Black History Month: Our Diversity Student Ambassador, Ranikque’s inspirational people

Posted on: 2020-10-02

This month is Black History Month. To mark the celebration of people of African and Caribbean descent who have made outstanding contributions to society, our Diversity Student Ambassador, Ranikque Hayden-Best, has selected four inspirational people from history to highlight throughout the month.

This blog will be updated each Friday with a new inspirational person profile. Keep a lookout on our Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram channels for Ranikque’s updates!

Who is Ranikque? Ranikque graduated from our BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying programme earlier this year and works as a Quantity Surveyor. She was appointed as our Diversity Student Ambassador this year joining a group of four Student Ambassadors with focus areas on: diversity, sustainability, wellbeing and student community.

Ranikque’s first inspirational person: Henry Sampson

Invention: Gamma-electric cell

Patent Number: 3591860

Date: 06.07.1971

Henry Sampson is a prolific inventor and a pioneer in nuclear engineering. He co-invented the Gamma-Electric cell which is used in modern cell phones with George H. Miley in 1971.

Sampson became the first African American to earn a PhD in nuclear engineering in 1967 and holds several US patents.

To find out more about his story, take a look at his profile on the Black Past website.

Ranikque’s second inspirational person: Marie Van Brittan Brown

Invention: Home security system

Patent Number: 3482037

Date: 01.08.1966

Marie Van Brittan Brown was the inventor of the first home security system and is also credited with the invention of the first closed circuit television (CCTV).

Brown’s invention, which she filed for a patent alongside husband, Albert, was developed in response to the high crime rate she experienced in Queens, New York City, where she was keen to increase her level of personal security. Brown’s invention laid the foundation for later security systems.

To find out more about Marie’s story, take a look at an article about her on the Black Past website.

Ranikque’s third inspirational person: Garrett A Morgan

Invention: Traffic signal

Patent Number: 1475024

Date: 20.11.1923

Garrett A Morgan was an inventor, entrepreneur and publisher, and received patents for a three-position traffic signal and a safety hood designed to aid breathing in smoke-filled areas.

After witnessing an accident between a horse carriage and a car, Morgan created an improvement on prior traffic signals that included a caution indicator for all traffic to stop simultaneously called the G.A. Morgan Safety System and was patented in 1923.

In a life full of achievments, Morgan also invented a woman’s hat fastener, a curling comb and a cigarette extinguisher.

To find out more about Garrett’s story, take a look at this article on him on the Black Past website.

Ranikque’s fourth inspirational person: Roni Savage

Roni Savage started her engineering firm, Jomas Associates, in 2009 and in 2017, it had a £2m turnover. As a black female in the industry, I find her drive and determination as well as her professionalism and business goals motivating.

To find out more about Roni’s inspiring story, take a look at this article on the WeAreTechWomen website.

To find out more about Black History Month, including how to get involved, head to the organisation’s webpage.