Lewis Latimer was a smart, intelligent, and creative man. He had a difficult childhood, but he always thought outside the box which made him create unique things. Lewis taught himself most things that everyday people can not teach themselves. He was a very important African American of his time.
Lewis was born September 4, 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Before he was born, his parents, Rebecca and George, were slaves. His parents fled slavery and were later captured and brought to Boston as fugitives. George later bought his freedom and began raising his family. Lewis was the youngest of four children. His dad left the family after he was born because he was afraid he was going to be put back into slavery after the Dred Scott decision. To support his family Lewis joined the Navy and fought for the Union during the Civil War. He lied about his age to join because he was only sixteen years old at the time. After he was honorably discharged, he went back home and got a job. He worked every single day to help out his mother and family.…show more content… He only went to school for six years. Lewis attended two different schools in those six years. He went to Farm School and Philips Grammar School. His strong suit was mathematics. He never attended high school or college. Even though he did not go to school for a long time, he was very smart. He had taught himself a little bit of Mechanical drawing by reading a book on it. He also taught himself how to write. He never gave up and always tried his best. Lewis Latimer once said, "If you give up after one try then you are a failure." (source 4) He never gave up on himself or his
