Woods, Granville T. (1856-1910), was an African American inventor who obtained more than 50 patents. He made his most significant invention, a railway telegraph system, in 1887. This system allowed crew members on moving trains to communicate with one another and with railroad stations. It made rail traffic safer by helping to avoid train collisions.
Woods was born on April 23, 1856, in Columbus, Ohio. He was mostly self-taught, but also took college engineering courses and worked as a railroad engineer. Woods received his first patent, for an improved steam boiler furnace, in 1884. His inventions included an egg incubator, an automatic air brake, a galvanic (electric) battery, a telephone transmitter, and devices for telegraphs and railway systems. Woods sold many inventions to such large companies as General Electric, Westinghouse Air Brake, and American Bell Telephone. He died on Jan. 30, 1910.
