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This is a list of notable
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
s.


Alphabetical list


A

* Vitaly Abalakov (1906–1986), Russia – camming devices,
Abalakov thread 250px, Abseiling at an Abalakov thread The Abalakov thread, also known as a V-thread, A-thread, or 0-thread (zero thread), is an ice protection technique named after its innovator, Soviet climber Vitaly Abalakov. The Abalakov thread is a commo ...
(or V-thread), gearless ice climbing anchor *
Ernst Karl Abbe Ernst Karl Abbe HonFRMS (23 January 1840 – 14 January 1905) was a German physicist, optical scientist, entrepreneur, and social reformer. Together with Otto Schott and Carl Zeiss, he developed numerous optical instruments. He was also a co-ow ...
(1840–1905), Germany –
Condenser (microscope) A condenser is an optical lens which renders a divergent beam from a point source into a parallel or converging beam to illuminate an object. Condensers are an essential part of any imaging device, such as microscopes, enlargers, slide project ...
,
apochromatic lens An apochromat, or apochromatic lens (apo), is a Photographic lens, photographic or other Lens (optics), lens that has better correction of chromatic aberration, chromatic and spherical aberration than the much more common achromat lenses. Explana ...
,
refractometer A refractometer is a laboratory or field device for the measurement of an Refractive index, index of refraction (refractometry). The index of refraction is calculated from the observed refraction angle using Snell's law. For mixtures, the index ...
*
Hovannes Adamian Hovhannes (Ivan) Abgari Adamian (5 February 1879 – 12 September 1932) was an Armenian engineer, an author of more than 20 inventions. The first experimental color television was shown in London in 1928 based on Adamian's tricolor principle, and h ...
(1879–1932),
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
/
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
– tricolor principle of the
color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
*
Samuel W. Alderson Samuel W. Alderson (October 21, 1914 – February 11, 2005) was an American inventor best known for his development of the crash test dummy, a device that, during the last half of the twentieth century, was widely used by automobile manufacture ...
(1914–2005), U.S. –
Crash test dummy A crash test dummy, or simply dummy, is a full-scale anthropomorphic test device (ATD) that simulates the dimensions, weight proportions and articulation of the human body during a traffic collision. Dummies are used by researchers, automobi ...
*
Alexandre Alexeieff Alexandre Alexandrovitch Alexeieff (Russian: Александр Александрович Алексеев;Alternative transcriptions include Alexander Alexeieff or Alexander Alexeïeff or Alexandre Alexieff 18 April 1901 – 9 August 1982) was ...
(1901–1982), Russia/France –
Pinscreen Pinscreen animation makes use of a screen filled with movable pins, which can be moved in or out by pressing an object onto the screen. The screen is lit from the side so that the pins cast shadows. The technique has been used to create animated ...
animation (with his wife
Claire Parker Claire Parker (August 31, 1906 – October 3, 1981) was an American engineer and animator. A graduate of MIT, her best-known contribution to the history of cinema is the Pinscreen (''Écran d'épingles''), a vertically-mounted grid of between 24 ...
) *
Rostislav Alexeyev Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev (russian: Ростисла́в Евге́ньевич Алексе́ев; December 18, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was a Russian Soviet Director & Chief of Design known for his pioneering work on hydrofoil ships and ...
(1916–1980), Russia/USSR –
Ekranoplan A ground-effect vehicle (GEV), also called a wing-in-ground-effect (WIG), ground-effect craft, wingship, flarecraft or ekranoplan (russian: экранопла́н – "screenglider"), is a vehicle that is able to move over the surface by gainin ...
*
Randi Altschul Randice-Lisa "Randi" Altschul (born 1960) is an American toy developer and inventor based in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. With little technical training or engineering knowledge, she developed toys and board games that saw great success. As a resul ...
(born 1960), U.S. – Disposable
cellphone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
*
Bruce Ames Bruce Nathan Ames (born December 16, 1928) is an American biochemist. He is a professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and was a senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research I ...
(born 1928), U.S. – Ames test (Cell biology) *
Giovanni Battista Amici Giovanni Battista Amici (; 25 March 1786 – 10 April 1863) was an Italian astronomer, microscopist, and botanist. Amici was born in Modena, in present-day Italy. After studying at Bologna, he became professor of mathematics at Modena, and in 183 ...
(1786–1863), Italy –
Dipleidoscope Dipleidoscope A dipleidoscope is an instrument used to determine true noon; its name comes from the Greek for ''double image viewer''. It consists of a small telescope and a prism that creates a double image of the sun. When the two images overlap ...
,
Amici prism An Amici prism, named for the astronomer Giovanni Battista Amici, is a type of compound dispersive prism used in spectrometers. The Amici prism consists of two triangular prisms in contact, with the first typically being made from a medium-di ...
*
Ruth Amos Ruth Amos (born 1989) is a British entrepreneur and inventor of the StairSteady. The StairSteady is an aid to enable people with limited mobility to use their stairs confidently and safely. Amos designed it as part of a GCSE resistant materials ...
(born 1989), UK – StairSteady * Mary Anderson (1866–1953), U.S. –
windshield wiper A windscreen wiper, windshield wiper, wiper blade (American English), or simply wiper, is a device used to remove rain, snow, ice, washer fluid, water, or debris from a vehicle's front window. Almost all motor vehicles, including cars, tru ...
blade *
Momofuku Ando , was an inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of instant noodles (ramen noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodles. Early life and education Ando was born Go Pek ...
(1910–2007), Japan –
Instant noodles Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...
*
Hal Anger Hal Oscar Anger (May 20, 1920 – October 31, 2005) was an American electrical engineer and biophysicist at Donner Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, known for his invention of the gamma camera. In all, Anger held 15 patents, many of ...
(1920–2005), U.S. –
Well counter A well counter is a device used for measuring radioactivity in small samples. It usually employs a sodium iodide crystal detector. It was invented in 1951 by Hal Anger, who is also well known for inventing the scintillation camera.Gottschalk, Ale ...
(radioactivity measurements),
gamma camera A gamma camera (γ-camera), also called a scintillation camera or Anger camera, is a device used to image gamma radiation emitting radioisotopes, a technique known as scintigraphy. The applications of scintigraphy include early drug development ...
* Anders Knutsson Ångström (1888–1981), Sweden –
Pyranometer A pyranometer is a type of actinometer used for measuring solar irradiance on a planar surface and it is designed to measure the solar radiation flux density (W/m2) from the hemisphere above within a wavelength range 0.3 μm to 3 μm. The name pyran ...
