“Our Rich Black Heritage” : JOSEPH LEE

               I recently read about a company called,”The Black Bread Company.” The company was founded in 2021 by three Black men from Chicago. Speaking of bread, how many of you all knew that in 1894 a Black man named “Joseph Lee” invented the first  automatic bread-making machine in America?  The next year, on June 4, 1895, he followed-up his previous invention with the invention of a machine for making breadcrumbs. Joseph made a fortune by selling the rights to his inventions. Furthermore, his two fantastic inventions helped revolutionize  the Bread Industry!

Joseph Lee was born in Charleston , South Carolina on July 4,1848 to two Negro slaves, Henry and Susan Lee. From an early age, Joseph had taken an interest in baking. He ended up working at a bakery in Beaufort, South Carolina. On May 12, 1875, Joseph married Christina Howard ; they had four children. Not long after then, Joseph and his family settled in Needham, Massachusetts. In 1882, he  opened a restaurant and The Woodland Park Motel. Prominent guests at his motel included Presidents of the United States, Benjamin Harrison and Chester A Arthur, and Grover Cleveland. Also, he ran a successful catering business as well as managing other restaurants,in and around the Boston area. After he invented his bread machine in 1894, it was being used by many of America’s leading hotels, restaurants,and catering  establishments.  Additionally, Joseph was active in Civil Rights issues  of his day as well. In 1890, he attended  the Convention of Colored Men. Near the end of his life, Joseph  fell ill with pulmonary tuberculosis. On June 11, 1908, Joseph Lee died at his home. 

In 2019, Joseph Lee was inducted into the American National Inventors Hall of Fame!