BLACK HISTORY MONTH: JOHN LEE LOVE

On November 23, 1897, John Lee Love patented the pencil sharpener which called for a user to turn a crank and rotor off thin slices of wood from the pencil until a point was formed. He developed the pencil sharpener out of the frustration involved in having to perform the repetitive task of having to stop writing notes or letters and pull out his knife to whittle his pencil down to a point again.

It is interesting to note that while the patent drawing depicts the Love Sharpener as being quite plain. John Lee Love wrote that it could also be designed in a very ornate fashion and that his pencil sharpener could also be used as a desk ornament or paperweight.

John Lee Love was born on September 26, 1889 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.