Thomas L. Jennings

Thomas L. Jennings (c. 1791 – February 12, 1859) was an African-American inventor, tradesman, entrepreneur, and abolitionist in New York City, New York. He has the distinction of being the first African-American patent-holder in history; he was granted the patent in 1821 for his novel method of dry cleaning. Jennings' invention, along with his business expertise, yielded a significant personal fortune, much of which he put into the abolitionist movement in the United States.

Early life and family Thomas L. Jennings was born in about 1791, to a free African-American family in New York City. He married Elizabeth, born enslaved in Delaware in 1798. Elizabeth died in March 5, 1873.

Jennings and his wife had three children: Matilda Jennings Thompson (1824–1886), Elizabeth Jennings Graham ( March 1827–June 5, 1901), and James E. Jennings (1832–May 5, 1860). Matilda was a dressmaker and wife of James A. Thompson, a Mason. Elizabeth became a schoolteacher, activist, and church organist and married Charles Graham on June 18, 1860. James was a public school teacher and musician.

Professional career Thomas L. Jennings was a tailor who later opened a dry cleaning business in New York City.

Civil rights activism and legacy Jennings was a leader in the cause of abolitionism and African-American civil rights in the United States.

In 1831, Jennings was selected as assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which met in June of that year.

After his daughter, Elizabeth Jennings, was forcibly removed from a "whites only" New York City streetcar in 1854, he organized a movement against racial segregation in public transit in the city. He helped arrange her legal defense, which included the young future President Chester Arthur, and won her case in 1859. Along with James McCune Smith and Rev. James W. C. Pennington, Jennings created the Legal Rights Association later in that year, a pioneering minority-rights organization.

Jennings was active on issues related to emigration to other countries; opposing colonization in Africa, as proposed by the American Colonization Society; and supporting the expansion of suffrage. Jennings was a prominent figure in the fight against slavery and for civil rights for African Americans in the United States. In 1831, he was appointed as assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jennings funded and was a trustee of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, a significant institution in the Harlem African American community.

Thomas L. Jennings died in 1859 in New York City.