Received a patent for carborundum -the hardest man-made surface and was needed to bring about the industrial age.
Edward Goodrich Acheson
First tried to change chicle into automobile tires, before making it into a chewing gum.
Thomas Adams
Worked on the Mark computer series.
Howard Aiken
The engineer whose high-frequency alternator gave America its start in the field of radio communication.
Ernest F. W. Alexanderson
Invented a new type of x-ray spectrometer.
George Edward Alcorn
Invented the localizer antenna system for radio navigation systems.
Andrew Alford
Invented the world's first disposable cell phone.
Randi Altschul
Received patents for a radio distance and direction indicator, a landing system for air-crafts, a radar system for locating planes and the hydrogen bubble chamber, used to detect subatomic particles.
Luis Walter Alvarez
Invented a fireplace dampening device.
Virgie Ammons
The third women elected to the National Academy of engineering. Holds US patent no.3287659.
Dr. Betsy Ancker-Johnson
Patented the windshield wipers in 1905.
Mary Anderson
Invented a newborn scoring system called the Apgar Score for assessing the health of newborn infants.
Virginia Apgar
A mathematician from ancient Greece. He invented a special screw for raising water.
Archimedes
Invented a method of receiving high-frequency oscillations, part of every radio and television today.
Edwin Howard Armstrong
Developed a totally new way of processing film.
Barbara Askins
Determining who was first in the computing biz is not always as easy as ABC.
John Atanasoff
English mathematician that invented a precursor to the computer.
Charles Babbage
Received a patent for the water tube steam boiler, a safer and more efficient boiler.
George H. Babcock
The first high level computer programming language, Fortran was written by him and IBM.
John Backus
Patented a Method of Making Insoluble Products of Phenol and Formaldehyde.
Leo Baekeland
Remembered for the mechanical television (an earlier version of television). Also patented inventions related to radar and fiber optics.
John Logie Baird
His inventive spirit would lead him into publishing a Farmers' Almanac.
Benjamin Banneker
Along with fellow research chemist Paul Hogan invented a durable plastic called Marlex.
Robert Banks
Received a patent for the transistor invented in 1947.
John Bardeen
Earned U.S. Patent no.11,023 for a Design for the Statue of Liberty.
Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi
Invented and manufactured the rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging.
Earl Bascom
The first African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.
Patricia Bath
Editor and co-owner of Scientific American, was awarded patents for an improvement he made to typewriters (1857), for a cable traction railway system (1864) and for a pneumatic transit system for mail and passengers (1865).
Alfred Beach
Received a patent for a railroad car coupler and a rotary engine.
Andrew Jackson Beard
Invented an apparatus for testing acidity.
Arnold O. Beckman
In 1986, K. Alex Müller and him invented the first high-temperature superconductor.
George Bednorz
Patented magnetic recording.
S. Joseph Begun
Invented the telephone.
Alexander Graham Bell
Automotive and aviation inventor and industrialist.
Vincent Bendix
Was the second black woman to receive a patent. She received a patent for a Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels.
Miriam E. Benjamin
Invented the radio frequency mass spectrometer.
Willard H. Bennett
On January 29, 1886, received his first patent for a crude gas-fueled car.
Karl Benz
Invented the disk gramophone.
Emile Berliner
Invented the World Wide Web and HTML or hypertext markup language.
Tim Berners-Lee
Determining who was first in the computer biz is not always as easy as ABC.
Clifford Berry
An English engineer who invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively.
Henry Bessemer
Invented a indestructible and fireproof building material--Geobond®.
Patricia Billings
Co-invented Crayola Crayons.
Edward Binney
Co-invented the scanning tunneling microscope.
Gerd Karl Binnig
Invented the fluid control device-- respirator and the pediatric ventilator.
Forrest M. Bird
Invented a method to make commercial frozen foods.
Clarence Birdseye
Invented the wave translation system that eliminates feedback distortion in telephone calls.
Harold Stephen Black
The second black man issued a patent by the United States Patent Office.
Henry Blair
An American who invented a sewing machine for sewing the soles of shoes to the uppers. In 1858, he received a patent for his special sewing machine.
Lyman Reed Blake
Invented the non-reflecting glass.
Katherine Blodgett
Invented a device to help a disabled person eat.
Bessie Blount
Co-invented a vaccine against viral hepatitis and developed a test that identified hepatitis B in blood sample.
Baruch S. Blumberg
Bombardier developed in 1958 the type of sport machine that we know today as a snowmobile.
Joseph-Armand Bombardier
An improvement to the ironing board (U.S. Patent no.473,653) was invented by African American Sarah Boone on April 26, 1892.
Sarah Boone
In 1849, the Bourdon tube pressure gauge was patented by Eugene Bourdon.
Eugene Bourdon
Invented a device that provided semiconductors with more speed.
Robert Bower
Co-invented the modern athletic shoe.
Bill Bowerman - Sneakers
Considered the founding father of genetic engineering.
Herbert Boyer
Invented an improved Electrical Resistor used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices.
Otis Boykin
Invented braille printing.
Louis Braille
A pioneer in the machine tool industry.
Joseph Bramah
A Swiss textile engineer, who came up with the idea for a clear and protective, packaging film, invented Cellophane in 1908
Jacques Edwin Brandenberger
Co-invented the transistor - invented in 1947.
Walter H. Brattain
Electronic television is based on the development of the cathode ray tube that is the picture tube found in modern television sets. German scientist, Karl Braun invented the cathode ray tube oscilloscope (CRT) in 1897.
Karl Braun
Patented the first successful car air bag.
Allen Breed
C. B. Brooks invented an improved street sweeper truck.
Charles Brooks
Patented the Disposable Syringe.
