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Prof. Biden Claims a Black Man Named Lewis Latimer Invented the Light Bulb, Not a White Guy Named 'Edison.'
PJ Media ^ | 09/04/2020 | Matt Margolis

Posted on 09/04/2020 7:26:22 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Joe Biden, who claims he wants to fact-check Donald Trump in real time during the presidential debates, told a real whopper on Thursday during his visit to Kenosha.

“People fear that’s, which, that which is different. We gotta, for example, why in God’s name don’t we teach history in history classes? A black man invented the light bulb, not a white guy named Edison.”

Now Biden claims Edison didn’t invent the lightbulb. pic.twitter.com/ykQOFqjS0S

— Matt Margolis 🇺🇸 (@mattmargolis) September 4, 2020

Fact check: False.

Make no mistake about it, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Joe Biden presumably was referring to Lewis H. Latimer, a former slave who worked as a researcher under Edison, who, three years after Edison patented the incandescent light bulb, patented a more efficient way of manufacturing carbon filaments, which were used in Edison’s bulb design. Fake internet rumors have been circulating for some time now suggesting that Latimer is the actual inventor of the light bulb and even the telephone.

Apparently, fake internet rumors are where Joe Biden gets his history lessons.

And the Left wonders why we don’t like them tearing down statues. When they’re not destroying history, they’re trying to rewrite it.

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: History; Society
KEYWORDS: again; joebiden; lewislatimer; lightbulb; thomasedison
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To: fireman15

Fiddle - don’t use Google. And since you seem to have access to a computer and the internet, why don’t you experience the joy and happiness of letting your happy fingers dance across your keyboard and have fun wandering about.


41 posted on 09/04/2020 9:21:50 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: Redmen4ever

Yeppers - true that ...


42 posted on 09/04/2020 9:22:25 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: Rurudyne
"Latimer, the son of a former slave,"

Son of an escaped slave, joined the Navy at 15, and holds multiple patents. Clearly a really smart guy who deserves respect, but is being politicized, and didn't invent the lightbulb.

43 posted on 09/04/2020 9:24:06 AM PDT by Wayne07
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To: deport; SkyDancer
LOL... Yep time to move along.....

Wow, you two are an amazing hit and run historical tag team! Hit us all with nonsense then run. I hear there is another thread talking about how a black crew member on the Pinta actually discovered America... They need you there now!

44 posted on 09/04/2020 9:25:50 AM PDT by fireman15
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To: deport
There are approx. 97 words that contain the word 'snow'; 54 words that start with 'white', and 171 words with 'white' in them.

We have to start eliminating them because racism.

45 posted on 09/04/2020 9:29:26 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: SeekAndFind

Note: Biden did NOT say anything about Latimer.

His exact words were “Some Black guy”.

This is a racist speaking. Didn’t even bother to learn the name of a famous black inventor. Just “Some Black guy”.

If he had given the guy’s name, at least he would have been helping educate people, as frankly, most people do NOT know about Lewis Latimer, and he was a pretty famous inventor.


46 posted on 09/04/2020 9:31:05 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: SkyDancer
And Lincoln didn't say that; Mark Twain did. You should get YOUR sources right.

Damn, now I am going to haveto throw away that damn plaque. LOL!

https://www.amazon.com/Abraham-Lincoln-Better-remain-thought/dp/B01LVW4H8F#:~:text=VIDEOS-,Abraham%20Lincoln%20%2D%20Quote%20%2D%20Better%20to%20remain%20silent%20and%20be%20thought,mouth%20shut%20and%20appear%20stupid

47 posted on 09/04/2020 9:31:12 AM PDT by fireman15
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To: CharlesWayneCT

“Some black guy invented, you know, the thing!”


48 posted on 09/04/2020 9:31:37 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Wayne07

Well, yes. You expect anything else from the modern Left?


