[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 966 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 966

   Honoring African-American inventors, past and present, for their 
  leadership, courage, and significant contributions to our national 
                            competitiveness.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 7, 2008

    Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mr. Gordon of 
 Tennessee, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Rohrabacher, 
Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Farr, Mr. Ehlers, Mrs. Maloney of New York, 
Mr. Kind, Ms. Lee, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Ross, Mr. Honda, Mr. Van 
  Hollen, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Ellison, and Mr. Sestak) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Science 
                             and Technology

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Honoring African-American inventors, past and present, for their 
  leadership, courage, and significant contributions to our national 
                            competitiveness.

Whereas African-American and other minority scientists, technologists, 
        engineers, and mathematicians have made significant achievements in our 
        national research enterprise and inspired future generations;
Whereas the National Society of Black Engineers (``NSBE'') lifts up African-
        American researchers of the past and present, including special 
        contributors named in this Resolution;
Whereas Garrett Augustus Morgan made outstanding contributions to public safety;
Whereas firefighters in the early 1900s wore the safety helmets and gas masks 
        that he invented, and for which he was awarded a gold medal at the 
        Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in New York in 
        1914;
Whereas 2 years later, he himself used the mask to rescue men trapped by a gas 
        explosion in a tunnel being constructed under Lake Erie;
Whereas following the disaster which took 21 lives, the City of Cleveland 
        honored him with a gold medal for his heroic efforts;
Whereas in 1923, he received a patent for a traffic signal to regulate vehicle 
        movement in city areas, and this device was a direct precursor to the 
        modern traffic light in use today;
Whereas Ernest Everett Just was a trailblazer in the fields of cell biology and 
        zoology;
Whereas his research and papers on marine biology were so well received in 1915 
        that Ernest Everett Just was awarded the first Spingarn Medal by the 
        National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at age 32;
Whereas Ernest Everett Just dedicated years of research toward the study of 
        cells and cell structures in order to understand and find cures for 
        cellular irregularities and diseases such as sickle cell anemia and 
        cancer and became one of the most respected scientists in his field;
Whereas racial bigotry in the United States caused much of his work and his 
        achievements to go unrewarded;
Whereas in other countries, he was treated as a pioneer and was recruited to 
        work with Russian scientists and invited to be a guest researcher at the 
        Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology, the world's greatest scientific 
        research laboratory at the time;
Whereas he was welcomed at the Naples Zoological Station in Italy and the 
        Sorbonne in France, where he conducted research and was regarded as one 
        of the most outstanding zoologists of his time;
Whereas Archibald Alphonso Alexander excelled in design and construction 
        engineering;
Whereas, employed by the Marsh Engineering Company, he designed the Tidal Basin 
        bridge in Washington, DC;
Whereas after studying bridge design in London, Archibald Alphonso Alexander and 
        George Higbee formed a general contracting business that focused on 
        bridge design;
Whereas his designs include Washington, DC's Whitehurst Freeway, the heating 
        plant and power station at the University of Iowa, and an airfield in 
        Tuskegee, Alabama;
Whereas he went on to become the first Republican territorial governor of the 
        U.S. Virgin Islands;
Whereas David Nelson Crosthwait Jr. made significant and practical contributions 
        to the engineering of heating and cooling systems;
Whereas he held numerous patents relating to heat transfer, ventilation, and air 
        conditioning, the areas in which he was considered an expert;
Whereas David Nelson Crosthwait Jr. served as director of research laboratories 
        for C. A. Dunham Company in Marshalltown, Iowa, where he served as 
        technical advisor from 1930 to 1970;
Whereas he designed the heating systems for Radio City Music Hall and 
        Rockefeller Center in New York City and authored texts and guides on 
        heating and cooling with water;
Whereas during the 1920s and 1930s, he invented an improved boiler, a new 
        thermostat control, and a new differential vacuum pump to improve the 
        heating systems in larger buildings; and
Whereas African-American innovators continue to improve the daily lives of 
        Americans through their inventions and stir the creative spirit of 
        future generations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the United States House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes and appreciates the significant achievements 
        to our national research enterprise made by African-American 
        and other minority scientists, technologists, engineers, and 
        mathematicians;
            (2) honors and extends its appreciation and gratitude 
        toward all African-American inventors, for the significant and 
        honorable research and educational contributions that improve 
        the lives of all citizens and that have gone unacknowledged too 
        long; and
            (3) looks for opportunities to make sure that the 
        creativity and contribution of minority scientists, 
        technologists, engineers, and mathematicians can be expressed 
        through research, development, standardization, and innovation.
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