Phil Brooks
Patented a receptacle for storing and preserving papers on November 2, 1886. It was special in that it kept the papers separated. Perhaps an early forerunner to the Filofax?
Henry Brown
Invented the world's first useful antifungal antibiotic, Nystatin.
Rachel Fuller Brown
Prolific gun inventor known for his automatic pistols.
John Moses Browning
Holds agricultural patents on different types of potatoes (Idaho), peaches etc.
Luther Burbank
Co-patented first antibody labeling agent.
Joseph H. Burckhalter
Invented the first practical adding and listing machine.
William Seward Burroughs
Invented the video game Pong and is perhaps the father of computer entertainment.
Nolan Bushnell
His famous inventions are used in modern recording heads, magnetic sound for motion pictures, tape machines and video tape recording decks.
Marvin Camras
Received a patent for electrophotography, the history of the Xerox or photocopy machine.
Chester F Carlson
A brilliant and tragic mind, Carothers was the brains behind Dupont and the history of synthetic fibers.
Wallace Hume Carothers
Brought us the comfort zone with Air Conditioning.
Willis Carrier
Behind the invention of the far-ultraviolet camera and spectrograph.
George Carruthers
Invented the game of baseball.
Alexander J Cartwright
A cleric and the inventor of the power loom.
Edmund Cartwright
A pioneer in surgery technology.
Benjamin Carson
Agricultural chemist who invented three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. Changed the history of agriculture in the south.
George Washington Carver
Invented Internet protocols.
Vinton Cerf
A noted biochemist, photobiologist, and astrochemist.
Emmett W Chappelle
Moisture proof cellophane.
William Hale Charch
Invented and patented new lubricants, used in high flying aircraft and NASA space missions.
John B Christian
In 1886, invented the dishwasher in Shelbyville, Illinois.
Josephine Garis Cochran
Invented the electrochemical paintbrush, nanotechnology used in etching microchips.
Adam Cohen
The founding father of genetic engineering.
Stanley Cohen
Invented Pine-Sol in 1929.
Harry A. Cole
Inventor of the colt revolver.
Samuel Colt
Invented Enovid - the first oral contraceptive.
Frank B Colton
Invented the antibiotic tetracycline, the most prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotic in the history of the United States.
Lloyd H Conover
Invented the X-Ray tube - the history of the Coolidge Tube.
William D Coolidge
Inventor of the modern cell phone.
Martin Cooper
The inventor of the Tom Thumb locomotive and Jello.
Peter Cooper
Received a patent for the pyrotechnic signaling system known as maritime signal flares.
Martha J Coston
Invented propellants for nuclear reactors.
Donald Cotton
Invented a electrostatic precipitator called the 'Cottrell' that removed particles/pollution smoke or gases in smokestacks.
Frederick G Cottrell
Invented a pre-soaped pad with which to clean pots.
Ed Cox
Designed and sold toilet paper.
Joseph Coyetty
Invented the Cray Supercomputer
Seymour Cray
Holds thirty-nine patents for heating systems and temperature regulating devices. He is known for creating the heating system in New York City's famous Radio City Music Hall.
David Crosthwait
Invented Actar 911, the CPR mannequin.
Dianne Croteau
Discovered radium and furthered x-ray technology.
Marie Curie
Invented a gas engine that allowed for a revolution in car design.
Gottlieb Daimler
Invented the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner that has revolutionized the field of diagnostic medicine.
Raymond V Damadian
English scientist that invented coke smelting and advanced the mass production of brass and iron goods.
Abraham Darby
Innovations in windsurfing.
Newman Darby
Designed a later version of the game Monopoly.
Charles Darrow
In 1842, the first grain elevator was built by him.
Joseph Dart
The Renaissance man
Leonardo DaVinci
Invented the first electric light.
Humphry Davy
Co-invented improvements in computer architecture that allow IBM compatible PCs to share the same peripheral devices.
Mark Dean
Invented the self-polishing cast steel plow.
John Deere
Invented space telegraphy with the triode amplifier.
Lee Deforest
Received a patent for the Smart Shoe.
Ronald Demon
Received a patent for RAM (random access memory).
Robert Dennard
He was the creator of the Dewar flask, the first thermos, and the co-created cordite, a smokeless gunpowder.
Sir James Dewar
Invented bandaids.
Earle Dickson
Invented the diesel-fueled internal combustion engine.
Rudolf Diesel
Designed, built, and microsurgically implanted neuroelectric interfaces that provide a patient with the sensory feedback otherwise lacking in paralyzed or even prosthetic limbs.
Daniel DiLorenzo
Produced many famous animated films - invented the multiplane camera.
Walt Disney
Invented oral contraceptives.
Carl Djerassi
The convenient disposable diaper was invented by this New Yorker in 1950.
Marion Donovan
Aibo creator - numerous patents.
Toshitada Doi
The famous inventor of a process of extracting Bromine, the founder of Dow Chemicals, and also invented electric light carbons, steam and internal combustion engines, automatic furnace controls, and water seals.
Herbert Henry Dow
Invented a gyroscope that stabilized and balanced gunsights, bombsights and launching long-range missiles.
Charles Stark Draper
Among His many inventions are: the first navigable submarine, a scarlet dye, and a thermostat for a self-regulating oven.
Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel
The first person to develop the blood bank.
Dr. Charles Richard Drew
Banjo playing 3M engineer, this man invented Scotch Tape.
Richard G Drew
Created the first US yo-yo fad.
D F Duncan Sr
The famous inventor of the first practical pneumatic or inflatable tyre(tire).
