Black History: Special Delivery!!
Joseph N. Jackson (1929 – ) holds 6 U.S. patents for telecommunications and fertility prediction inventions. Jackson’s first patent was for his contribution to a v-chip device that allowed users to block selected content on cable television. This type of technology is commonly used for parental controls. He also holds patents for TV remote control devices. Jackson was not the first person to invent the remote control. The first TV remote controls introduced in the U.S. were created by Zenith in 1950. The remote was called, “Lazy Bones”. However it was not wireless. It was attached to the TV by a long cord. Consumers didn’t like it because it was a frequent trip hazard. Development of a remote control patent goes back much further than 1950. The first wireless remote control device, the “Flash-Matic” was developed in 1955 by Zenith engineer, Eugene Polley.
Another one of Jackson’s patents was for a biorhythmic cycle indicator which was a personal fertility predictor. Jackson also holds several patents in the area of air traffic security and tracking systems. Jackson was born in Harvey (Jefferson Parish), Louisiana. His parents were Ernest and Octavia Jackson. At the age of 17, he began working as a maintenance helper at an oil field. At 18, he joined the United States Army where he worked as a ship loader and a military police officer. Jackson received his GED in 1961. He attended television repair school at night and operated a radio repair business part time. He completed a business administration degree at Columbia College in Maryland and also holds a doctorate in Applied Science and Technology, from Glendale University in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Jackson founded Protelcon, in 1993. The company was launched to distribute the Telecommander. The Telecommander allowed parents to have more control over the content their children were watching on TV. In 1996 Jackson launched another company, Choice Technologies as a research and development group. Jackson is also the co-founder of the Black Inventions Museum. The museum is a traveling exhibition that highlights the achievements of African American scientists and inventors. The museum was founded in 1994. Jackson currently works as Patent Consultant and resides in California.
Sources:
https://www.reference.com/history/joseph-n-jackson-did-patent-1958cb3f7f002d97
Black Mail Blog 
February 21, 2018 at 6:27 am
Another interesting bit of history!
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March 1, 2020 at 3:46 pm
when did he make his version of the remote? like what year(s)???
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March 1, 2020 at 9:14 pm
Hi Madison! Patents were issued in 1977 and 1978.
Patent numbers: 4228543 (1977) and 4081754 (1978)
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June 11, 2021 at 6:36 pm
Mr. Jackson, Ulysses mention that we shared the inventor’s gene, that for our ancestors, and the significant contribution our inventors made and continues to economies of the world. I am interested in continuing this legacy which needs our attention more now than ever. If you are open to a brief conversation I would be honored Please let me know when this can happen.
Thank You
Have a great weekend
Herb Bennett
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June 23, 2021 at 8:07 am
I can be reached at blackmailsd4u@gmail.com
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June 12, 2021 at 4:59 pm
I knew that the inventor was a black man, but couldn’t remember his name. Thank you for this post. When we peer back into historical and invention-related truths, we will certainly find that so much attributed to a white person was erroneously recorded.
We know that when black people were property, their genius was misappropriated since they could not ‘own’ anything legally. Usually, their ‘owners’ took credit for their inventions and patents were essentially stolen by the mark of an ‘x’ in other scenarios.
Thank you for going into the archival history and enlightening us folk as to those unknown and hidden truths. I appreciate you!
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