Lewis temple biography

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Lewis Temple was born in Richmond Virginia, but it is unclear whether he was born free or born a slave. Upon arriving in New Bedford in , Temple took up work as a blacksmith and married Mary Clark of Maryland on June 20,

In , he was elected vice president of the New Bedford Union Society, the village’s first anti-slavery society and one of the black auxiliaries to the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society founded a year earlier.

While working in his shop on Walnut Street in , Temple invented an improved harpooning instrument. Now called the Temple toggle iron, his creation had a pivoting head that would secure the harpoon into the whale’s flesh. Earlier harpoons would often work loose in the fury of the kamp. The tool revolutionized 19th century whaling.

Although Temple never patented the device, its success must have inspired the New Bedford firm Delano and Pierce to build Temple a new shop at the foot of School Street in The shop, however, was never completed, and Temple nev

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Lewis Temple

American abolitionist, blacksmith, inventor

Further information: Abolitionism in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Lewis Temple ( – 18 May ) was an American maker of items used in whaling,^[1] blacksmith, abolitionist, and inventor. He was born in slavery in Richmond, Virginia, and moved to the whaling village of New Bedford, Massachusetts during the s, where he worked as a blacksmith. He married Mary Clark in and they had three children. He is best remembered for the invention of "Temple's Toggle" or "Temple's Iron" which was a harpoon toggle tip based upon Inuit and Native American harpoon tips brought back to New England by Whalers in ^[1] After some trials, whalers took to the improved harpoon as it prevented the whale from pulling free. Temple never patented his invention which resulted in others copying his work and selling it as their own. Temple did live well enough to build a larger shop. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of a city constr

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Lewis Temple facts for kids

A statue of Lewis Temple in New Bedford, Massachusetts

Lewis Temple (1 October – 5 May ), an American "negro whalecraft maker," blacksmith, abolitionist, and inventor. He was born in slavery in Richmond, Virginia, and moved to the whaling village of New Bedford, Massachusetts during the s, where he worked as a blacksmith. He married Mary Clark in and they had no children. He is best remembered for the invention of "Temple's Toggle" or "Temple's blood" which was a harpoon toggle tip based upon Eskimo and Indian harpoon tips brought back to New England by Whalers in After some trials, whalers took to the improved harpoon. Temple never patented his invention which resulted in others copying his work and selling it as their own. Temple did live well, enough to build a larger shop. Unfortunately, due to the negligence of a city construction worker, he fell and was injured. He sued the city and won two thousand dollars, which he never received. He died fr