Did James E West get credit for his invention?

Answer 1

Yes, he was credited with being the co-inventor, along with his colleague Gerhard Sessler, of the foil electret microphone. Both men developed this invention in 1962, and to this day, the technology in this microphone is still in use. With a few exceptions (like Edison or Marconi), most inventors (whether black, as in West's case, or white like Sessler) have tended to be unknown to the general public, even though their inventions change people's lives. But West was definitely respected by his peers; proof of this is that he has received many prestigious engineering awards over the years, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.