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Granville Woods

Telegraph Induction

• Granville T. Woods learned his skills on the job. Although he had to leave school when he was only ten, Granville T. Woods knew that learning and education were the tools that would allow him to express his creativity with machinery. Woods taught himself by working in railroad machine shops and steel mills, and by reading about electricity.
• He had friends check out library books for him, since African-Americans were not allowed to use many libraries at the time.
• Woods used what he learned to to invent "telegraphony". This invention was purchased by Alexander Graham Bell's company. Telegraphony combined features of both the telephone and telegraph and allowed operators to send and receive messages more quickly than ever before. Woods also invented the multiplex telegraph. This device helped dispatchers locate trains and allowed moving trains to communicate by telegraph.
• Learn more about Granville Woods