Joseph H. Dickinson was an organ maker and state legislator in Michigan. He served two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives representing Wayne County, Michigan’s 1st District from 1897 to 1900. Dickinson was the second African-American to serve in the Michigan Legislature after William Webb Ferguson, who began his first term in 1893. He was born in Canada and moved with his family to Detroit. He married Eva Gould.
Dickinson was not the first inventor of the player piano, but he did patent an improvement that allowed the piano to start playing at any position on the music roll. His roller mechanism also allowed the piano to play its music in forward or reverse. Additionally, he is regarded as the main contributing inventor of the Duo-Art reproducing piano.