Although Lewis Latimer was born before the Civil War, he was born free, unlike most African-Americans of his day. His father had escaped slavery in Virginia and moved to Boston, where abolitionists purchased his freedom. When Latimer was only ten years old, his father disappeared, leaving him to help support the family by selling copies of an anti-slavery newspaper. After the Civil War began, Latimer joined the Union Navy as soon as he reached the minimum age. At the end of the war, he found a job with a group of patent lawyers in Boston, starting out as an office boy and soon displaying a natural talent for the creating the technical drawings that illustrate patents. After buying a set of second-hand drafting tools, Latimer succeeded in getting a promotion and a raise, eventually becoming head draftsman for the firm.

During this time, Latimer met and made friends...