Lewis Temple

Lewis Temple (1800 – 18 May 1854) 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 1820s, where he worked as a blacksmith.

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 1835.

[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.