John Dunlop
The co-creator of Tagamet - inhibits the production of stomach acid.
Graham John Durant
Invented the tin can.
Peter Durand
They founded America's first company to manufacture and sell gasoline-powered vehicles.
Charles and Frank Duryea
Ranked among the most important of industrial designers. They are best known for their groundbreaking contributions to architecture, furniture design, industrial design, manufacturing, and the photographic arts.
Charles and Ray Eames
Invented dry, transparent, and flexible photographic film
George Eastman
With John Mauchly he invented the first general-purpose electronic digital computer (ENIAC)
John Presper Eckert
Invented high-speed stroboscopic photography.
Harold E Doc Edgerton
credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.
Thomas Alva Edison
Created JavaScript.
Brendan Eich
Built the Eiffel Tower for the Paris World's Fair of 1889, which honored the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution.
Gustave Eiffel
Developed the special and general theories of relativity and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. His theories lead to the invention of nuclear power and the atomic bomb.
Albert Einstein
Invented the leukemia fighting drug 6-mercaptopurine, drugs that facilitated kidney transplants, and drugs for the treatment of cancer.
Gertrude Belle Elion
In 1879 designed and patented a refrigerator designed to chill human corpses.
Thomas Elkins
In 1989 won the Gordon Bell Prize for inventing supercomputer software.
Philip Emeagwali
Received a patent for Tagamet - inhibits the production of stomach acid.
John Emmett
Invented the computer mouse and the first GUI software before Microsoft or Apple.
Douglas Engelbart
In 1839, designed and built the USS Princeton, the most advanced warship of its time.
John Ericsson
Pioneered the high-pressure steam engine.
Oliver Evans
Invented the outboard motor.
Ole Evinrude
Received a patent for the first computer microprocessor.
Federico Faggin
The German physicist who invented the alcohol thermometer in 1709 and the mercury thermometer in 1714. In 1724, he introduced the temperature scale that bears his name.
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Invented the electric motor.
Michael Faraday
Farm boy who conceived the basic operating principles of electronic television at the age of thirteen.
Philo T Farnsworth
Invented liquid crystal display (LCD).
James Fergason
Most noted for his work on the first nuclear reactor, quantum theory, particle physics and statistical mechanics.
Enrico Fermi
Invented a ride for the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893 in Chicago in attempt to rival the Eiffel Tower.
George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.
In 1900, transmitted the world's first voice message.
Reginald Fessenden
Made the first successful trial of a steamboat.
John Fitch
Received a patent for a petroleum refining method and was one of the most inventive chemists of all times.
Edith Flanigen
Discovered Penicillin.
Alexander Fleming
Invented standard time.
Sir Sandford Fleming
Invented the embolectomy balloon catheter, a medical device.
Thomas J Fogarty
Improved the assembly line for automobile manufacturing, received a patent for a transmission mechanism, and popularized the gas-powered car with the Model-T.
Henry Ford
A pioneer in digital computer development and invented random access, coincident-current, magnetic storage.
Jay W Forrester
Invented naturally colored cotton.
Sally Fox
Invented the lightning rod, the iron furnace stove, bifocal glasses, and the odometer.
Benjamin Franklin
Invented the home diabetes test.
Helen Murray Free
3M chemist who invented Post-It Notes as a temporary bookmarker.
Art Fry
Invented the geodesic dome in 1954.
Buckminster Fuller
American engineer, who brought steamboating to commercial success.
Robert Fulton
Invented the Self-Cleaning House.
Frances Gabe
Developed the theory of holography while working to improve the resolution of an electron microscope.
Dr. Dennis Gábor
One of the greatest scientists of all history, proved that the planets revolve around the sun not the earth as people thought at the time. Also invented a crude thermometer and telescope.
Galileo Galilei
Demonstrated what we now understand to be the electrical basis of nerve impulses.
Luigi Galvani
Received a patent for Tagamet - inhibits the production of stomach acid.
Charon Robin Ganellin
Invented the M1 semiautomatic rifle in 1934.
John Garand
Inventor of the high explosive rifle bullet.
Samuel Gardiner
The chairman of Microsoft, their chief software architect, and the creator of many early PC software programs.
Bill Gates
Inventor of the Gatling gun
Richard Gatling
The Scottish goldsmith who invented stereotyping in 1725, a process in which a whole page of type is cast in a single mold so that a printing plate can be made from it.
William Ged
Invented the Gerber Variable Scale® and the GERBERcutter®.
Joseph Gerber
Invented a high-pressure vapor lamp. His development of the improved fluorescent lamp and the high-pressure mercury-vapor lamp allowed for more economical lighting with less heat.
Edmund Germer
Invented the Erector Set - a child's building toy.
A C Gilbert
Father of electricity who first coined the term electricity from the Greek word for amber.
William Gilbert
An inventor, author, industrial engineer, industrial psychologist, and mother of twelve children.
Lillian Gilbreth
Invented the disposable balde safety razor.
King Camp Gillette
Developed the first practical videotape recorder (VTR).
Charles P Ginsburg
U.S. professor and scientist, was a pioneer of controlled, liquid-fueled rocketry. He launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926.
Robert Hutchings Goddard
The first African American woman to receive a US patent.
Sarah E Goode
Made improvements in the indian-rubber fabrics used in tires.
Charles Goodyear
Invented Java, a programming language and environment.
James Gosling
Invented the laser.
Gordon Gould
Invented electrogasdynamics systems.
Meredith C Gourdine
Invented Liquid Paper.
Bette Nesmith Graham
Invented Graham Crackers in 1829.
Sylvester Graham
Invented livestock handling devices.
