List of Jamaican inventions and discoveries

Jamaica Coat Of Arms

Jamaican inventions and discoveries are items, processes, ideas, techniques or discoveries which owe their existence either partially or entirely to a person born in Jamaica, or to a citizen of Jamaica and also people of predominantly Jamaican heritage.

Agricultural machinery[]

• Invention (of the first) sorrel harvesting machine that facilitates the mechanical stripping of the red calyces flesh from the sorrel plant.^[1][2]

Animal breeding[]

• Thomas Lecky developed the Jamaica Hope, Jamaica Red and Jamaica Black.^[3]

Mercedes Richards was a pioneer in the field of interacting binary stars

Astronomy and astrophysics[]

Mercedes Richards was;

• The first astronomer to make images of the gravitational flow of gas between the stars in any interacting binary.
• The first to image the chromospheres and accretion disks in Algol binaries.
• The first in astronomy to apply the technique of tomography.
• The first astrophysicist to make theoretical hydrodynamic simulations of the Algol binary stars.
• The first astronomer to discover starspots on the cool star in an Algol binary.
• The first astrophysicist to apply novel distance correlation statistical methods to large astronomical databases.^[4][5][6]

Chemistry[]

• The "armed-disarmed" principle in glycosylation chemistry, by Bertram Fraser-Reid.^[7]
• Construction of the largest ever synthetic hetero-oligosaccharide without the use of automated methods, by Bertram Fraser-Reid.^[7][8]
• Isolation of dibenzyl trisulphide (DTS) from the guinea hen weed and identification of anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on a wide range of cancer cell lines, by Lawrence and Levy.^[9][10]
• Identification of DTS derivatives (e.g. DTS-albumin complexes) for providing anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on a wide range of cancer cell lines, by Lawrence and Levy.^[10]
• Development of methods of isolating and/or providing DTS and/or its derivatives in an effective amount for providing an anti-proliferation and/or cytotoxic activity on cancer cell lines, by Lawrence and Levy.^[10]
• Isolation of chemical compounds from the ball moss plant and identification of anti-cancer activity, by Henry Lowe.^[11]
• Isolation of eryngial from eryngium foetidum and Identification as an anti-threadworm agent by Reese, Robinson and Forbes.^[12][13]

Braithwaite's common data format at Boeing was used as a basis for developing the IGES protocol.

Computing[]

• Invention of the Lingo programming language used in Adobe Director, by John Henry Thompson.^[14]
• Methods and apparatus for managing mobile content, co-invented by John Henry Thompson.^[15]
• Walt W. Braithwaite led the development of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems for Boeing. He also made a significant contribution to the development of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES). His common data format and translators at Boeing were used as the basis for developing the IGES protocol.^[16]

Cuisine[]

• Chocolate Milk^[17][18]
• Tia Maria
• Hummingbird cake
• Irish Moss
• Jerk
• Busta candy
• Coconut drop
• Toto

Michael Manley in a long-sleeved Kariba suit, 1970s

Two children with kwashiorkor

Fashion[]

• Kariba suit
• Ursula Andress bikini - co-designed by Jamaican Tessa Prendergast

Games[]

• Nubian Jak - created by Jak Beula
• Kivi (2016) - co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick
• Eye Catch (2017) - co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick
• Sneak Peek (2018) - co-designed by Sheyla Bonnick^[19]
• Kalooki

Health and medicine[]

• The antibiotic Monamycin, discovered in 1959 by Jamaican .^[20][21]
• Discovery of the child malnutrition syndrome, kwashiorkor. Cicely Williams was the first to recognize and conduct research on kwashiorkor and differentiate it from other dietary deficiencies. She also developed a treatment regime to combat the disease.^[22]
• The pioneer of treatments for paediatric sickle cell anaemia. Yvette Francis-McBarnette was the first to use prophylactic antibiotics in the treatment of children with sickle cell.^[23][24]
• Canasol, a medicated eye-drop for the treatment of glaucoma. Dr Manley West and , created the drug in 1985. Canasol reduces the fluid pressure within the eye that is present in late-stage glaucoma.^[25]
• Asmasol, a treatment for bronchial asthma, coughs and colds, by West and Lockhart.^[25]
• Creation of the JaipurKnee, a budget-friendly prosthetic knee joint. It was listed at number 18 in Time Magazine's “50 Best Inventions of 2009”.^[26] Jamaican Joel Sadler and Eric Thorsell, designed the device as part of a course project in Medical Device Design. The JaipurKnee is made of self-lubricating, oil-filled nylon and is both flexible and stable, even on irregular terrain.^[27] The JaipurKnee has since been exported to many countries.^[28]
• The (Ramphal) Cardiac Surgery Simulator.^[29][30] The model has been used in the training of many cardiothoracic surgery residents in the United States.^[31]
• Alpha Prostate, a supplement used in the management of prostate health, by Henry Lowe.^[11]