*
Ottomar Anschütz Ottomar Anschütz (16 May 1846, in Lissa – 30 May 1907, in Berlin) was a German inventor, photographer, and chronophotographer Career Anschütz studied photography between 1864 and 1868 under the well-known photographers Ferdinand Beyrich (B ...
(1846–1907), Germany – single-curtain focal-plane shutter,
electrotachyscope The Elektrischen Schnellseher (literally "Electrical Quick-Viewer") or Electrotachyscope was an early motion picture system developed by chronophotographer Ottomar Anschütz between 1886 and 1894. He made at least seven different versions of the ma ...
*
Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe Hermann Franz Joseph Hubertus Maria Anschütz-Kaempfe (3 October 1872 – 6 May 1931) was a German art historian and inventor. He was born in Zweibrücken and died in Munich. In his quest to navigate to the North Pole by submarine, he becam ...
(1872–1931), Germany –
Gyrocompass A gyrocompass is a type of non-magnetic compass which is based on a fast-spinning disc and the rotation of the Earth (or another planetary body if used elsewhere in the universe) to find geographical direction automatically. The use of a gyroc ...
*
Virginia Apgar Virginia Apgar (June 7, 1909August 7, 1974) was an American physician, obstetrical anesthesiologist and medical researcher, best known as the inventor of the Apgar Score, a way to quickly assess the health of a newborn child immediately after bir ...
(1909–1974), U.S. –
Apgar score The Apgar score is a quick way for doctors to evaluate the health of all newborns at 1 and 5 minutes after birth and in response to Neonatal resuscitation, resuscitation. It was originally developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist at Columbia Univ ...
(for newborn babies) *
Nicolas Appert Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the " father of Food Science", was a confectioner. Appert described his invention as a way "of conserving all kinds of food ...
(1749–1841), France –
canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
(
food preservation Food preservation includes processes that make food more resistant to microorganism growth and slow the oxidation of fats. This slows down the decomposition and rancidification process. Food preservation may also include processes that inhibit ...
) using glass bottles, see also
Peter Durand Peter Durand (21 October 1766 – 23 July 1822) was an English merchant who is widely credited with receiving the first patent for the idea of preserving food using tin cans. The patent (No 3372) was granted on August 25, 1810, by King George III ...
*
Archimedes Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...
(c. 287–212 BC), Greece –
Archimedes' screw The Archimedes screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest hydraulic machines. Using Archimedes screws as water pumps (Archimedes screw pump (ASP) or screw pump) dates back ...
*
Guido of Arezzo Guido of Arezzo ( it, Guido d'Arezzo; – after 1033) was an Italian music theorist and pedagogue of High medieval music. A Benedictine monk, he is regarded as the inventor—or by some, developer—of the modern staff notation that had a ma ...
(c. 991–c. 1033), Italy – Guidonian notation, see
musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...
and also
staff (music) In Western culture, Western musical notation, the staff (US and UK)"staf ...
* Ami Argand (1750–1803), France –
Argand lamp The Argand lamp is a type of oil lamp invented in 1780 by Aimé Argand. Its output is 6 to 10 candelas, brighter than that of earlier lamps. Its more complete combustion of the candle wick and oil than in other lamps required much less frequent ...
*
William George Armstrong William George Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, (26 November 1810 – 27 December 1900) was an English engineer and industrialist who founded the Armstrong Whitworth manufacturing concern on Tyneside. He was also an eminent scientist, inventor ...
(1810–1900), UK –
hydraulic accumulator A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weight, ...
*
Neil Arnott Dr Neil Arnott Royal Society of London, FRS LLD (15 May 1788March 1874) was a Scottish people, Scottish physician and inventor. He was the inventor of one of the first forms of the waterbed, the Arnott waterbed, and was awarded the Rumford Me ...
(1788–1874), UK –
waterbed A waterbed, water mattress, or flotation mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water. Waterbeds intended for medical therapies appear in various reports through the 19th century. The modern version, invented in San Francisco and patented in ...
*
Joseph Aspdin Joseph Aspdin (25 December 1778 – 20 March 1855) was an English cement manufacturer who obtained the patent for Portland cement on 21 October 1824. Life Aspdin (or Aspden) was the eldest of the six children of Thomas Aspdin, a bricklaye ...
(1788–1855), UK –
Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19th c ...
*
John Vincent Atanasoff John Vincent Atanasoff, , (October 4, 1903 – June 15, 1995) was an American physicist and inventor from mixed Bulgarian-Irish origin, best known for being credited with inventing the first electronic digital computer. Atanasoff invented the ...
(1903–1995), Bulgaria/U.S. – electronic digital
computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
* Marcel Audiffren, France – refrigeration, patent


B

*
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...
(1791–1871), UK –
Analytical engine The Analytical Engine was a proposed mechanical general-purpose computer designed by English mathematician and computer pioneer Charles Babbage. It was first described in 1837 as the successor to Babbage's difference engine, which was a des ...
(semi-automatic) * Tabitha Babbit (1779–1853), U.S. –
Saw mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...
circular saw A circular saw is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. ''Cir ...
*
Victor Babeș Victor Babeș (; 28 July 1854 in Vienna – 19 October 1926 in Bucharest) was a Romanian physician, bacteriologist, academician and professor. One of the founders of modern microbiology, Victor Babeș is author of one of the first treatises of ba ...
(1854–1926), Romania –
Babesia ''Babesia'', also called ''Nuttallia'', is an apicomplexan parasite that infects red blood cells and is transmitted by ticks. Originally discovered by the Romanian bacteriologist Victor Babeș in 1888, over 100 species of ''Babesia'' have since ...
, the founder of serum therapy *
Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland (November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper in 1893, and Bakelite in 1907. He has been called "The Father of the Plastics Industry" ...
(1863–1944),
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
–American – Velox photographic paper and
Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed ...
*
Ralph H. Baer Ralph Henry Baer (born Rudolf Heinrich Baer; March 8, 1922 – December 6, 2014) was a German-American inventor, game developer, and engineer. Baer's family fled Germany just before World War II and Baer served the American war effort, gain ...
(1922–2014), German born American –
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...
*
Adolf von Baeyer Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer (; 31 October 1835 – 20 August 1917) was a German chemist who synthesised indigo and developed a nomenclature for cyclic compounds (that was subsequently extended and adopted as part of the IUPAC org ...
(1835–1917), Germany –
Fluorescein Fluorescein is an organic compound and dye based on the xanthene tricyclic structural motif, formally belonging to triarylmethine dyes family. It is available as a dark orange/red powder slightly soluble in water and alcohol. It is widely used ...
