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Interview With Norbert Rillieux

Me: Hello there Norbert, is it alright if I ask you a few questions about yourself?

Norbert: Why sure.

Me: Okay then, let’s get started. What events early in your life could have sparked your interest in science?

Norbert: Well, I guess because my father sent me to Paris to get my Engineering degree.

Me: I bet that was quite an experience, going to another country as privileged as you were to get a degree.

Norbert: Yes, it was indeed. I can’t thank my father enough.

Me: Well, on to the next question. What role did your mentors play in developing your talents and interests in science?

Norbert: Well, as previously stated, my father very much so wanted me to become and inventor, so he sent me off to get an Engineering degree. He also told me so much of inventors I couldn’t wait to become one myself.

Me: What were your most major accomplishments?

Norbert: I would definitely have to say when I published a series of papers on steam engines and when I invented the steam-based device to get the juice out of sugarcane to make sugar.

Me: What were your limitations as a scientist or as a person?

Norbert: Well, I really didn’t have any limitations, granted, I was an African American free man but nothing was too serious to stop my work.

Me: What were the prevalent religious beliefs at the time of your life?

Norbert: I lived in New Orleans, which was basically all catholic at the time, so I guess the answer would be Catholicism.

Me: Great, we’re half way done. What major cultural, economic, and political situations were taking place at the time of your work?

Norbert: Well, as you may know, my work took part during the era of Imperialism. This was when growing influence of the British, German, and United States empires was happening, this spurred military conflicts but help advancement in science. Economically the world was fine compared to how things are now.

Me: What artists, musicians, and writers were working at the same time as you in the United States?

Norbert: Well, in Pennsylvania the Academy of Fine Arts was founded my painter Charles Willson Peale and sculptor William Rush, Ralph Waldo Emerson published his paper “Nature” which was very inspiring to radical thinkers and Mark Twain came out with the book “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Lastly, a very popular song in 1954 was “Yankee Doodle”, by Dr. Shamburg.

Me: Very interesting. What were the basic demographics of the United States at the time you were working?

Norbert: Well, from when I was born to when I passed on, the United States population grew from 6.5 Million to over 70 Million citizens. The average income of my time was around $7 a week, or $492 a year. As you can see, it wasn’t much.

Me: How were gender and class roles defined during this time frame?

Norbert: Well, the men worked and put food on the table while the women took care of children, cooked, cleaned, did any chores that needed to be done, and sometimes even schooled the children. The children were to get an education and help their mother if asked.

Me: Well thank you Norbert, it really has been a pleasure. I appreciate you answering these questions for me very much.

Norbert: Oh really, the pleasure’s mine. Thanks for having me.