Temple Grandin
Invented the Etch-A-Sketch - a child's reusable drawing tool.
Arthur Granjean
Invented an improved tapered golf tee in 1899
George Grant
Invented an implantable cardiac pacemaker.
Wilson Greatbatch
Invented a stall warning device for airplanes. Patented dozens of inventions related to aviation technology.
Leonard Michael Greene
A grammar school dropout, invented earmuffs at the age of 15 and accumulated over 100 patents in his lifetime.
Chester Greenwood
First envisioned the optical or laser disc in 1958 and patented it in 1969.
David Paul Gregg
The ten-year-old famous inventor of Wristies®.
Kathryn "KK" Gregory
Invented a walkie talkie radio and a telephone pager.
Al Gross
Invented water-based fuels.
Rudolf Gunnerman
In 1450, Invented and made the first printing press.
Johannes Gutenberg
Discovered an electrolytic method of producing aluminum cheaply, putting aluminum into the first wide commercial use in history.
Charles Martin Hall
Invented meat curing products, seasonings, emulsions, bakery products, antioxidants, protein hydrolysates and many other products.
Lloyd Augustus Hall
A youthful picture postcard peddler who became the big name in greeting cards by starting Hallmark Cards.
Joyce Hall
In 1962, invented the semiconductor injection laser, a device now used in all compact disk players and laser printers, and most optical fiber communications systems. Hall also invented the magnetron that operates in most microwave ovens.
Robert Hall
New Zealander who invented the modern waterjet propulsion system.
Sir William Hamilton
An Englishmen, who founded the British rubber industry. Invented of the masticator, a machine that shreds rubber scraps, so rubber could be recycled.
Thomas Hancock
Invented the Barbie doll in 1959.
Ruth Handler
Received a patent for polyurethane in 1942.
William Edward Hanford
Invented the spinning jenny.
James Hargreaves
Invented the world's first useful antifungal antibiotic, Nystatin.
Elizabeth Lee Hazen
Hertz was the first to demonstrate the production and detection of Maxwell's waves that lead to the invention of radio.
Heinrich Hertz
His Generator was alleged to produce useable electric power in the range of 200 to 300 watts in 1930.
Lester Hendershot
Dubbed the "Lady Edison" in the 1920´s and 1930´s for her 110+ inventions and 49 patents.
Beulah Louise Henry
An important American scientist and the first Director of the Smithsonian Institution.
Joseph Henry
Invented the audio oscillator and co-founded an electronics company.
William Reddington Hewlett
Invented the first practical phototypesetting machine.
Rene Alphonse Higonnet
Invented sea-cretion, a construction material made from the electrolytic deposition of minerals from seawater.
Wolf H Hilbertz
A rotary clothes line was developed and marketed by Australian, Lance Hill.
Lance Hill
Part of the development of the electron microscope.
James Hillier
Used X-Rays to find the structural layouts of atoms and the overall molecular shape of over 100 molecules including: penicillin, vitamin B-12, vitamin D and insulin.
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
Received a patent for the first computer microprocessor.
Marcian Hoff
With fellow research chemist Robert Banks invented a durable plastic called Marlex.
Paul Hogan
Invented a punch-card tabulation machine system for statistical computation.
Herman Hollerith
Received a patent for, and opened, the first drive-in theater.
Richard M Hollingshead
Co-invented the telephony software called Visual Voice.
Krisztina Holly
Received a patent for polyurethane in 1942.
Donald Fletcher Holmes
Credited as greatest experimental scientist of the seventeenth century.
Robert Hooke
Invented the computerized telephone switching system.
Erna Schneider Hoover
A computer genius associated the Mark Computer series.
Grace Hopper
Invented the manufacture of liquid fuels, the catalytic muffler and a synthetic rubber process.
Eugene Houdry
Patented the first American made sewing machine.
Elias Howe
Invented the carbon microphone that was essential to the development of telephone.
David Edward Hughes
Invented the safety pin in 1849.
Walter Hunt
Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and inventor who was the leading proponent of the wave theory of light.
Christian Huygens
Holds several patents for women's undergarments.
Mary Phelps Jacob
Invented the Jet Ski.
Clayton Jacobsen II
Invented a Loom that weaved complex designs.
Joseph Marie Jacquard
Invented a coupler as an improvement in railroad cars that became the standard for the railroad freightcar used even today.
Eli Janney
Invented an artificial heart in his name.
Robert Jarvik
Third President of the United States, invented the swivel chair, the spherical sundial, the moldboard plow and the cipher wheel.
Thomas Jefferson
Invented a mechanical television system called radiovision and claimed to have transmitted the earliest moving silhouette images on June 14, 1923.
Charles Francis Jenkins
The first African American man to receive a patent. March 3, 1821 (US patent 3306x).
Thomas Jennings
A leader in both the computer and entertainment industries, Co-founder of Apple, and ex-CEO of Pixar.
Steven Paul Jobs
Changed the history of American food production by inventing vacuum packed canning.
Amanda Theodosia Jones
Invented the first automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks.
Frederick Jones
The world's first African American heavyweight champion in history, also received a patent for a wrench (U.S.patent no.1,413,121) on April 18th, 1922.
Jack Johnson
Invented the Super Soaker®, a squirt gun. Also invented thermodynamics systems, on the side.
Lonnie Johnson
Patented an improved mechanical egg beater on February 5, 1884.
Willis Johnson
Invented a permanent wave machine that would allow a hairdo to stay set for days.
Marjorie Stewart Joyner
Invented the Clasp Locker, an early version of the zipper.
Whitcomb Judson
Eminent marine biologist, considered a leader and authority for his work with cell development.