, synthetic
Indigo dye Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color. Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from the leaves of some plants of the ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''; dye-bearing ''Indigofera'' pla ...
,
Phenolphthalein Phenolphthalein ( ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula carbon, C20hydrogen, H14oxygen, O4 and is often written as "HIn", "HPh", "phph" or simply "Ph" in shorthand notation. Phenolphthalein is often used as an indicator in ...
*
John Logie Baird John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly demo ...
(1888–1946), Scotland – World's first working
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, 26 January 1926 and electronic
colour television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
* Abi Bakr of Isfahan (c. 1235),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– mechanical
gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...
ed
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
with
lunisolar calendar A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures, combining lunar calendars and solar calendars. The date of Lunisolar calendars therefore indicates both the Moon phase and the time of the solar year, that is the position of the Sun in the Ea ...
*
George Ballas George Charles Ballas Sr. (June 28, 1925 – June 25, 2011) was an American entrepreneur. He invented the first string trimmer, known as the Weed Eater in 1971. He is the father of ballroom dancer, Corky Ballas, and grandfather of professional dan ...
(1925–2011), U.S. –
String trimmer A string trimmer, also known by the portmanteau strimmer and the trademarks Weedwacker, Weed eater and Whipper Snipper. is a garden tool for cutting grass, small weeds, and groundcover. It uses a whirling monofilament line instead of a blade, ...
*
Frederick Banting Sir Frederick Grant Banting (November 14, 1891 – February 21, 1941) was a Canadian medical scientist, physician, painter, and Nobel laureate noted as the co-discoverer of insulin and its therapeutic potential. In 1923, Banting and J ...
(1891–1941), Canada –
Insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
*
Vladimir Baranov-Rossine Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
(1888–1944), Russia/France –
Optophonic Piano The Optophonic Piano is an electronic optical instrument created by the Ukrainian Futurist painter Vladimir Baranoff Rossiné. Vladimir Baranoff Rossiné started working on the instrument in 1916. He performed with it at many events and places, inc ...
* John Barber (1734–1801), UK –
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
*
John Bardeen John Bardeen (; May 23, 1908 – January 30, 1991) was an American physicist and engineer. He is the only person to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first in 1956 with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for the invention of the tran ...
(1908–1991), U.S. – co-inventor of the
transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
, with Brattain and Schockley *
Vladimir Barmin Vladimir Pavlovich Barmin (russian: Владимир Павлович Бармин; in Moscow – 17 July 1993 in Moscow) was a Russian engineer and the designer of the first soviet rocket launch complexes in the Soviet space program. An astero ...
(1909–1993), Russia – first rocket
launch complex A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...
(
spaceport A spaceport or cosmodrome is a site for launching or receiving spacecraft, by analogy to a seaport for ships or an airport for aircraft. The word ''spaceport'', and even more so ''cosmodrome'', has traditionally been used for sites capable ...
) * Anthony R. Barringer (1925–2009), Canada/U.S. – INPUT (Induced Pulse Transient) airborne electromagnetic system * Earl W. Bascom (1906–1995), Canada/U.S. – rodeo bucking chute (1916 and 1919), rodeo bronc saddle (1922), rodeo bareback rigging (1924), rodeo riding chaps (1926) *
Nikolay Basov Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov (russian: Никола́й Генна́диевич Ба́сов; 14 December 1922 – 1 July 2001) was a Soviet physicist and educator. For his fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics that led to the deve ...
(1922–2001), Russia – co-inventor of
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
and
maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...
*
Patricia Bath Patricia Era Bath (November 4, 1942 – May 30, 2019) was an American ophthalmologist, inventor, humanitarian, and academic. She invented an improved device for laser cataract surgery. Her invention was called Laserphaco Probe, which she pat ...
(1942–2019), U.S. - inventor of laser cataract surgery *
Émile Baudot Jean-Maurice-Émile Baudot (; 11 September 1845 – 28 March 1903), French telegraph engineer and inventor of the first means of digital communication Baudot code, was one of the pioneers of telecommunications. He invented a multiplexed printi ...
(1845–1903), France –
Baudot code The Baudot code is an early character encoding for telegraphy invented by Émile Baudot in the 1870s. It was the predecessor to the International Telegraph Alphabet No. 2 (ITA2), the most common teleprinter code in use until the advent of ASCII. ...
*
Eugen Baumann Eugen Baumann (12 December 1846 – 3 November 1896) was a German chemist. He was one of the first people to create polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and, together with Carl Schotten, he discovered the Schotten-Baumann reaction. Life Baumann was born i ...
(1846–1896), Germany – PVC *
Trevor Baylis Trevor Graham Baylis (13 May 1937 – 5 March 2018) was an English inventor best known for the wind-up radio. The radio, instead of relying on batteries or external electrical source, is powered by the user winding a crank. This stores energy ...
(1937–2018), UK – a
wind-up radio Human power is work or energy that is produced from the human body. It can also refer to the power (rate of work per time) of a human. Power comes primarily from muscles, but body heat is also used to do work like warming shelters, food, or othe ...
*
Maria Beasley Maria E. Beasley (''née'' Hauser; 1836–1913) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. Born in North Carolina, Beasley grew up with a strong interest in mechanical work and learned about the profession of barrel-making from her grandfather. ...
(1847–1904), U.S. – barrel-hooping machine, improved
life raft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts (raft, liferafts) are also used. In t ...
*
Francis Beaufort Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort (; 27 May 1774 – 17 December 1857) was an Irish hydrographer, rear admiral of the Royal Navy, and creator of the Beaufort cipher and the Beaufort scale. Early life Francis Beaufort was descended f ...
(1774–1857), Ireland/UK –
Beaufort scale The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort ...
,
Beaufort cipher The Beaufort cipher, created by Sir Francis Beaufort, is a substitution cipher similar to the Vigenère cipher, with a slightly modified enciphering mechanism and tableau. Its most famous application was in a rotor-based cipher machine, the Hag ...
*
Hans Beck Hans Beck (6 May 1929, Greiz – 30 January 2009, Markdorf) was the German inventor of Playmobil toys. He is often described as "The Father of Playmobil". He began to make toys at an early age and trained as a cabinet maker, before being recruit ...
(1929–2009), Germany – inventor of
Playmobil Playmobil () is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a tall (1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide range ...
toys *
Arnold O. Beckman Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of th ...
