1. Granville T. Woods 1856 - 1910 By: Amanda Hickman

2. At The Age of 10 At the age of 10, Woods had to leave public education and work at a machine shop. At the age of 10, Woods had to leave public education and work at a machine shop.

3. 1872 In 1872, at the age of sixteen, Woods left Ohio and, in what can be best described as his travel-and-study period, worked various jobs around the country, augmenting the practical knowledge gained from those positions with readings at night. His first stop was at the Iron Mountain Railroad in Missouri, where he worked as a fireman and, later, an engineer. His interest in electricity and its application to railroads began there. In 1874, he moved to Springfield, Illinois, to work in a rolling mill.fireman

4. WHO WAS HE MARRIED TO? Woods was married to Gabriella Woods. Woods was married to Gabriella Woods.

5. His most noted invention was a system for letting the engineer of a train know how close his train was to others.

6. Granville T. Woods dubbed the Black Edison. He invented the railroad telegraph.

7. HIS FIRST INVENTION His first invention was for an improved steam boiler furnace, but later patents were mainly for electrical devices, such as his second invention, an improved telephone transmitter. The patent for his device combining the telephone and telegraph was bought by Alexander Graham Bell, and the payment freed Woods to devote himself to his own researches. One of his most important inventions was the "trolley" or grooved metal wheel, that allowed street cars (soon known as "trolleys") to collect electric power from overhead wires. His first invention was for an improved steam boiler furnace, but later patents were mainly for electrical devices, such as his second invention, an improved telephone transmitter. The patent for his device combining the telephone and telegraph was bought by Alexander Graham Bell, and the payment freed Woods to devote himself to his own researches. One of his most important inventions was the "trolley" or grooved metal wheel, that allowed street cars (soon known as "trolleys") to collect electric power from overhead wires.

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