Samuel Raymond Scottron (February 1841 – October 14, 1905)^[1][2] was an African-American inventor from Brooklyn, New York who began his career as a barber. He was born in Philadelphia in 1841 and received his engineering degree from Cooper Union in 1878.^{[citation needed]} He served on the Brooklyn Board of Education and was a leader in the Republican Party. He actively advocated for the abolition of slavery in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Scottron served as Chairman of the Cuban Anti-Slavery Committee which met at the Cooper Institute..^{[citation needed]}

He invented a special mirror bracket that allowed one to see oneself as others saw them. He went on to receive four more patents, including one for the curtain rod. .^{[citation needed]}

Samuel Scottron moved with his family to New York City when he was a child, where he completed grammar school. During the American Civil War, he was the sutler for the 3rd United States Colored Infantry and almost went bankrupt. To recoup his fortunes, he first operated grocery stores in Gainesville and Jacksonville, Florida, and then a barber shop in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was there that he developed and patented his first invention, the adjustable window cornice. .^{[citation needed]}

Scottron married Anna Maria Willett, a native New Yorker, in 1863; they would have five children.^[3]

Scottron died of natural causes on October 14, 1908.

• U.S. patent 76,253 Improved Mirror, March 31, 1868
• U.S. patent 224,732 Adjustable Window Cornice, February 17, 1880
• U.S. patent 270,851 Cornice, January 16, 1883
• U.S. patent 349,525 Pole Tip, September 21, 1886
• U.S. patent 481,720 Curtain Rod, August 30, 1892
• U.S. patent 505,008 Supporting Bracket, September 12, 1893

• United States Patent and Trademark Office

• Works by or about Samuel R. Scottron at the Internet Archive