(1900–2004), U.S. – electric pH meter *
Vladimir Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev ( rus, Влади́мир Миха́йлович Бе́хтерев, p=ˈbʲextʲɪrʲɪf; January 20, 1857 – December 24, 1927) was a Russian neurologist and the father of objective psychology. He is best know ...
(1857–1927), Russia – Bekhterev's Mixture *
Josip Belušić Josip Belušić (March 12, 1847 - January 8, 1905) was a Croatian people, Croatian inventor and professor of physics and mathematics. He was born in the small settlement of Županići, in the region of Labin, Istria, and schooled in Pazin and Kope ...
(1847–1905), Croatia – electric
speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...
*
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
(1847–1922), UK, Canada, and U.S. –
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
*
Nikolay Benardos Nikolay Nikolayevich Benardos (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Бенардо́с) (1842–1905) was a Russian inventor of Greeks, Greek origin who in 1881 introduced carbon arc welding, which was the first practical arc welding ...
(1842–1905),
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
arc welding Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted metals, when cool, result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of welding that uses a welding powe ...
(specifically
carbon arc welding Carbon arc welding (CAW) is a process which produces coalescence of metals by heating them with an arc between a non-consumable carbon (graphite) electrode and the work-piece. It was the first arc-welding process developed but is not used for many ...
, the first arc welding method) *
Ruth R. Benerito Ruth Mary Rogan Benerito (January 12, 1916 – October 5, 2013) was an American chemist and inventor known for her work related to the textile industry, notably including the development of wash-and-wear cotton fabrics. She held 55 patents. Pe ...
(1916–2013), U.S. –
Permanent press Wrinkle-resistant or permanent press or durable press is a finishing method for textiles that avoids creases and wrinkles and provides a better appearance for the articles. Most cellulosic fabrics and blends of cellulosic rich fabrics tend to c ...
(no-iron clothing) * Miriam Benjamin (1861–1947), Washington, D.C. – Gong and signal chair (adopted by House of Representatives and precursor to flight attendant signal system) * William R. Bennett Jr. (1930–2008), together with
Ali Javan Ali Javan ( fa, علی جوان, Ali Javān; December 26, 1926 – September 12, 2016) was an Iranian-American physicist and inventor. He was the first to propose the concept of the gas laser in 1959 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. A successf ...
(1926–2016), U.S./Iran –
Gas laser A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce coherent light. The gas laser was the first continuous-light laser and the first laser to operate on the principle of converting electrical energy to a lase ...
(Helium-Neon) *
Melitta Bentz Amalie Auguste Melitta Bentz (31 January 1873 – 29 June 1950), born Amalie Auguste Melitta Liebscher, was a German entrepreneur who invented the paper coffee filter brewing system in 1908. She founded the namesake company Melitta, which still ...
(1873–1950), Germany – paper
Coffee filter A coffee filter is a filter used for brewing coffee. Filters made of paper (disposable), or cloth, plastic, and metal (reusable) are used. The filter allows the liquid coffee to flow through, but traps the coffee grounds. Paper filters remove oi ...
*
Karl Benz Carl Friedrich Benz (; 25 November 1844 – 4 April 1929), sometimes also Karl Friedrich Benz, was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. His Benz Patent Motorcar from 1885 is considered the first practical modern automobile and fir ...
(1844–1929), Germany – the petrol-powered
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
*
Hans Berger Hans Berger (21 May 1873 – 1 June 1941) was a German psychiatrist. He is best known as the inventor of electroencephalography (EEG) in 1924, which is a method used for recording the electrical activity of the brain, commonly described in terms ...
(1873–1941), Germany – first human
EEG Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex ...
and its development *
Friedrich Bergius Friedrich Karl Rudolf Bergius (, 11 October 1884 – 30 March 1949) was a German chemist known for the Bergius process for producing synthetic fuel from coal, Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1931, together with Carl Bosch) in recognition of contributi ...
(1884–1949), Germany –
Bergius process The Bergius process is a method of production of liquid hydrocarbons for use as synthetic fuel by hydrogenation of high-volatile bituminous coal at high temperature and pressure. It was first developed by Friedrich Bergius in 1913. In 1931 Bergius ...
(synthetic fuel from coal) *
Emile Berliner Emile Berliner (May 20, 1851 – August 3, 1929) originally Emil Berliner, was a German-American inventor. He is best known for inventing the lateral-cut flat disc record (called a "gramophone record" in British and American English) used with a ...
(1851–1929), Germany and U.S. – the disc record
gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
*
Tim Berners-Lee Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is a Professorial Fellow of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a profess ...
(born 1955), UK – with
Robert Cailliau Robert Cailliau (, born 26 January 1947) is a Belgian informatics engineer, computer scientist and author who proposed the first (pre-www) hypertext system for CERN in 1987 and collaborated with Tim Berners-Lee on the World Wide Web (jointly wi ...
, the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
*
Marcellin Berthelot Pierre Eugène Marcellin Berthelot (; 25 October 1827 – 18 March 1907) was a French chemist and Republican politician noted for the ThomsenBerthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substance ...
(1827–1907), France –
Berthelot's reagent Berthelot's reagent is an alkaline solution of phenol and hypochlorite, used in analytical chemistry. It is named after its inventor, Marcellin Berthelot. Ammonia reacts with Berthelot's reagent to form a blue product which is used in a colorimet ...
(chemistry) *
Heinrich Bertsch Heinrich Gottlob Bertsch (11 January 1897 – 19 March 1981) was a German chemist. He is considered the inventor of the world's first fully synthetic detergent. Life The son of an elementary school teacher, he attended the Oberrealschule ...
(1897–1981), Germany – first fully synthetic
laundry detergent Laundry detergent is a type of detergent (cleaning agent) used for cleaning dirty laundry (clothes). Laundry detergent is manufactured in powder (washing powder) and liquid form. While powdered and liquid detergents hold roughly equal share o ...
"Fewa" (chemistry) * Charles Best (1899–1978), Canada –
Insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
(chemistry) *
Max Bielschowsky Max Israel Bielschowsky (20 February 1869 – 15 August 1940) was a German neuropathologist born in Breslau. After receiving his medical doctorate from the University of Munich in 1893, he worked with Ludwig Edinger (1855–1918) at the ...
(1869–1940), Germany –
Bielschowsky stain The Bielschowsky technique is a silver staining method used in histochemistry for the visualization of nerve fibers, including multipolar interneurons in the cerebellum. The method is attributed to German neurologist and neurohistologist Max Biels ...
(histology) *
Alfred Binet Alfred Binet (; 8 July 1857 – 18 October 1911), born Alfredo Binetti, was a French psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test, the Binet–Simon test. In 1904, the French Ministry of Education asked psychologist Alfred Binet to ...
