Photo: Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images
The prolific Ohio inventor many call "Black Edison" has been overlooked throughout mainstream history, but now he's getting his time in the spotlight.
Flashback:Granville T. Woods was born in Columbus 170 years ago this month.
He earned over 50 patents in his lifetime focused on electricity, telecommunications and railway improvements.
Zoom in: His time as a railroad fireman in his teens inspired his most notable invention, railroad telegraphy, patented in the 1880s when he lived in Cincinnati.
Previously, moving trains couldn't communicate with each other or with rail stations, often resulting in dangerous situations.
He also revolutionized electric transit with systems that were safer and more efficient.
The latest: Columbus City Council recently renamed Washington Boulevard near COSI after Woods, following a petition from the Ohio Black Expo.
The Wall Street Journal also featured Woods as part of an America 250 series last week.
Between the lines: Historically,"Black inventors were routinely denied patents or saw their ideas claimed by others," the Journal notes.
Even Thomas Edison tried — and failed — to sue Woods.
What we're watching: A local nonprofit is planning a park and exhibit honoring Woods featuring the recovered, beloved trolley car from the old Spaghetti Warehouse.