49 posted on 09/04/2020 9:31:44 AM PDT by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: fireman15

Actually Christopher Columbus and his crews were Jewish.
They left Spain the day before a Jewish pogrom was going to happen.


50 posted on 09/04/2020 9:32:32 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: Gay State Conservative

I mean, Edison didn’t “invent” the light bulb either. Some guys did it first with a useless filament, some british guy came up with a platinum filament you couldn’t afford; some italian got the idea to use carbon and ethyline; a guy name Watts did good enough work that Edison joined him making his light bulb company, and Edison bought out some other patents.

Latimer worked for Edison and invented a better filament; filaments were really the thing we kept inventing, the “light bulb” existed since the early 1800s, once we had a way to generate electricity more evenly. The arc bulb was the first application.

Note that we eventually switched to Tungsten — Edison knew Tungsten would make a better filament, but had no way of making a wire thin enough out of the element.


51 posted on 09/04/2020 9:34:44 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: fireman15
Abe read a lot of Mark Twain stuff, however, for your enlightenment:

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mark_twain_103535#:~:text=%22It%20is%20better%20to%20keep%20your%20mouth%20closed,than%20to%20open%20it%20and%20remove%20all%20doubt.%22

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

52 posted on 09/04/2020 9:36:45 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: SkyDancer

So the argument is not “who said it”, but rather “who said it first”, “who said it exactly THAT way”, and “should we sue someone for plagiarism”.

Meanwhile, Latimer did not “invent” the light bulb; he didn’t have a patent for a “light bulb”, nor did he dream up the idea for a “light bulb”.

He came up with a great idea to improve filaments — an idea that apparently Biden was NOT impressed enough with to accurately portray it, or even know the guy’s name.


53 posted on 09/04/2020 9:41:54 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: MeneMeneTekelUpharsin

Edison had a lot of patents but it’s not clear he was the inventor of all or even most of them. Edison provided the laboratory and materials for researchers that he hired. Plus he had a good instinct for figuring out what inventions were marketable and likely to succeed and had the resources to buy the patents of others.

Many people own patents for the work of others. If you work in someone else’s laboratory, it’s likely the head of that lab will be first author and get credit. A good example is the Fauci. He gets royalties for drugs that were developed with government money in government funded laboratories. He has the patents too.

Side story: GatorAde was invented by a nephrologist at the University of Florida. He wanted to market it but the university wasn’t interested so he went to Stokeley-Van Camp. It turned out to be a big success and the university sued Cade and Van Camp for a piece of the action. They settled and I think the university gets about half of the $$. At least Cade still gets the credit for developing it. He was a hands-on researcher and actually collected the data himself. He tried out his early versions of Gator Ade on the track team. The football team was too valuable to use them as subjects.


54 posted on 09/04/2020 9:51:40 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: CharlesWayneCT

Mmm, ‘kay although I don’t think MT plagiarized anything though and if he knew AL said it first he’d attribute it to him.


55 posted on 09/04/2020 9:52:29 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~ Pilots: Looking Down On People Since 1903 ~)
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To: fireman15
HIs name appears in a number of patents but since he was not a black guy we probably will not hear some time down the road that he was responsible for putting a man on the moon.

Unlike those three Black ladies who worked for NASA in the early years and are celebrated in the movie "Hidden Figures." Not saying that they shouldn't have been recognized.

56 posted on 09/04/2020 10:02:12 AM PDT by CedarDave (Donate to Kyle Rittenhouse's defense: https://fightback.law/products/donations-for-kyle-rittenhouse)
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To: CedarDave

Didn’t a Russian invent the Light bulb?


57 posted on 09/04/2020 10:16:01 AM PDT by Forward the Light Brigade (Into the Jaws of H*ll Onward! Ride to the sound of the guns!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Latimer is a true US success story. I take nothing away from him. With his involvement with the Union Army’s veteran groups, I wonder if it can be learned that he was a registered republican?


58 posted on 09/04/2020 5:19:34 PM PDT by sanjuanbob
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