(1857–1911), France – with his student
Théodore Simon Théodore Simon (; 10 July 1873 – 4 September 1961) was a French psychologist who worked with Alfred Binet to develop the Binet-Simon scale, one of the most widely used scales in the world for measuring intelligence. This scale was revised i ...
(1872–1961), first practical
Intelligence test An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence. The abbreviation "IQ" was coined by the psychologist William Stern for the German term ''Intelligenzqu ...
*
Lucio Bini Lucio Bini (1908 – 1964) was an Italian psychiatrist and professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. Together with Ugo Cerletti, a neurophysiologist and a psychiatrist, he researched and discovered the method of electroconvuls ...
(1908–1964), together with
Ugo Cerletti Ugo Cerletti (26 September 1877 – 25 July 1963) was an Italian neurologist who discovered the method of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) used in psychiatry. Electroconvulsive therapy is a therapy in which electric current is used to provoke a seiz ...
(1877–1963), Italy –
Electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroco ...
*
Gerd Binnig Gerd Binnig (; born 20 July 1947) is a German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. Early life and education Binnig wa ...
(born 1947), with
Christoph Gerber Christoph Gerber is a titular professor at the Department of Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland. Christoph Gerber is the co-inventor of the atomic force microscope. Born in Basel, Switzerland, on 15 May 1942, he was among the 250 most cit ...
,
Calvin Quate Calvin Forrest Quate (December 7, 1923 – July 6, 2019) was one of the inventors of the atomic force microscope. He was a professor emeritus of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Education He earned his bachelo ...
and
Heinrich Rohrer Heinrich Rohrer (6 June 1933 – 16 May 2013) was a Swiss physicist who shared half of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics with Gerd Binnig for the design of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The other half of the Prize was awarded to Ernst R ...
, Germany/Switzerland/U.S. –
Atomic force microscope Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the diffr ...
and
Scanning tunneling microscope A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...
*
Clarence Birdseye Clarence Birdseye (December 9, 1886 – October 7, 1956) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during h ...
(1886–1956), U.S. –
Flash freezing In physics and chemistry, flash freezing is the process whereby objects are frozen in just a few hours by subjecting them to cryogenic temperatures, or through direct contact with liquid nitrogen at . It is commonly used in the food industry. Fl ...
*
László Bíró László József Bíró (; born László József Schweiger; 29 September 1899 – 24 October 1985), Hispanicized as Ladislao José Biro, was a Hungarian-Argentine inventor who patented the first commercially successful modern ballpoint pen. The ...
(1899–1985), Hungary –
Ballpoint pen A ballpoint pen, also known as a biro (British English), ball pen (Hong Kong, Indian and Philippine English), or dot pen ( Nepali) is a pen that dispenses ink (usually in paste form) over a metal ball at its point, i.e. over a "ball point". ...
*
Thor Bjørklund image:Osthyvel 20050723 001.jpg, 250 px, ''Ostehøvel'' Thor Bjørklund (30 October 1889 – 8 December 1975) was a Norway, Norwegian inventor and businessman. He is best known as the inventor of ''Ostehøvel'', a popular cheese slicer which d ...
(1889–1975), Norway –
Cheese slicer A cheese knife is a type of kitchen knife specialized for the cutting of cheese. Different cheeses require different knives, according primarily to hardness. There are also a number of other kitchen tools designed for cutting or slicing cheese ...
*
J. Stuart Blackton James Stuart Blackton (January 5, 1875 – August 13, 1941) was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to ...
(1875–1941), U.S. – Stop-motion film * Otto Blathy (1860–1939), Hungary – co-inventor of the
transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
,
wattmeter The wattmeter is an instrument for measuring the electric active power (or the average of the rate of flow of electrical energy) in watts of any given circuit. Electromagnetic wattmeters are used for measurement of utility frequency and audio ...
,
alternating current Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(AC) and
turbogenerator A turbo generator is an electric generator connected to the shaft of a steam turbine or gas turbine for the generation of electric power. Large steam-powered turbo generators provide the majority of the world's electricity and are also use ...
*
John Blenkinsop John Blenkinsop (1783 – 22 January 1831) was an English mining engineer and an inventor of steam locomotives, who designed the first practical railway locomotive. He was born in Felling, County Durham, the son of a stonemason and was app ...
(1783–1831), UK – Blenkinsop rack railway system *
Charles K. Bliss Charles K. Bliss (September 5, 1897 – July 13, 1985) was a chemical engineer and semiotician, best known as the inventor of Blissymbols, an ideographic writing system. He was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire but immigrated to Austra ...
(1897–1985), Austro-Hungary/Australia –
Blissymbols Blissymbols or Blissymbolics is a constructed language conceived as an ideographic writing system called Semantography consisting of several hundred basic symbols, each representing a concept, which can be composed together to generate new sym ...
*
Katharine Burr Blodgett Katharine Burr Blodgett (January 10, 1898 – October 12, 1979) was an American physicist and chemist known for her work on surface chemistry, in particular her invention of "invisible" or nonreflective glass while working at General Electric. S ...
(1898–1979), U.S. – nonreflective glass *
Alan Blumlein Alan Dower Blumlein (29 June 1903 – 7 June 1942) was an English electronics engineer, notable for his many inventions in telecommunications, sound recording, stereophonic sound, television and radar. He received 128 patents and was considered o ...
(1903–1942), UK –
stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
*
David Boggs David Reeves Boggs (June 17, 1950 – February 19, 2022) was an American electrical and radio engineer who developed early prototypes of Internet protocols, file servers, gateways, network interface cards and, along with Robert Metcalfe and ot ...
(1950–2022), U.S. –
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
*
Nils Bohlin Nils Ivar Bohlin (17 July 1920 – 21 September 2002) was a Swedish mechanical engineer and inventor who invented the three-point safety belt while working at Volvo. Biography Born in Härnösand, Sweden, Bohlin received a diploma in mechan ...
(1920–2002), Sweden – the three-point
seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...
*
Sarah Boone Sarah Boone (née Sarah Marshall; 1832 – 1904) was an African-American inventor. On April 26, 1892, she obtained United States patent number 473,563 for her improvements to the ironing board. Boone's ironing board was designed to improve t ...
(1832–1908), U.S. – improved
ironing board Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180–220 °Celsius (356-428 Fahrenheit), depending on the fabric. Ironing wor ...
design *
Charlie Booth Charlie Booth (1 October 1903 – 20 May 2008)Vale Charlie Booth 1903–2008
(1903–2008), Australia –
Starting blocks Starting blocks are a device used in the sport of track and field by sprint athletes to brace their feet against at the start of a race so they do not slip as they stride forward at the sound of the starter's pistol. The blocks also enable the sp ...
