This portrait by Sherman Beck memorializes the most famous photograph of Black inventor and draftsman Lewis Latimer, dressed in a black double breasted coat, button up vest, and polka dot ascot. Born in 1848 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, to parents who were both escaped slaves, Latimer played a pivotal role in many of the key inventions of his lifetime, profoundly affecting the daily lives of all people. At age 16, Latimer lied about his age in order to enroll in the Navy so he could fight in the Civil War. After the war, he got a job at a patent firm and taught himself drafting. He was later recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to write the patent on the invention of the telephone. Latimer then went on to work with Hiram Maxim, the chief competitor to Thomas Edison in the field of electric lighting. Edison later recruited Latimer to work as chief draftsman and patent specialist at his company, Edison Electric Light Co. In addition to assisting with inventions and patents for these other famous inventors, Latimer invented many mechanical devices and systems on his own, and also secured several patents for his inventions. Latimer famously said, “We create our future by well improving present opportunities, however few and small they be.”