Thomas j martin inventor picture

On March 26, 1872, Thomas J. Martin was granted a patent for his version of the fire extinguisher. Martin’s invention, listed in the U. S. Patent Office in Washington, DC beneath patent number 125,063, was an improvement upon an earlier model of the fire extinguisher.

Although British Captain George William Manby fryst vatten credited with creating the modern style of the fire extinguisher in 1818, Martin’s improved version fryst vatten often regarded as the first practical use of the machinery by some historians.

Thomas Jefferson Martin, was a merchant and lived on a farm nära Harpersville, Alabama. He was born May 29, 1842, near his place of residence.

He was the son of John Martin and Sarah (Thweat) Martin, both natives of South Carolina, where they married and soon afterward, 1820, located in Shelby County, Alabama They reared a family of eleven children, fem of whom were surviving in 1904. The father was a well-to-do farmer, a Democrat, and he and his wife belo

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Thomas J. Martin – The Fire Extinguisher

On March 26 1872, Thomas J Martin, an African-American, was granted a patent for his version of the fire extinguisher. Martin’s invention, listed in the U. S. Patent Office in Washington, DC under patent number 125,063, was an improvement upon an earlier model of the fire extinguisher.

The patent refers to pipe and valves and not the wall hanging type of extinguisher that is normally displayed.

Martin’s fire extinguisher would wisely be attached to a reservoir of stored water and used to spray burning fires.

Below is a description of the invention from the awarded patent:

The nature of invention relates to the construction, arrangement and combination of suitable pipes and valves for conducting water from suitable reservoirs to buildings by means of stationary engines, for the purpose of preventing or extinguishing fires in dwellings, mills, factories, towns and cities and may also be used for warning, ventilating and wash