LEWIS TEMPLE
1800-1854
Black Smith
Inventor that revolutionized Bedford Massachusetts fishing industry
Lewis Temple was born into slavery in Richmond, Virginia. He had no formal education. He was given his freedom and in 1829 relocated to New Bedford Massachusetts which was known as a seaman and whaling village. Bedford was the whaling capital of the world through its greatest period of success, the 1830s-1850s there he worked as a blacksmith. He married Mary Clark in 1829 and had three children. During this time is when he had the passion to design a better way of whale harpooning. In 1848 he invented a new harpoon head which was named the “Temple’s Toggle” or “Temple’s Iron”. The invention was a pivoting device set at right angles to the shaft, which was held in place by a wooden pin and it revolutionized the harpoon industry. His design became the standard harpoon method of the whaling industry in the middle of the 19th century. Unfortunately, he did not have his invention patented, this caused major copying of his invention. Even though it was replicated many only wanted the ones that was crafted at his store.
Lewis was an abolitionist who fought for equality throughout his life. In 1854 he opened a larger shop by Steamboat Wharf. During a day of visiting his store a city construction site did not properly fix a hole in the street in which he fell. The after effect of the fall left him with permanent injuries to his entire body. He sued the city of Bedford for $2,000. Lewis Temple passed just a few weeks after the case was filed.
He was buried and laid to rest. Lewis wife Mary had it very hard still raising her family alone as a widow. She sold practically everything she still owned to cover his debts. No other records have been found on Mary and the family.
Even after all of the suffering he endured and the hardships of his family. His legacy lives on. He is acknowledged as one of New Bedford’s most ingenious citizens. In 1987, a life-size statue of Lewis Temple was erected on the lawn of the New Bedford Free Public Library. One of his designs is displayed at the Whaling Museum. It is part of the Kendall Collection 2001100.4122.
Clifford Ashley said in his book, The Yankee Whaler, that Temple’s harpoon was “the single most important invention in the whole history of whaling.”
To note: Mr. Lewis Temple was a great inventor who went from being a slave on a plantation to becoming a freeman who became an independent store owner and revolutionized the harpoon industry in the era when whaling was permitted due to demand for the meat and oil. This of course is not allowed today, but credit must be given to Mr. Temple for his innovation which revolutionized an entire industry and is written in history for life.