*
Sam Born Sam Born (September 10, 1891 – March 23, 1959) was an American Businessperson, businessman, Candy making, candy maker and inventor. Biography Born to a History of the Jews in Russia, Jewish family in Vinnytsia, Vinnitsia, Russian Empire (now Vi ...
(1891–1959), Russia/U.S. –
lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are availa ...
-making machine *
Jagdish Chandra Bose Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose (;, ; 30 November 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a biologist, physicist, botanist and an early writer of science fiction. He was a pioneer in the investigation of radio microwave optics, made significant contribution ...
(1858–1937), India –
Crescograph A crescograph is a device for measuring growth in plants. It was invented in the early 20th century by Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. The Bose crescograph uses a series of clockwork gears and a smoked glass plate to record the movement of the tip of ...
*
Matthew Piers Watt Boulton Matthew Piers Watt Boulton (22 September 1820 – 30 June 1894), also published under the pseudonym M. P. W. Bolton, was a British classicist, elected member of the UK's Metaphysical Society, an amateur scientist and an inventor, best ...
(1820–1894), UK –
aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
*
Seth Boyden Seth Boyden (November 17, 1788 – March 31, 1870) was an American inventor. Early life He was born in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on November 17, 1788, the son of Seth Boyden and Susannah Atherton. His father was a farmer and blacksmith. His yo ...
(1788–1870), U.S. – nail-making machine *
Herbert Boyer Herbert Wayne "Herb" Boyer (born July 10, 1936) is an American biotechnologist, researcher and entrepreneur in biotechnology. Along with Stanley N. Cohen and Paul Berg he discovered a method to coax bacteria into producing foreign proteins, ther ...
(born 1936), together with
Paul Berg Paul Berg (born June 30, 1926) is an American biochemist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. He was the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980, along with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. The award recognized their con ...
(1926–), and
Stanley Norman Cohen Stanley Norman Cohen (born February 17, 1935) is an American geneticist and the Kwoh-Ting Li Professor in the Stanford University School of Medicine. Stanley Cohen and Herbert Boyer were the first scientists to transplant genes from one livin ...
(1935–), U.S. – created first
Genetically modified organism A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. The exact definition of a genetically modified organism and what constitutes genetic engineering varies, with ...
* Willard Boyle (1924–2011) together with
George E. Smith George Elwood Smith (born May 10, 1930) is an American scientist, applied physicist, and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device (CCD). He was awarded a one-quarter share in the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the invention of an imaging semico ...
(born 1930), U.S. –
Charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...
(CCD) *
Hugh Bradner Hugh Bradner (November 5, 1915 – May 5, 2008) was an American physicist at the University of California who is credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit, which helped to revolutionize scuba diving and surfing. A graduate of Ohio's Miami Un ...
(1915–2008), U.S. –
Wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfing, surfers, Underwater diving, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activit ...
*
Louis Braille Louis Braille (; ; 4 January 1809 – 6 January 1852) was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system, named braille after him, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtua ...
(1809–1852), France – Braille writing system, Braille musical notation * Jacques E. Brandenberger (1872–1954), Switzerland –
Cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated w ...
*
Édouard Branly Édouard Eugène Désiré Branly (23 October 1844 – 24 March 1940) was a French inventor, physicist and professor at the Institut Catholique de Paris. He is primarily known for his early involvement in wireless telegraphy and his invention of the ...
(1844–1940), France –
Coherer The coherer was a primitive form of radio signal detector used in the first radio receivers during the wireless telegraphy era at the beginning of the 20th century. Its use in radio was based on the 1890 findings of French physicist Édouard Bran ...
* Charles F. Brannock (1903–1992), U.S. – Brannock Device (shoe size) *
Walter Houser Brattain Walter Houser Brattain (; February 10, 1902 – October 13, 1987) was an American physicist at Bell Labs who, along with fellow scientists John Bardeen and William Shockley, invented the point-contact transistor in December 1947. They shared t ...
(1902–1987), U.S.– co-inventor of the
transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
*
Karl Ferdinand Braun Karl Ferdinand Braun (; 6 June 1850 – 20 April 1918) was a German electrical engineer, inventor, physicist and Nobel laureate in physics. Braun contributed significantly to the development of radio and television technology: he shared the ...
(1850–1918), Germany –
cathode-ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictur ...
oscilloscope An oscilloscope (informally a scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying electrical voltages as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as a function of time. The main purposes are to display repetiti ...
*
Stanislav Brebera Stanislav Brebera (10 August 1925 – 11 May 2012) was a Czech chemist. He was born in Přelouč and died in Pardubice. Brebera spent his career in Czechoslovakian state-hold ''Research Institute for Chemical Industry'', currently Explosia P ...
(1925–2012), Czech Republic –
Semtex Semtex is a general-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and Pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications. Semtex was developed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia, or ...
explosive *
David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics ...
(1781–1868), UK –
Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...
* Charles B. Brooks (1865–?), U.S. - first self-propelled street sweeping truck *
Rachel Fuller Brown Rachel Fuller Brown (November 23, 1898 – January 14, 1980) was a chemist best known for her long-distance collaboration with microbiologist Elizabeth Lee Hazen in developing the first useful antifungal antibiotic, nystatin, while doing researc ...
(1898–1980), U.S. –
Nystatin Nystatin, sold under the brandname Mycostatin among others, is an antifungal medication. It is used to treat '' Candida'' infections of the skin including diaper rash, thrush, esophageal candidiasis, and vaginal yeast infections. It may also be ...
, the world's first antifungal antibiotic *
William C. Brown William C. Brown (May 22, 1916 – February 3, 1999) was an American electrical engineer who helped to invent the crossed-field amplifier in the 1950s and also pioneered microwave power transmission in the 1960s. Brown received his BSEE fro ...
(1916–1999), U.S. –
Crossed-field amplifier A crossed-field amplifier (CFA) is a specialized vacuum tube, first introduced in the mid-1950s and frequently used as a microwave amplifier in very-high-power transmitters. Raytheon engineer William C. Brown's work to adapt magnetron principles ...
* Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999), U.S. – home security system *
Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn (11 November 1853 – 1927) was a German inventor. Life Bruhn invented modern taximeter A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calc ...
