Samuel R. Scottron

Samuel Raymond Scottron (February 1841 – October 14, 1905) was a prominent African-American inventor from Brooklyn, N.Y. who began his career as a barber. He was born in Philadelphia in 1841. He received his engineering degree from Cooper Union in 1878.

He was a community leader in New York, setting up organizations to promote racial harmony and fairness, as well as a public speaker and writer on race relations. He was a member of the Brooklyn board of education, and a leader in the Republican Party. He fought for the end of slavery in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Scottron served as Chairman of the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee which met at the Cooper Institute.

He invented a special mirror bracket that allowed one to see oneself as others saw them. He went on to receive four more patents, one of which being the curtain rod. Provided by Wikipedia