Explore research, STEM learning, scientific careers, and the people asking new questions about the world.
What connects a blacksmith’s shop in Forney, the periodic table, and samples brought home from the Moon? Each owes something to a Black inventor, scientist, or engineer with Texas roots.
At his Kaufman County shop, Henry repaired locomotives, wagons, and automobiles. He also designed machines to thin rows of cotton. The Texas Historical Commission records patent filings in 1907 and 1921. The marker documents the applications; their grant status remains unconfirmed.
Born in Dallas, Boykin patented resistors that helped engineers control the current flowing through a circuit. His 1959 design allowed manufacturers to specify precise resistance. His 1961 design made reliable components less expensive to produce. Both patents list him in Chicago.
1959 patent and drawing · 1961 patent and drawing · Inventors Hall of Fame
After studying chemistry at Huston-Tillotson in Austin, Harris prepared exceptionally pure targets for experiments at Berkeley. Scientists bombarded those targets with particles. His team helped discover elements 104 and 105, rutherfordium and dubnium.
Apollo astronauts needed a way to carry lunar material home. At NASA’s spacecraft center in Houston, Clark worked on the containers for those samples. In Huntsville, Alabama, she investigated hot spots in Saturn V booster engines.
In 1995, the physician and astronaut stepped outside the shuttle Discovery, becoming the first African American to walk in space. The crew tested equipment for working in extreme cold.
Born in Temple, Harris graduated from San Antonio’s Sam Houston High School in 1974. He studied biology at the University of Houston, earned his medical degree at Texas Tech and trained as a flight surgeon at Brooks Air Force Base. In February 1995 he stepped outside Discovery for four hours and 49 minutes, becoming the first African American to walk in space. Among his tasks was testing how an astronaut could handle a large object in orbit. NASA crew biographies · The STS-63 mission
Before he flew on Challenger, the Philadelphia-born aviator taught pilots to fly T-38 jets at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls. On August 30, 1983, he launched as a mission specialist on STS-8, the first of his four shuttle flights. NASA astronaut profile · Flight career record
Gregory came to Randolph Air Force Base near San Antonio for helicopter training and later returned to learn to fly the T-38. Born in Washington, D.C., he piloted Challenger in 1985. In 1989 he took command of Discovery on STS-33, becoming the first African American to command a spaceflight. NASA career history · Texas training record
San Antonio-born Ed White floated outside the Gemini 4 capsule on June 3, 1965, becoming the first American to walk in space. Thirty years later, Harris brought a second spacewalking milestone home to the city where he went to high school. White’s NASA biography · Gemini 4 spacewalk
Explore the decisions behind starting, sustaining, and growing a business—from the first customer to the next market.
Explore the guide ↗Understand everyday financial choices, banking access, household costs, and the questions to ask before making a commitment.
Explore the guide ↗Explore schools, colleges, HBCUs, apprenticeships, continuing education, and the many routes from curiosity to a meaningful career.
Explore the guide ↗