(1853–1927), Germany –
Taximeter A taximeter or fare meter is a mechanical or electronic device installed in taxicabs and auto rickshaws that calculates passenger fares based on a combination of distance travelled and waiting time. Its shortened form, "taxi", is also a metony ...
*
Nikolay Brusentsov Nikolay Petrovich Brusentsov (russian: Никола́й Петро́вич Брусенцо́в; 7 February 1925 in Kamenskoe, Ukrainian SSR – 4 December 2014) was a computer scientist, most famous for having built a (balanced) ternary computer ...
(1925–2014),
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
ternary computer A ternary computer, also called trinary computer, is one that uses ternary logic (i.e., base 3) instead of the more common binary system (i.e., base 2) in its calculations. This means it uses trits (instead of bits, as most computers do). Types ...
(''
Setun Setun (russian: Сетунь) was a computer developed in 1958 at Moscow State University. It was built under the leadership of Sergei Sobolev and Nikolay Brusentsov. It was the most modern ternary computer, using the balanced ternary numeral sys ...
'') *
Dudley Allen Buck (Dr.) Dudley Allen Buck (1927–1959) was an electrical engineer and inventor of components for high-speed computing devices in the 1950s. He is best known for invention of the cryotron, a superconductive computer component that is operated in l ...
(1927–1959), U.S. –
Cryotron The cryotron is a switch that operates using superconductivity. The cryotron works on the principle that magnetic fields destroy superconductivity. This simple device consists of two superconducting wires (e.g. tantalum and niobium) with differen ...
,
content-addressable memory Content-addressable memory (CAM) is a special type of computer memory used in certain very-high-speed searching applications. It is also known as associative memory or associative storage and compares input search data against a table of stored d ...
*
Edwin Beard Budding Edwin Beard Budding (25 August 1796 – 25 September 1846), an engineer born in Eastington, Stroud, was the English inventor of the lawnmower (1830) and adjustable spanner (1842). Lawnmower Budding had the idea of the lawnmower after seeing a ma ...
(1795–1846), UK –
lawnmower A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a lawn, grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, ...
* Gersh Budker (1918–1977), Russia –
electron cooling Electron cooling is a method to shrink the emittance (size, divergence, and energy spread) of a charged particle beam without removing particles from the beam. Since the number of particles remains unchanged and the space coordinates and their der ...
, co-inventor of
collider A collider is a type of particle accelerator which brings two opposing particle beams together such that the particles collide. Colliders may either be ring accelerators or linear accelerators. Colliders are used as a research tool in particle ...
*
Edward Bull Edward Bull (c.1759–1798) was an English engineer, noted for a modified type of steam engine known as the Bull engine. Working with Richard Trevithick, many of these were installed in mines in Cornwall. Life Bull was born about 1759. From 1779 ...
(1759–1798), England – Bull engine (a modified steam engine) *
Robert Bunsen Robert Wilhelm Eberhard Bunsen (; 30 March 1811 – 16 August 1899) was a German chemist. He investigated emission spectra of heated elements, and discovered caesium (in 1860) and rubidium (in 1861) with the physicist Gustav Kirchhoff. The Bu ...
(1811–1899), Germany –
Bunsen burner A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of ambient air gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion. The gas can be natural gas (which is main ...
* Henry Burden (1791–1871), Scotland and U.S. – Horseshoe machine, first usable iron
railroad spike A rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties (North America) or sleepers (British Isles, Australasia, and Africa). The terms ''rail anchors'', ''tie plates'', ''chairs'' and ''track fasteners'' are used to refer to parts ...


C

*
Robert Cailliau Robert Cailliau (, born 26 January 1947) is a Belgian informatics engineer, computer scientist and author who proposed the first (pre-www) hypertext system for CERN in 1987 and collaborated with Tim Berners-Lee on the World Wide Web (jointly wi ...
(born 1947), Belgium – with
Tim Berners-Lee Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee (born 8 June 1955), also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web. He is a Professorial Fellow of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a profess ...
, the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
*
Edward A. Calahan Edward Augustin Calahan (1838–1912) was an American inventor, credited with invention of a ticker tape, gold and stock tickers, and a multiplex telegraph system. Calahan was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He left school at the age of 11 to pu ...
(1838–1912), U.S. – Stock
ticker tape Ticker tape was the earliest electrical dedicated financial communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use from around 1870 through 1970. It consisted of a paper strip that ran through a machine called ...
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Nicholas Callan Father Nicholas Joseph Callan (22 December 1799 – 10 January 1864) was an Irish priest and scientist from Darver, County Louth, Ireland. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth College in County Kildare from 1834, and is best known ...
(1799–1864), Ireland –
Induction coil An induction coil or "spark coil" (archaically known as an inductorium or Ruhmkorff coil after Heinrich Rühmkorff) is a type of electrical transformer used to produce high-voltage pulses from a low-voltage direct current (DC) supply. p.98 To ...
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Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton FRS (18 October 1863 – 19 February 1930) was a Scottish consulting electrical engineer, who provided the theoretical basis for the electronic television, two decades before the technology existed to implement ...
(1863–1930), Scotland –
Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
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Tullio Campagnolo Gentullio Campagnolo (26 August 1901 – 3 February 1983) was an Italian racing cyclist and inventor who patented the quick release skewer, as well as founder of the bicycle component company Campagnolo. Many professional cyclists have used Cam ...
(1901–1983), Italy –
Quick release skewer A quick release skewer is a mechanism for attaching a wheel to a bicycle. It consists of a rod threaded on one end and with a lever operated cam assembly on the other. The rod is inserted into the hollow axle of the wheel, a special nut is thre ...
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Charles Cantor Charles R. Cantor (born 26 August 1942) is an American molecular geneticist who, in conjunction with David Schwartz, developed pulse field gel electrophoresis for very large DNA molecules. Cantor's three-volume book, ''Biophysical Chemistry'' ...
(born 1942), U.S. –
Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis Pulsed field gel electrophoresis is a technique used for the separation of large DNA molecules by applying to a gel matrix an electric field that periodically changes direction. Historical background Standard gel electrophoresis techniques for ...
(molecular biology) * Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 1937), together with Sir Martin John Evans (born 1941), and
Oliver Smithies Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
(1925–2017), U.S. –
Gene targeting Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...
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Arturo Caprotti Arturo Caprotti (22 March 1881 – 9 February 1938) was an Italian engineer and architect. In 1915 or 1916 he invented the Caprotti valve gear rotary cam poppet valve gear for steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that perfor ...
(1881–1938), Italy –
Caprotti valve gear The Caprotti valve gear is a type of steam engine valve gear invented in the early 1920s by Italian architect and engineer Arturo Caprotti. It uses camshafts and poppet valves rather than the piston valves used in other valve gear. While basi ...
