No products in the cart.
Golf Tee (Innovation)
George Franklin Grant

Inventor
George Franklin Grant
George Franklin Grant (September 15, 1846 – August 21, 1910) was the first African-American professor at Harvard. He was also a Boston dentist, and an inventor of an early composite golf tee made from wood and natural rubber (specifically, gutta-percha) tubing.
Grant was born on September 15, 1846, in Oswego, New York, to Phillis Pitt and Tudor Elandor Grant. He attended the Bordentown School in Bordentown, New Jersey.
He entered the Harvard Dental School (now the Harvard School of Dental Medicine) in 1868 and graduated in 1870. He then took a position in the department of mechanical dentistry in 1871, making him Harvard University’s first African-American faculty member.
Grant was a founding member and later the president of the Harvard Odontological Society and was a member of the Harvard Dental Alumni Association where he was elected president in 1881. In 1899 he improved on Percy Ellis’ “Perfectum” tee.
In 1899, an African-American dentist, Dr. George Franklin Grant, obtained a patent for an “improved golf tee”. This tee consisted of a wood cone with a rubber sleeve to support the ball, but it is not known to have ever been marketed.
Share on social media
Golf Tee (Innovation)
George Franklin Grant

Biography
George Franklin Grant (September 15, 1846 – August 21, 1910) was the first African-American professor at Harvard. He was also a Boston dentist, and an inventor of an early composite golf tee made from wood and natural rubber (specifically, gutta-percha) tubing.
Grant was born on September 15, 1846, in Oswego, New York, to Phillis Pitt and Tudor Elandor Grant. He attended the Bordentown School in Bordentown, New Jersey.
He entered the Harvard Dental School (now the Harvard School of Dental Medicine) in 1868 and graduated in 1870. He then took a position in the department of mechanical dentistry in 1871, making him Harvard University's first African-American faculty member.
Grant was a founding member and later the president of the Harvard Odontological Society and was a member of the Harvard Dental Alumni Association where he was elected president in 1881. In 1899 he improved on Percy Ellis' "Perfectum" tee.
In 1899, an African-American dentist, Dr. George Franklin Grant, obtained a patent for an "improved golf tee". This tee consisted of a wood cone with a rubber sleeve to support the ball, but it is not known to have ever been marketed.
Shareables

