Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion, patented a wrench (U.S. patent #1,413,121) on April 18, 1922. His patent was not the first for a wrench. Solymon Merrick of Springfield, Massachusetts, patented the first wrench in 1835. Charles Moncky, a Baltimore mechanic, invented the monkey wrench around 1858. Moncky’s wrench was named using a purposeful misspelling of his name. On September 9, 1913, Robert Owen Jr, of Shawnee, Ohio, received a patent for the “Double Acting Wrench” (ratchet wrench), arguably the most important advancement in wrench technology. Daniel C. Stillson, a steamboat firefighter, received a patented on September 13, 1870 for an invention later known as the Stillson pipe wrench.
Jack Johnson, the inventor, represents little more than an interesting historical footnote. He owes his fame and infamy to his boxing exploits and his violation of social norms.
