Charles B. Brooks
Charles B. Brooks (1865-?) was an African-American inventor. Born in Virginia in 1865, by the 1890s he was a resident of Newark, New Jersey. Besides inventing Brooks was also a porter for the Pullman Palace Car Company.[1] Unlike other sweepers at that time (1890s), Brooks’ sweeper was the first self-propelled street sweeping truck.[2] His design had revolving brushes attached to the front fender, and the brushes were interchangeable so that when snow fell, scrapers could be attached for snow removal.[3] He received a patent for his invention on March 17, 1896 (US Patent #556,711).[4] A few months later, on May 12, 1896, he patented a dust-proof collection bag for the street sweeper (US Patent #560,154).[5]
Although little information is available about his life, we do know that funding for the production for his sweeper was provided by George M. Hallstead and Plummer S. Page.[6] The production took place in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where each sweeper was priced at around $2,000.[6] It proved to be so successful that the Pennsylvania state government gave a $100,000 contract to the manufacturing company.[6] The maintenance superintendent of Buffalo, New York, was so impressed with the Brook's design that he adopted the model for his city.[6]
Brooks also received a third patent for what he called a “ticket punch” on October 31, 1893 (US Patent #507,672), an early example of a paper punch,[7] unique for its time because unlike hole punchers of today, his had a built-in receptacle to catch the round pieces of waste paper there and prevent littering.[8]
References
- ^ Helton, Daniel. “Brooks, Charles B. (1865- ?),” Blackpast.org, Retrieved May 5, 2018, http://www.blackpast.org/aah/brooks-charles-b-1865.
- ^ D’Ambrosio, Brian. From Football to Fig Newtons: 76 American Inventors and The Inventions You Know by Heart (self-pub., Lulu.com, 2011), p.25.
- ^ D’Ambrosio, p.25.
- ^ Foy, David M. Great Discoveries and Inventions by African-Americans, (Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2012), p.83.
- ^ Wilson, Donald and Jane Wilson, The Pride of African American History: Inventors, Scientists, Physicians, Engineers: Featuring Many Outstanding African Americans and More Than 1,000 African American Inventions Verified by U.S. Patent Numbers (Birmingham, MI: DCW Publishing, 2003), p.36.
- ^ a b c d Helton, “Brooks, Charles B. (1865- ?),” Blackpast.org.
- ^ Wilson and Wilson, p.36.
- ^ D’Ambrosio, Football to Fig Newtons, p.25.
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