Ideology, religion and ethics[]

• Rastafarianism
• Garveyism
• Kumina
• Myal
• Jamaican-born Stuart Hall was one of the founding figures of the school of thought that is now known as British Cultural Studies or the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies.
• The League of Coloured Peoples (LCP), founded by Harold Moody.

Industrial processes[]

• Invention of the , by Sir Geoff Palmer. He created the process whilst a researcher at the Brewing Research Foundation. The process became an industry standard.^[32][33]
• Sir Geoff Palmer was also the first person to utilise the scanning electron microscope to study malt production in detail.^[33]
• Development of a commercial process to extract quassinoids from bitterwood, by Yee and Jacobs.^[34][35]

Mathematics[]

• The creation of a mathematical cost capability trade-off model for HMS Queen Elizabeth, by Nira Chamberlain.^[36][37]
• Invention of a method of long multiplication, used in schools, by Nira Chamberlain.^[38][39]

DJ Kool Herc is widely credited as the originator of Hip-hop

Music[]

• Reggae
• Rocksteady
• Ska
• Mento
• Dub
• Dancehall
• Ragga
• Reggae fusion
• Hip-hop. Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc is Known as the "Founder of Hip-hop" and "Father of Hip-hop".^[40][41]
• Modern remixing of sounds

David Daniel Phillips was recognised by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) as the creator of the ortanique in 1939

Plants, crops and botany[]

• The Ortanique, created by David Daniel Phillips.^[42][43]
• Discovery of a new variety of Zingiberaceae, by Errol McGhie.^[44][45]
• A transgenic papaya - Paula Tennant manipulated the genetic make-up of the local papaya and produced a new bioengineered variety resistant to the papaya ringspot Virus (PRSV).^[46]
• Discovery of a new species of Pisoniae.^[47]

Rashford's invention was used in the maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope

Space exploration[]

• Invention of the portable 3D non-destructive evaluation (NDE) system. In 2000, Kingston born and Puerto Rican Charles Rivera created the world's first portable 3D non-destructive evaluation (NDE) system. The NDE system detects flaws in materials used to construct aircraft, spacecraft and industrial pipelines without having to take these materials apart. The system was used in the maintenance of the United States Government's Hubble Space Telescope.^[48]
• Protective enclosure for use transporting orbital replacement units (orus) within a space craft, invented by Robert Rashford.^[49]
• Robert Rashford also designed and developed unique spacecraft support systems for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) Airborne Support Equipment (UASE) at the Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC). At General Electric, he designed and tested a variety of spacecraft for both commercial and military applications. At Bechtel Corporation, he designed a nuclear reactor support structure. He has designed numerous highly complex engineering systems that successfully flew on board NASA's Manned Space Flight Programs.^[50][51]

Transport[]

• Radial tyres - Jamaican-born Arthur William Savage is often cited as the inventor.^[52]
• Invention relating to an improved process for making inner tubes for vehicle tires, by Arthur William Savage.

Weaponry[]

• Invention of the Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle, by Jamaican-born Arthur William Savage.
• Invention of the first completely modern removable box magazine, by Arthur William Savage.

Miscellaneous[]

• Discovery of previously unknown historical human migration patterns, by Neil Hanchard and team.
• Identification of more than 3 million genetic variants that had not been previously observed which could contribute to making genetic tests more accurate for people with African ancestry, Neil Hanchard and team.
• Invention of the Compact Design H2 Energy Storage and Generation system.^[53]
• Patented magnetic gearbox system.^[54]
• Contributed to the development of a new type of polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT).^[55][56]
• Published the first comprehensive human microbiome study, by Karen Nelson and team.^[57][58]

References[]