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Tag: black history

February 2, 1839 – Edmond Berger invents the spark plug
This Day

February 2, 1839 – Edmond Berger invents the spark plug

When the first internal combustion engines began to show up in the late 1700s, sparks began to fly, quite literally. The development of this type of engine became a primary focus for many interested in mobility and engineering. By the early 19th century, a variety of ignition systems had been developed, but hardly any found commercial success due to poor reliability issues. According to multiple, rather vague accounts, Edmond Berger, a Black man believed to be from Togo, West Africa, took a step to improve the efficiency of these engines when he invented the spark plug on this day in 1839. A spark plug relies on electricity to pass a spark between two electrodes, which ignites a fuel mixture inside an engine to generate power. Most modern internal combustion engines rely on spark...
February 3, 1990 – Musician and high end car collector Sean Kingston is born
This Day

February 3, 1990 – Musician and high end car collector Sean Kingston is born

Reggae infusion artist Sean Kingston was born on this day in 1990. He rose to fame after being discovered on MySpace and releasing a few hits, including "Beautiful Girls." His new found glory provided him the resources to collect a variety of high end cars. His passion for luxury has resulted in a multi-million dollar driveway arsenal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTz5xjmso4 In spring of 2020 a video floated around the internet that supposdely showed his collection of cars being repossessed from his Jamaican mansion. However, Sean responded to the video saying he hadn't been to that house in more than a year and was having the cars taken to a garage for service. He added that he had recently bought a new house in LA and showed off his latest automotive acquisitions. These incl...
February 1, 1901 – American poet and road tripper Langston Hughes is born
Features, This Day

February 1, 1901 – American poet and road tripper Langston Hughes is born

Happy Black History Month! This blog will make an effort to share Black history stories related to automotive history every day through the month of February. Some days, perhaps most, it may take a stretch to connect the two topics, but the stories and lessons shared will hopefully prove educational and entertaining nonetheless. Let's hit the road, shall we? Born in Missouri on this day in 1901, Langston Hughes would grow up to be a prominent poet, novelist, activist and an important social figure of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. What he wasn't known for, was his driving skills, which were apparently non-existent, at least up to around 1930. Despite this, writer and cultural archivist Zora Neale Hurston had no qualms inviting Hughes to join her on an road trip of great importanc...

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