Year: 1975

Who: Virgie Ammons

Where: Maryland

Born in Maryland in 1908, Virgie Ammons was an innovative thinker and inventor who made a significant contribution to home energy efficiency and safety. She is best known for inventing a fireplace damper actuating tool, which she patented on September 30, 1975. Her invention addressed the practical issue of fireplace dampers not closing fully or fluttering, which often caused heat loss, energy inefficiency, and drafts in homes.

Ammons’s tool helped ensure that fireplace dampers could be securely closed, preventing dust, cold air, and debris from entering the home through the chimney. At a time when fireplaces were a primary or supplemental source of heating, her innovation was both practical and ahead of its time in emphasizing energy conservation. Though the tool was not widely commercialized, it remains a notable advancement in home heating technology.

While little is documented about Ammons’s life beyond her invention, her patent highlights the creativity and resourcefulness of African American inventors during a period when their contributions were often overlooked or undervalued. Ammons’s work stands as a testament to the ingenuity and problem-solving spirit of women inventors who sought to improve daily life through practical innovations.

Sources:

Website:

• Face2Face Africa. (n.d.). Meet Virgie Ammons, the woman who invented the fireplace damper. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://face2faceafrica.com/article/meet-virgie-ammons-woman-invented-fireplace-damper\

• ThoughtCo. (n.d.). Virgie Ammons: Inventor. Retrieved March 13, 2025, from https://www.thoughtco.com/virgie-ammons-inventor-4075613