Lewis Temple
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blacksmith, abolitionist, and inventor. Born in slavery in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, he moved to the whaling village of New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
during the 1820s. In 1848 he invented a type of "toggling harpoon
Toggling harpoon
The toggling harpoon is an ancient weapon and tool used in whaling to impale a whale when thrown. Unlike earlier harpoon versions which had only one point, a toggling harpoon has a two-part point...
" that is sometimes called "Temple's Toggle".