Ernest Everett Just
Received patents for synthesizing the medicines physostigmine for glaucoma, and cortisone for rheumatoid arthritis. He also received a patent for fire-extinguishing equipment.
Percy Lavon Julian
Invented a portable medication technology.
Dean Kamen
Invented an improved bellows, a modular hydrostatic bearing for machine tools, an opaque overhead projector for children to view artwork and even a TV remote control embedded in a Nerf-like football.
Nathan Kane
Invented the flying shuttle.
John Kay
Known for his communications inventions, co-invented fiber-optic wire.
Donald Keck
Architect, created inventions for the home, including the K-brick.
Anna Keichline
Invented log books that he used as a tool for calculating planetary positions, eyeglasses for near and far sighted persons, the convex eyepiece, and the quintile and biquintile (astronomy) aspects.
Johannes Kepler
Invented the first electrical ignition system for the car and the first practical engine-driven generator.
Charles Franklin Kettering
The first women to receive a US patent May 15, 1809.
Mary Kies
Invented the microchip.
Jack St Clair Kilby
Patented the Forward Sleeve design for creating clothing.
Gabriele Knecht
Co-invented the modern hula hoop.
Richard Knerr
Co-invented the modern athletic shoe or sneakers.
Phil Knight
An employee in a paper bag factory who invented a new machine part to make square bottoms for paper bags.
Margaret Knight
The inventor of the artificial kidney dialysis machine.
Willem Kolff
Designed a pinhole gamma ray camera and collimator and helped to design and fabricate automatic air and water sampling equipment and radiation activity measuring devices.
Roscoe Koontz
Invented para-aramid fibers (Kevlar), used in mooring ropes, fiber-optic cables, aircraft parts, canoes and bullet-resistant vests.
Stephanie Louise Kwolek
Famous movie star, also co-invented the first form of spread spectrum wireless communication patented August 11, 1942.
Hedy Lamarr
America's first gasoline-powered automobile sold, 1891, was designed, built, and named after this man.
John W Lambert
Invented polaroid photography.
Edwin Herbert Land
Aviation innovator.
Samuel Pierpont Langley
Invented the incandescent electric lamp and the high-vacuum electron tube.
Irving Langmuir
Invented the water closet for railroad cars, an electric lamp with an inexpensive carbon filament and a threaded wooden socket for light bulbs.
Lewis Howard Latimer
Canadian, invented the silicon chip blood analyzer in 1986.
Imants Lauks
Invented the cyclotron, a device that greatly increased the speed with which projectiles could be hurled at atomic nuclei.
Ernest Orlando Lawrence
Invented the eight track tape.
William P Lear
Invented a music synthesizer in 1945.
Hugh Le Caine
Received a patent for diagnostic X-Ray scanner also known as Cat-Scan.
Robert S Ledley
African American resteraunteur and master chef of late 19th century, discovered the first use for stale bread, invented a bread crumb making machine, and later invented an automatic bread making machine.
Joseph Lee
Invented the first practical microscope.
Antony Van Leeuwenhoek
Convicted of “culpable neglect”, "[His] patents occupied the top thirteen positions for the longest prosecutions from 1914 to 2001". The term "submarine patent" refers to him.
Jerome "Jerry" Hal Lemelson
Received a patent for a method of cryogenic separation of gases in 1915. Received patents for X-Ray tube technology, point junction transistors, and numerous other inventions.
Dr. Julius Edgar Lilienfeld
He made early progress on several innovations which were not fully developed until long after his death, including the electric light bulb, wireless telegraphy, and arc-welding.
James Bowman Lindsay
Father of flight simulation who received a patent on a device he called the Pilot Maker.
Ed Link
Invented the tuxedo.
Pierre Lorillard
Invented the very simple and portable pencil sharpener that many artists use today.
John Lee Love
Wrote a scientific paper in 1843 that anticipated the development of computer software artificial intelligence and computer music.
Ada Lovelace
Made the trademark name Kitty Litter a part of the American vocabulary.
Edward Lowe
Invented the first human-powered flying machine in history.
Paul MacCready
Received a patent for a method for making waterproof garments by using rubber dissolved in coal-tar naphtha for cementing two pieces of cloth together. His raiincoat bears his name.
Charles Macintosh
Invented a gas mask and started the first St. John's Ambulance Brigade.
Cluny MacPherson
Student honored with the Lemelson-MIT Award for his enviromentally adaptive artificial intellegence robotics invention in 1998.
Akhil Madhani
Received a patent for the Ruby Laser System.
Theodore Harold Maiman
In 1895, Marconi invented equipment that transmitted electrical signals through the air (part of telegraphy and radio transmission).
Guglielmo Marconi
In 1927, developed the first quartz clock.
Warren Marrison
Invented a clothespin fishing lure, the first disposable contoured diapers, the squeezable ketchup bottle, the granola bar, a heated pizza box, plastic microwave cookingware, and a dental floss dispenser.
Stanley Mason
Invented the haptic computer interface, a computer interface system that enhances virtual reality.
Thomas Massie
The first women to recieve recognition for invention of a grain mill, patented in England 1715. She later patented a new method for making hats and bonnets. The patents were officially in her husbands name due to restrictive law.
Sybilla Masters
Developed an automatic method for lasting shoes and made the mass-production of affordable shoes possible.
Jan Ernst Matzeliger
Co-invented the ENIAC computer (Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator) in 1946.
John W. Maunchly
Invented fiber-optic communication innovations and co-invented fiber-optic wire.
Robert D Maurer
Received a patent for the first computer microprocessor.
Stanley Mazor
Inventor of the a Machine Gun in his name.
