Alfred L. Cralle optimized his invention for one-handed use by adding a thumb grip and a scraping tool that kept food from sticking to the scooper. Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesBlack inventor Alfred L. Cralle became a hero for dessert lovers on February 2, 1897, when he patented an ice cream mold and disher, the precursor to the scoop used to serve the popular frozen treat today.Born in Virginia just after the end of the Civil War, Cralle developed his technical skills at an early age, often working alongside his carpenter father. He attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. and eventually settled in Pittsburgh. There, his work as a porter at a drugstore and a hotel sparked inspiration.As the story goes, Cralle saw that servers at these businesses struggled at dessert time. Holding ice cream cones in one hand, they were accustomed to using a serving spoon or ladle in the other hand to dish out the treats. But ice cream often stuck to the spoon, forcing servers to juggle a cone and multiple utensils simultaneously.Cralle saw a better way. He optimized his invention for one-handed use by adding a thumb grip and a scraping tool that kept food from sticking to the scooper. When he filed for a patent in 1896, he wrote that the tool would be extremely simple in its construction, strong, durable, effectual in its operation and comparatively inexpensive to manufacture. A year later, in 1897, the United States Patent Office granted Cralle Patent No. 576395. The patent for Cralle's ice cream scoop Public domainThe device was a near-instant hit. As the Pittsburgh Press wrote at the time, the invention, a product of Cralles ingenious mind, could scoop 40 to 50 dishes of ice cream in a minute while successfully doing away with the soiling of [servers] hands. The Press also reported that several firms in major cities, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Chicago, were interested in purchasing the patent from Cralle outright or establishing royalty deals. The patented mold and disher was useful beyond ice cream, helping to serve other sticky foods like rice.Despite the inventions popularity, Cralle never received big bucks for his patent. Nor did he win measurable fame during his lifetime. Cralle did receive recognition in the local business community, leaving porter roles at the St. Charles Hotel and the Markell Brothers drugstore to serve as the assistant manager of the Afro-American Financial, Accumulating, Merchandise and Business Association. He was later promoted to general manager of the organization.Cralle died in 1919.Notably, Cralle was the first Black man in Pittsburgh to receive his own patent. Historians consider him to be part of a wave of Black patentees that emerged in the aftermath of the Civil War and the ratification of the 14th Amendment. His work was covered in patent examiner Henry E. Bakers 1913 book, The Colored Inventor: A Record of 50 Years, a text that defined 20th-century knowledge of Black inventors and their creations. In recent years, Cralles invention has inspired a younger generation of tinkerers in his hometown and beyond, and it continues to demonstrate its sweet staying power each time someone serves up a scoop of ice cream.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: African American History, Black History Month, Desserts, Food, Food History, Inventions, On This Day in History