Dakota Beacon

“I think I’ve had more failures than successes, but I don’t see the failures as mistakes because I always learned something from those experiences.  I see them as having not achieved the initial goal, nothing more than that.” -- James E. West, Inventor

James Edward Maceo West was a disappointment to his parents.  Born in Virginia February 10, 1931, his parents were determined that he should pursue a career as a physician.  Their reasoning was that only certain fields offered success to young Black men in those days - that of educator, physician, lawyer or preacher.  But West had other ideas. From childhood he was fascinated by how things work, often taking this apart just to see what was inside and how the parts worked.  He was born to be an inventor and instead of following medicine, he undertook to study physics.  

Upon graduation he became an acoustical scientist with Bell.  While there he and another inventor, Gerhard Sessler, developed a new kind of microphone.  This was in 1962. By 1968, their “Electret” microphone had become the industry standard, opening the way for myriad developments, including phones, tape recorders, hearing aids, baby monitors, security systems, camcorders and other high-tech uses found in our everyday technology.  

In 1999 he and Sessler were both inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.  Upon his retirement from Bell, West began working with Johns Hopkins University in an electrical/computer program there.  West has never looked back. He has some 250 patents in his name and has written extensively in his field. He has enjoyed working with others and exploring new fields of scientific development.  We have all benefited from the work of this great American inventor. Here is the man himself.  

We have many Black American inventors to thank for making our lives easier today.  Here are just a few of them.  You use their ingenious ideas every day!

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