Hiram Maxim
Einstein is quoted to have said "[His work is] the most profound and the most fruitful that physics has experienced since the time of Newton". Among many similar things, he was the first to express the basic laws of electricity and magnetism in a unified fashion.
James Clerk Maxwell
A Chicago industrialist who invented the first commercially successful reaper, a horse-drawn machine that harvested wheat.
Cyrus Hall McCormick
McCoy is best known for inventing the automatic oil cup. During his life, he invented and sold 57 different kinds of devices and machine parts including an ironing board and a lawn sprinkler.
Elijah McCoy
Invented Robot Ants robots.
James McLurkin
Co-invented the modern hula hoop.
Arthur Melin
The Mercator map projection was invented by this man as a navigation tool.
Gerardus Mercator
Invented the linotype-composing machine in 1886.
Ottmar Mergenthaler
Invented VELCRO.
George de Mestral
Introduced the world to network computing with the ethernet.
Robert Metcalfe
This American-Italian inventor had a telephone system from basement to first floor in 1857, 19 years before Bell's. He was, however, too poor to apply for the patent.
Antonio Meucci
Invented an improved elevator with automatic closing doors and shaft locks that prevented shaft access when the elevator was on a different floor, greatly reducing elevator accidents.
Alexander Miles
"[This man] was the most innovative and influential figure in the history of amusement parks." As credited by Robert Cartmell's book: The Incredible Scream Machine
John A Miller
Co-invented a vaccine against viral hepatitis and developed a test that identified hepatitis B in blood samples.
Irving Millman
Co-invented improvements in computer architecture that allows IBM compatible PCs to share the same peripheral devices.
Dennis Moeller
Invented the Snugli baby carrier.
Ann Moore
The co-founder and chairman of Intel acurately predicted the rate of transister density improvement in microchip technology with 'his' Law in 1965.
Gordon Earle Moore
Invented a gas mask and received a patent for a traffic light.
Garrett A Morgan
Invented volleyball in 1895, at a YMCA in Holyoke, MA.
William G Morgan
Invented a device that relieves the irritation caused by wearing a cast - the cast cooler.
Krysta Morlan
A plastic version of the Frisbie.
William and Walter Morrison
Built an electric-powered six-passenger wagon in 1891.
William Morrison
Invented telegraph wires and Morse code, an electronic alphabet patented in 1840. The first telegraph read, "What hath God wrought!".
Samuel Morse
His patents were for the industrial production of penicillin.
Andrew J Moyer
Invented the first practical phototypesetting machine.
Louis Marius Moyroud
In 1986, with Johannes Georg Bednorz, invented the first high-temperature superconductor.
Karl Alexander Muller
Invented PCR, the process for amplifying nucleic acids.
Kary Banks Mullis
The Canadian physical education instructor who invented basketball in 1891.
James Naismith
The Scottish mathematician who invented logarithms, the decimal point, and 'his' Bones.
John Napier
Created innovations in jet aircraft engines with his variable-stator.
Gerhard Neumann
Invented the Rolodex.
Alfred Neustadter
Invented the atmospheric steam engine.
Thomas Newcomen
Invented the reflecting telescope in 1668.
Sir Isaac Newton
The inventor of the first synthetic rubber called neoprene.
Julius Nieuwland
Invented a rotating-disk technology to transmit pictures over wire in 1884. 'His' Disk was the very first electromechanical television scanning system, though abandoned early for quick improvements
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow
Invented dynamite.
Alfred Nobel
Invented the electroscope - a device for detecting electric charge - in 1748.
Jean Nollet
The co-founder of the Intel Corporation and the inventor-pioneer in semiconductor development. Jack Kilby and this man co-invented the integrated circuit.
Robert N Noyce
Invented optical analysis systems and was the world's first Hispanic female astronaut.
Ellen Ochoa
Co-inventor of the first jet engine.
Dr. Hans von Ohain
inventor of the modern rotary tattoo gun, patented 1891. His device was based on the rotary technology of Thomas Edison's autographic printer.
Samuel O'Reilly
Invented vital computer components and is best known for inventing Magnetic Core Memory and for co-founding the Digital Equipment Corporation.
Kenneth H Olsen
Invented Rollerblades.
Scott and Brennan Olson
Invented the elevator brake making safe elevators possible.
Elisha Graves Otis
A pioneer of full-spectrum lighting, first became interested in the effects of artificial light while doing time-lapse photography.
John Ott
Invented the first practical alternative to the steam engine, the Four-Stroke Internal-Combustion Engine or gas motor engine in 1876. He immediately invented the motorcycle to use it with.
Nicolaus August Otto
Paige received a patent for the Paige Typesetter, a competitor to the linotype machine patented by Ottmar Mergenthaler.
James Paige
Invented a new and improved gas heating furnace that make 'centeral heating' possible.
Alice H. Parker
Received a patent for the first television receiver.
Louis Parker
Invented and patented "Motor Controlled Apparatus for Positioning Machine Tool Numerical Control"
John T. Parsons
This French scientist has been credited with inventing the very first digital calculator.
Blaise Pascal
Discovered that most infectious diseases are caused by germs. Pasteur created inventions based on fermentation, such as improved brewing methods and pasteurization.
Louis Pasteur
Invented a toy truck at the age of six.
Robert Patch
This British inventor and entheustic patenter provided a "unique outlook" on fields such as nuclear physics, relativity and quantum mechanics.
Arthur Paul Pedrick
Invented a type of free-jet water turbine known as 'his' Wheel or Turbine.
Lester Pelton
Invented Coca-Cola.
John Pemberton
Invented Kool-Aid in 1927.
Edwin Perkins
Noted inventor of various types of machinery including steel engraving plates for bank notes.
