John Lee Love was an African American inventor best known for patenting a portable pencil sharpener, widely known as the “Love Sharpener.” Very little is known about his early life, and details such as his exact birth date remain uncertain, although some sources suggest he was born on September 26, 1889, in North Carolina.
Love worked as a carpenter in Fall River, Massachusetts, where he invented several devices. On November 23, 1897, he received U.S. Patent No. 594,114 for a portable pencil sharpener. His application described the sharpener as an “improved device” that could also serve as a paperweight or ornament. The design was simple, consisting of a hand-operated blade and a small compartment to collect pencil shavings; the pencil was inserted into an opening and rotated manually. The sharpener became known colloquially as the “Love Sharpener,” and similar designs have remained in use ever since.
U.S. Patent 594,114 11/23/1897 Pencil Sharpener
While the pencil sharpener was Love’s most successful invention, it was not his first. In 1895, he patented an improved plasterer’s hawk, a tool used by plasterers and masons. Love’s design featured a detachable handle and a foldable aluminum board, making the tool more portable and lightweight than earlier versions. Contemporary plasterers’ hawks still follow the same basic concept as their predecessors. Love hired lawyers from New York and Boston firms to represent him in securing both patents.
U.S. Patent #542,419 – 7/9/1895 – Plasterers- hawk
Love died along with several other passengers on December 26, 1931, when the car they were riding in collided with a train near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Acknowledgement: This article was updated with editorial support from Perplexity (‘Tylis’), an AI research assistant. The featured image was created by ChatGPT and Comet under the author’s direction, for non-commercial use.
Source:
http://www.biography.com/people/john-lee-love-21341825#other-inventions
http://theinventors.org/library/inventors/bllove.htm
