Leonard C. Bailey (c. 1825 - September 1, 1918) was an African-American entrepreneur, inventor, and banker. He founded one of the first African-American banks in the United States.
Bailey was born in about 1825 to a free African-American family.[1] Growing up in poverty, Bailey worked as a barber and built up a chain of barbershops in Washington, D.C.[2]
Bailey invented and received patents for a series of devices, many designed for military or government use. These included a collapsible, folding bed designed for easy storage and portability,[3][4] an innovation adopted by the U.S. military;[1] a rapid mail-stamping machine used by the U.S. Postal Service;[1] a device to shunt trains to different tracks; and a hernia truss adopted into wide use by the U.S. Army Medical Board. Bailey had to escape from a military camp after there was an attempt to capture him as a slave while he was dropping off his inventions.[5][6][2] These inventions provided him with a sizable income.
Bailey helped establish the Capital Savings Bank of Washington, D.C., one of the first African-American owned banks in the U.S. During the Panic of 1893, the bank maintained its solvency by obtaining a personal loan from a national bank.[2]
Bailey was a member of the first mixed-race jury in Washington, D.C., which found Millie Gaines not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.[6] He served as a member of the board of directors of the Manassas Industrial School for Colored Youth where a residence hall was named after him.[7]
Bailey died on September 1, 1918, of a sudden illness. He was buried in what is now known as the National Harmony Memorial ParkinLargo, Maryland.[6]
