Alfred L. Cralle invented the ice cream scooper (patent #576,395) in 1897. He was the first man of color in Pittsburgh to receive a patent for an invention.

An African American from Virginia, Cralle became an inventor and businessman in Pittsburgh, Penn.. He was born in 1866 - one year after the end of the Civil War (1861-1865) where he attended school and worked with his dad in carpentry. That's where he built a fascination with mechanics.

Happy Black History Month!

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