Final answer:
James Beall Morrison invented the pedal-operated dental foot engine in 1871, which greatly improved the efficiency of dental procedures.
Step-by-step explanation:
The individual responsible for inventing the dental foot engine, which is none other than the handpiece often used by dentists to drill and shape teeth, was James Beall Morrison. Morrison revolutionized dental practice by inventing the first pedal-operated dental engine in 1871. This invention greatly increased the efficiency of dental procedures by replacing the manual hand drills that were used at the time. Although this question seems to lead towards dentistry and the invention within that field, the information provided does not specifically address the invention of the dental foot engine, but rather describes important figures in the development of steam and internal combustion engines and pioneering African Americans in the field of dentistry.