
Granville Woods
1856 ~ 1910
Inventor
Granville Woods was
awarded more than 35 patents for electrical systems and devices which created
new energy techniques for the transportation and communication industries.
Born in Columbus,
Ohio, Woods migrated to Missouri and worked in a variety of jobs which gave him
the experience to formulate his inventions. In 1884, he secured his first
patent for a furnace and boiler to produce steam heat. In the years that
followed, the prolific inventor improved the telephone transmitter and developed
an electric car powered by overhead wires, a grooved wheel for the trolley car,
a "third rail" system for an electric locomotive, an improved airbrake
system, and a telegraph system for communicating between moving trains, which
contributed to railroad safety. Woods sold most of his inventions to the
General Electric, Westinghouse and Bell Telephone Companies.