Related Black History Biographies: 1  Jackie Robinson 1919-1972 The first African American in the twentieth century to play major league baseball, Jackie Robinson was undoubtedly one of... 2  Cool Papa Bell 1903-1991 Cool Papa Bell was a baseball player who was renowned for his speed and prowess on the field.
Still, it's not a huge industry. There are between 5,000 and 10,000 blacksmiths in the U.S., and of those, only about 10 percent do it professionally â they make things like custom railings or artistic hardware for homes. Back in the classroom, Scott Higgins is learning to punch a hole in metal.
In 1700, the then-president of Harvard College was probably commissioning a blacksmith to make door hinges and chandeliers for a new academic building. Fifty miles away, however, another blacksmith was scouring the land for enough iron to make a farmer's plow.oday, about 5,000 men and women belong to ABANA, the Artists Blacksmith Assn. of North America. There are an estimated 5,000 non-members. Add to that all of the farriers, bladesmiths, gunsmiths, and armourers and perhaps 20-30,000 Americans practice the metal arts of our earlier days. Maybe even more.