Jacob Perkins
Co-invented the first zeolite catalyst, which made gasoline production possible.
Charles Plank
Invented tetrafluoroethylene polymers, known as Teflon.
Roy Plunkett
The arc transmitter which - contrary to all previous types of radio transmitters - generated continuous radio waves was invented by this Danish engineer in 1902. He also invented the telegraphone, for recording telephone conversations.
Valdemar Poulsen
Invented soda water and co-discovered oxygen.
Joseph Priestley
Wrote the original chess-playing program for a general purpose computer.
Dr. Dietrich Prinz
Famous mathematician who invented a device to measure the torque produced by an engine - dynamometer.
Gaspard de Prony
Inventor of an early mechanical machine gun.
James Puckle
Inventer 'his' Sleeping Car in 1857, and notorious for labor practices in his company town.
George Pullman
Improved the quality of long-distance telephone and telegraph transmissions.
Michael Pupin
Made several inventions including an improved fountain pen.
Willam Purvis
Received a patent for an automated scanning and sorting machines.
Jacob Rabinow
Improved nuclear electric power.
Cordell Reed
Built the dangerous orgone accumulator.
Dr. Wilhelm Reich
In 1891, Jesse Reno created a new novelty ride at Coney Island. This lead to the invention of the escalator.
Jesse W. Reno
Invented automated electrified monorail systems.
Ronald J Riley
Invented the sugar processing evaporator.
Norbert Rillieux
Invented high definition radar and the sonogram. A patent attorney, and founder of his own Law Center and a chaser of Loch Ness monster.
Dr. Robert Rines
Invented what was nicknamed the Incorruptible Cashier - or the first working mechanical cash register.
James Ritty
His research interests focused on microwave and optical techniques and components, plasma research, solid state component and circuit development.
Louis Roberts
Received a patent for the scanning tunneling microscope. The history of microscopes.
Heinrich Rohrer
Co-invented the first zeolite catalyst, making the production of gasoline possible.
Edward J Rosinski
This Norway man patented the first aerosol can and valve that could hold and dispense products and propellant systems.
Erik Rotheim
This mother and daughter team invented the intravenous catheter shield.
Betty Rozier and Lisa Vallino
Invented the vaccination needle.
Benjamin A Rubin
Invented the most popular puzzle in history.
Enro Rubik
Invented a fireplace in 1796, and challenged Physical Theory with his Law's of Thermodynamics.
Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford
Invented the compact disc.
James T Russell
Received a patent for the automatic storage water heater in 1889.
Edwin Ruud
An eighteen-year-old from Minnesota, proposed the idea that if you could ski on snow, then you could ski on water. He invented waterskiing in 1922.
Ralph Samuelson
Invented several instruments: a wind gauge, a water current meter, the pulsilogium and a thermoscope (precursor to the thermometer).
Santorio Santorio
Received a patent for a synthetic version of the hormone cortisone.
Lewis Hastings Sarett
Father of cold fusion energy, derived naturally and non-invasively from the simple use of air and water, and the creator of the first ever, non-energy consuming 'flying disc'.
Viktor Schauberger
Received a patent for the maser laser.
Arthur Schawlow
Improved on Jesse Reno 1881 novelty ride at Coney Island with the invention of the escelator.
Charles Seeberger
Received a patent for Scotchgard.
Patsy Sherman
His name depicts a type of antipersonnel projectile named after its inventor.
Henry Shrapnel
Created fiber-optic communications inventions and co-invented fiber-optic wire.
Peter Schultz
Received a patent for the first antibody labeling agent.
Robert Seiwald
This Hungarian physician called the "savior of mothers" discovered, by 1847, that the incidence of Childbed Fever could be drastically cut by use of hand washing standards in obstetrical clinics.
Ignaz Philipp Semmelweiss
Invented a way to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) useful.
Waldo Semon
Received a patent for synthesis of natural penicillin.
John Sheehan
Received a patent for the transistor.
William Bradford Shockley
Invented the first practical modern typewriter.
Christopher Latham Sholes
Canadian famous inventor that invented the snowblower in 1925.
Arthur Sicard
Invented fixed winged and multi-engined aircraft, transoceanic flying boats and helicopters.
Igor Sikorsky
Invented the glue for Post-It Notes.
Spencer Silver
He is most famous for his invention of the Bankmatic automatic teller machine (ATM).
Luther Simjian
Invented a popular sewing machine.
Issac Merrit Singer
Invented the first crayons for children, Crayola.
Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith
Received a patent for the industrial process for sodium carbonate production in 1861.
Ernest Solvay
Invented the Cuisinart.
Carl Sontheimer
Invented a portable electric vacuum cleaner - the Hoover.
James Spangler
Invented the microwave oven.
Percy Spencer
Invented the gyroscopic compass and gyroscope-guided automatic pilots for ships, airplanes and spacecraft.
Elmer Sperry
10-year-old Kid famous inventor of Water Talkies for snorkling.
Richie Stachowski
An improved refrigerator design was patented by this African American inventor in 1841.
John Standard
Received a patent for the induction coil.
William Stanley Jr
Invented 'his' blue jeans.
Levi Strauss
Developed theories on alternating current that allowed for the rapid expansion of the electric power industry.
Charles Proteus Steinmetz
The father of the American railroad.
John Stevens
Invented an improved mop, metal bender, and railroad crossing indicator.
Thomas Stewart
Recognized as being the father of the modern digital computer.
George R Stibitz
Invented a exhaust purifier and an air pollution control device.
Rufus Stokes
British electrician inventor of the electromagnet in 1825.
