Updated on January 13, 2020 ~ Mary Bellis

John Lee Love (September 26, 1889?-December 26, 1931) was a Black inventor who developed the portable pencil sharpener, which he patented in 1897.

Not much is known about his life but he is remembered for two inventions, the other being a plasterer’s hawk, which works much like an artist’s palette for a plasterer or mason. In the pantheon of African American inventors, Love is remembered for devising small things to make life easier.

Fast Facts: John Lee Love

• Known For: Inventor of the Love pencil sharpener
• Born: September 26, 1889? in Fall River, Massachusetts
• Died: December 26, 1931 Charlotte, North Carolina
• Early Life
• John Lee Love is believed to have been born on September 26, 1889, though another account lists his birth year as sometime between 1865 and 1877 during Reconstruction, which would have put his place of birth in the South. Not much else is known about Love’s early days, including whether he had any formal schooling or what prompted him to tinker with and improve certain everyday objects.
• We do know that he worked almost his entire life as a carpenter in Fall River, Massachusetts and that he patented his first invention, an improved plasterer’s hawk, on July 9, 1895 (U.S. Patent No. 542,419).

First Invention

The plasterer’s hawk traditionally had been a flat, square wooden board, about nine inches long on each side, with a handle — basically, a post-like grip — that is perpendicular to the board and attached to its bottom. By putting the plaster, mortar, or (later) stucco on top of the board, the plasterer or mason could access it quickly and easily with the tool being used to apply it. The new design functioned much like an artist’s palette.

As a carpenter, Love was likely well acquainted with the use of plaster and mortar. He believed that the hawks in use at the time were too bulky to be portable. His innovation was to design a hawk with a detachable handle and a foldable board made of aluminum, which must have been a lot easier to clean than wood.

On November 23, 1897, Love patented the pencil sharpener

Source: blackpast.org , blackfacts.com , thoughtco.com

1620 – The Mayflower reached Provincetown, MA. The ship discharged the Pilgrims at Plymouth, MA, on December 26, 1620.

1694 – French author and philosopher Jean Francois Voltaire was born. At age 65 he spent only three days writing “Candide.”

1783 – The first successful flight was made in a hot air balloon. The pilots, Francois Pilatre de Rosier and Francois Laurent, Marquis d’Arlandes, flew for 25 minutes and 5― miles over Paris.

1789 – North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1871 – M.F. Galethe patented the cigar lighter.

1877 – Thomas A. Edison announced the invention of his phonograph.

1922 – Rebecca L. Felton of Georgia was sworn in as the first woman to serve as a member of the U.S. Senate. 

1929 – Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali had his first art exhibit.

1934 – The New York Yankees purchased the contract of Joe DiMaggio from San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League.

1942 – The Alaska Highway across Canada was formally opened.

1953 – British Natural History Museum authorities announced that “Piltdown Man” was a hoax.

1962 – U.S. President Kennedy terminated the quarantine measures against Cuba. 

1963 – U.S. President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, arrived in San Antonio, TX. They were beginning an ill-fated, two-day tour of Texas that would end in Dallas.

1973 – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon‘s attorney, J. Fred Buzhardt, announced the presence of an 18―-minute gap in one of the White House tape recordings related to the Watergate case.

1979 – The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, was attacked by a mob that set the building afire and killed two Americans.

1980 – 87 people died in a fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

1982 – The National Football League (NFL) resumed its season following a 57-day player’s strike.

1985 – Former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard was arrested after being accused of spying for Israel. He was later sentenced to life in prison.

1986 – U.S. Attorney General Meese was asked to conduct an inquiry of the Iran arms sales.

1987 – An eight-day siege began at a detention center in Oakdale, LA, as Cuban detainees seized the facility and took hostages.

1989 – The proceedings of Britain’s House of Commons were televised live for the first time.

1992 – U.S. Senator Bob Packwood, issued an apology but refused to discuss allegations that he’d made unwelcome sexual advances toward 10 women in past years.

1993 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted against making the District of Columbia the 51st state. 

1994 – NATO warplanes bombed an air base in Serb-held Croatia that was being used by Serb planes to raid the Bosnian “safe area” of Bihac.

1995 – France detonated its fourth underground nuclear blast at a test site in the South Pacific.

1995 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 5,000-mark (5,023.55) for the first time.

1999 – China announced that it had test-launched an unmanned space capsule that was designed for manned spaceflight.

2000 – The Florida Supreme Court granted Al Gore’s request to keep the presidential recounts going.

2001 – Microsoft Corp. proposed giving $1 billion in computers, software, training and cash to more than 12,500 of the poorest schools in the U.S. The offer was intended as part of a deal to settle most of the company’s private antitrust lawsuits.

2002 – NATO invited Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia to become members.

2013 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 16,000 for the first time.