Inventor, Engineer. Most noted for inventing a improved sugar refining process that improved the safety and the efficency of making sugar from sugar beets and sugar cane, which revolutionized the sugar refining process. Rillieux was born a free man in New Orleans, Lousiana to Vincent Rillieux, a French sugar cane plantation owner, and Constant Vivant, a slave on the plantation. His superior intellect was evident at an early age. As a child Rillieux was educated in the Catholic school system in New Orleans. Educational opportunities for black people in the South were virtually nil, and his father sent him to L'École Centrale in Paris to study engineering. After graduating, Rillieux remained in Paris. At age 24, he was a teacher of applied mechanics at L'École Centrale, and wrote a series of papers on steam engines and steam economy. He returned to Louisiana in 1840 and, three years later patented the multiple-effect vacuum pan evaporator. This device heated the sugar cane juice in a partial vacuum, reducing its boiling point, allowing much greater fuel efficiency. This innovation, adopted in sugar refining, escalated production, reduced the price, and was responsible for transforming sugar into a household item. Similar technology was subsequently developed for the production of soap, gelatin, and glue. Some have called Rillieux's evaporator the greatest invention in the history of American chemical engineering. When post-Reconstruction conditions proved oppressive in Louisiana for African-Americans, Rillieux returned to Paris, serving as headmaster at L'École Centrale. He spent much of his time creating new inventions and defending his patents as well as traveling abroad. He also began to study Egyptology and helped decipher hieroglyphics. Norbert Rillieux died there in 1894 and left behind a legacy of having revolutionized the sugar industry and therefore changing the way the world would eat.