William Sturgeon
Received a patent for the Separable Fastener or zipper.
Gideon Sundback
Produced an early electric light bulb in 1878 and invented the dry photographic plate.
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan
Creators of Tekno Bubbles, a innovative variation on the old blowing bubbles that glow under black lights and smell like raspberries.
Byron and Melody Swetland
Inventor of the nuclear fission reactor in 1955.
Leo Szilard
Received a patent for the general anesthetic, Pentothal.
Donalee L Tabern
His team invented a bubble fusion reactor. He also invented variable velocity bullets used in a futuristic stun gun.
Rusi Taleyarkhan
Received a patent for Smart Gels, a synthetic (polyacrylamide) polymer gel with unusual properties.
Toyoichi Tanaka
Unstopped by his blindness, this man invented cruise control.
Ralph Teetor
This co-founder of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was ostrocized by the scientific community for his invention of the hydrogen bomb.
Edward Teller
The toggle iron harpoon was designed in 1848 by this man. It was the standard harpoon used in American whaling from the mid-19th through the early 20th centuries.
Lewis Temple
He invented an AC motor and transformer, X-Ray technology, a vacuum tube amplifier and the 'his' Coil. He claimed the invention of an electrical generator that would not consume any fuel. The Supreme Court overturned Marconi's radio patent in 1943, in favor of 'his' patent.
Nikola Tesla
Invented Teva Sandals.
Mark Thatcher
Received a patent in 1980 for inventing an illusion transmitter.
Valerie Thomas
Inventor of the Tommy gun.
John Thompson
Invented lingo programming used in Macromedia Director and Shockwave.
John Henry Thompson
Received the first British patent for sand blasting equipment in 1870.
Benjamin Tilghman
Received a patent for the tapered roller bearings.
Henry Timken
Invented methods for synthesizing the essential vitamin B2 and a poultry disease antibiotic.
Max Tishler
Invented the Maser (Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission).
Charles Townes
The 56K modem was invented by this man in 1996.
Brent Townshend
Agricultural pioneer who invented the seed drill in 1701.
Jethro Tull
Inventer of Tupperware.
Earl S Tupper
The barometer was invented by Evangelista Torricelli in 1643.
Evangelista Torricelli
The first locomotive in the world was built by this man in 1804.
Richard Trevithick
The co-patenter of a process to isolate the human stem cell.
Ann Tsukamoto
Invented optical diagnostic equipment. His patents were for a badge worn on a worker's shirt that recorded exposure to toxic chemicals and for a optical scanner that would read that badge.
Tuan Vo-Dinh
Invented the voltaic pile, a forerunner to the electric battery.
Alessandro Volta
Co-invented the general anesthetic, Pentothal.
Ernest H Volwiler
The inventor of the first vacuum.
Otto von Guericke
Conceived the idea of using radioactive tracers
Georg Von Hevesy
Invented the swinging 60's icon, the Lava Lite® lamp.
Craven Walker
Received a patent for laser telemetry and targeting systems.
Hildreth Hal Walker
A St. Louis washerwoman turned entrepreneur, who invented a method to soften and smooth kinky hair.
Madame Walker
Invented several anti-pollution devices during the Industrial Revolution.
Mary Walton
Received a patent for the principles of magnetic core memory.
An Wang
Invented the green garbage bag.
Harry Wasylyk
Invented an improved fountain pen.
Lewis Edson Waterman
Invented improvements to the steam engine.
James Watt
Invented TTY also called TDD or the tele-typewriter.
Robert Weitbrecht
Holds 47 US and more than 200 foreign patents on microphones and techniques for making polymer foil-electrets.
James Edward West
Perfected the first automatic, electric block signal. He helped in the development of alternating current and figured out an efficient way to transmit clean, natural gas to homes. Also improved steam-powered and air brakes.
George Westinghouse
Inventer of modern automated teller machines (ATM).
Don Wetzel
Invented an early telegraph, microphone, and the accordion.
Charles Wheatstone
In 1886, invented the electric fan.
Schulyer Wheeler
African American inventor, patented a lemon squeezer in 1896.
John Thomas White
Invented the cotton gin in 1794. The cotton gin is a machine that separates seeds, hulls and other unwanted materials from cotton after it has been picked.
Eli Whitney
Co-developers of jet propullsion.
Hans von Ohain and Sir Frank Whittle
Received a patent for of the water tube steam boiler.
Stephen Wilcox
A pioneer in open heart surgery.
Dr Daniel Hale Williams
Invented ways to synthesize vitamins.
Robert R Williams
Invented a process for making Calcium Carbide.
Thomas Leopold Willson
Invented the Slimsuit, a slimming swimsuit.
Carol Wior
Patented the fire escape ladder.
Joseph Winters
Invented improvements to electric railways, air brakes, telephones and telegraphs, a chicken egg incubator and an apparatus for an amusement park ride.
Granville T Woods
A co-founder of Apple Computers with Steve Jobs.
Steven Wozniak
Received a patent for a flying machine that we know as the airplane.
Wilbur and Orville Wright
Invented the crossword puzzle.
Arthur Wynne
Creator of the Game Boy.
Gumpei Yokoi
Invented corrosion inhibitor industrial chemicals.
Hajib (Gene) Zaid
Invented the world's first self-propelled ice resurfacing machine.
Frank Zamboni
Invented the rigid dirigible, a lighter-than-air vehicle called the zeppelin.
Ferdinand Zeppelin
Inventor of the first freely programmable computer.
Konrad Zuse
Invented the cathode-ray tube called the kinescope in 1929, a tube needed for television transmission. Also invented the iconoscope, an early television camera.
Vladimir Kosma Zworykin