reassembling wire resistors for domestic electronic appliances. Otis Frank Boykin died in Chicago of heart failure on March 13, 1982 at the age of 61. Otis Boykin, who was born in 1920, was an avid inventor. In all, Boykin patented 26 electronic devices over the course of his career. Eventually, he became one of the most influential African American scientists of his time. Despite his input, Boykin died of a heart attack himself. This quick to manufacture resistor made it easy for radio and television makers to use, due to its cheap affordability. African American inventor Otis F. Boykins work on improved electrical resistors made possible the steady workings of a variety of now-ubiquitous electronic devices. Aside from the resistor, Boykins most notable invention might be circuit improvements made to the pacemaker. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. [5] He attended Fisk University[3] on a scholarship, worked as a laboratory assistant at the university's nearby aerospace laboratory, and left in 1941. Boykins father, Walter Boykin, worked as a carpenter and later became a minister. 15025. There and at other companies, he gained . In 1946 Boykin began graduate studies at Illinois Institute of Technology but dropped out within a year because his family could no longer financially assist Boykin with his tuition. Boykin created the electrical capacitator in 1965 and an electrical resistance capacitor in 1967 as well as a number of consumer products ranging from a burglar-proof cash register to a chemical air filter. His father was a carpenter who later became a preacher. He was 61 years of age and still researching. After graduating from Fisk in 1941, Boykin began working as a lab assistant for Majestic Radio and TV Corporation, in Chicago, Illinois, eventually rising to the rank of supervisor. He took a job as a lab assistant with the Majestic Radio and TV Corporation in Chicago. Yes, he is also working on the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC) which converts heat directly into electricity but its the squirt gun he created that has given us all the most joy. It is difficult situations that many use as fuel to propel them to great heights. QUICK FACTS Name: Otis Boykin Birth Year: 1920 Birth date: August 29, 1920 Birth State: Texas Birth City: Dallas Birth Country: United States Gender: Male Best Known For: Otis Boykin's. At the Manhattan Project, Wilkins worked with future Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner and made significant contributions to nuclear-reactor physics, now known as the Wilkins effect and the Wigner-Wilkins spectrum. A pacemaker is a medical device, placed inside the body, that helps the heart to beat steadily. In 1934, Boykin entered Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, later graduating in 1938 as valedictorian of his class. In 1989, he put this idea to work, using 65,000 processes to invent the worlds first massively parallel processing supercomputer able to perform 3.1 billion calculations per second. Inventor and Engineer . Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. ", Julia Scott Reed, "Dallasite Stars as Inventor. With a scientific mindset, Otis Boykin had a keen interest in electronic gadgets. Her patent laid the groundwork for the modern closed-circuit television system that is widely used for surveillance, home security systems, push-button alarm triggers, crime prevention, and traffic monitoring. Otis Boykin is best known for inventing an improved electrical resistor used in computers, radios, television sets and a variety of electronic devices. 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