Otis Boykin
The birth of Otis Boykin in 1920 is marked on this date. He was a Black inventor.
Born in Dallas, Boykin attended Fisk University and the Illinois Institute of Technology from 1946 to 47. He began his career as a laboratory assistant testing automatic controls for aircraft. One of Boykin's first achievements was the development of a resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and various other electronic devices. He received the patent on April 7, 1953, U.S. Patent #2,634,352. He is responsible for inventing the electrical device used in all guided missiles, IBM computers, and 26 other electronic devices, including a control unit for an artificial heart stimulator (pacemaker).
His other inventions include a variable resistor used in guided missiles and small-component thick-film resistors for computers. These innovations in resistor design reduced the cost of producing electronic controls for radios and televisions, serving both military and commercial applications. Otis Boykin also invented a burglarproof cash register and a chemical air filter. From 1964 to 1982, he worked as a private consultant for several American firms and three Paris firms.
Ironically, Otis Boykin, who invented a device to stimulate heart action, died in Chicago of heart failure in 1982.