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Gerolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...
(1501–1576), Italy – Cardan grille (cryptography) *
Philip Cardew Major Philip Cardew (24 September 1851 – 17 May 1910), was an English army officer in the Royal Engineers. Engaged in the application of electricity to military purposes, he designed innovations in electrical engineering. Early life and ...
(1851–1910), UK – Hot-wire
galvanometer A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. A galvanom ...
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Chester Carlson Chester Floyd Carlson (February 8, 1906 – September 19, 1968) was an American physicist, inventor, and patent attorney born in Seattle, Washington. Carlson invented electrophotography, the process used by millions of photocopiers worldwide. Ca ...
(1906–1968), U.S. – Xerographic copier *
Wallace Carothers Wallace Hume Carothers (; April 27, 1896 – April 29, 1937) was an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont, who was credited with the invention of nylon. Carothers was a group leader at the DuPont Experiment ...
(1896–1937), U.S. –
Nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...
and
Neoprene Neoprene (also polychloroprene) is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.Werner Obrecht, Jean-Pierre Lambert, Michael Happ, Christiane Oppenheimer-Stix, John Dunn and Ralf Krüger "Rubber, 4. Emulsion R ...
(together with Arnold Collins) *
Antonio Benedetto Carpano Antonio Benedetto Carpano (1764, Bioglio (Biella) - 1815, Turin) was an Italian distiller, famous for having invented vermouth and consequently the apéritif. In 1786, Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented modern Vermouth in Turin, made from white ...
(1764–1815), Italy –
Vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...
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Giovanni Caselli Giovanni Caselli (8 June 1815 – 25 April 1891) was an Italian priest, inventor, and physicist. He studied electricity and magnetism as a child which led to his invention of the pantelegraph (also known as the universal telegraph or all-purpose ...
(1815–1891), Italy/France –
Pantelegraph The pantelegraph (Italian: ''pantelegrafo''; French: ''pantélégraphe'') was an early form of facsimile machine transmitting over normal telegraph lines developed by Giovanni Caselli, used commercially in the 1860s, that was the first such de ...
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George Cayley Sir George Cayley, 6th Baronet (27 December 1773 – 15 December 1857) was an English engineer, inventor, and aviator. He is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him to be the first true scientific aeri ...
(1773–1857), UK – tension-spoke wheels *
Anders Celsius Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germa ...
(1701–1744), Sweden –
Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...
temperature scale *
Vint Cerf Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include t ...
(born 1943), together with
Bob Kahn Robert Elliot Kahn (born December 23, 1938) is an American electrical engineer who, along with Vint Cerf, first proposed the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), the fundamental communication protocols at the hea ...
(1938–), U.S. –
Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. IP h ...
(IP) *
Ugo Cerletti Ugo Cerletti (26 September 1877 – 25 July 1963) was an Italian neurologist who discovered the method of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) used in psychiatry. Electroconvulsive therapy is a therapy in which electric current is used to provoke a seiz ...
(1877–1963), together with
Lucio Bini Lucio Bini (1908 – 1964) was an Italian psychiatrist and professor at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy. Together with Ugo Cerletti, a neurophysiologist and a psychiatrist, he researched and discovered the method of electroconvuls ...
(1908–1964), Italy –
Electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatry, psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroco ...
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Charles Chamberland Charles Chamberland (; 12 March 1851 – 2 May 1908) was a French microbiologist from Chilly-le-Vignoble in the department of Jura who worked with Louis Pasteur. In 1884 he developed a type of filtration known today as the Chamberland filte ...
(1851–1908), France –
Chamberland filter A Chamberland filter, also known as a Pasteur–Chamberland filter, is a porcelain water filter invented by Charles Chamberland in 1884. It was developed after Henry Doulton, Henry Doulton's ceramic water filter of 1827. It is similar to the Be ...
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Min Chueh Chang Min Chueh Chang (, October 10, 1908 – June 5, 1991), often credited as M.C. Chang, was a Chinese-American reproductive biologist. His specific area of study was the fertilisation process in mammalian reproduction. Though his career produced ...
(1908–1991), together with
Gregory Goodwin Pincus Gregory Goodwin Pincus (April 9, 1903 – August 22, 1967) was an American biologist and researcher who co-invented the combined oral contraceptive pill. Early life Gregory Goodwin Pincus was born in Woodbine, New Jersey to Jewish parents, who we ...
(1903–1967), U.S./China –
Combined oral contraceptive pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: progest ...
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Thomas Chang Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...
(born 1933), Canada/China –
Artificial cell An artificial cell, synthetic cell or minimal cell is an engineered particle that mimics one or many functions of a biological cell. Often, artificial cells are biological or polymeric membranes which enclose biologically active materials. As such ...
*
Emmett Chapman Emmett Chapman (September 28, 1936 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz musician best known as the inventor of the Chapman Stick and maker of the Chapman Stick family of instruments. Career Chapman started his career as a guitarist, recor ...
(1936–2021), U.S. –
Chapman Stick The Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and is used to play bass lines, melody lines, ...
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Claude Chappe Claude Chappe (; 25 December 1763 – 23 January 1805) was a French inventor who in 1792 demonstrated a practical semaphore system that eventually spanned all of France. His system consisted of a series of towers, each within line of sight of ...
(1763–1805), France –
Semaphore line An optical telegraph is a line of stations, typically towers, for the purpose of conveying textual information by means of visual signals. There are two main types of such systems; the semaphore telegraph which uses pivoted indicator arms and ...
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David Chaum David Lee Chaum (born 1955) is an American computer scientist, cryptographer, and inventor. He is known as a pioneer in cryptography and privacy-preserving technologies, and widely recognized as the inventor of digital cash. His 1982 dissertatio ...
(born 1955), U.S. –
Digital signatures A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. A valid digital signature, where the prerequisites are satisfied, gives a recipient very high confidence that the message was created b ...
,
ecash Ecash was conceived by David Chaum as an anonymous cryptographic electronic money or electronic cash system in 1983. It was realized through his corporation Digicash and used as micropayment system at one US bank from 1995 to 1998. Design Chaum pub ...
*
Vladimir Chelomey Vladimir Nikolayevich Chelomey or Chelomei (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Челоме́й; 30 June 1914 – 8 December 1984) was a Soviet engineer of Ukrainian ethnicity and designer in missile program of the former Sovie ...
(1914–1984),
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
– First
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
(
Salyut The ''Salyut'' programme (russian: Салют, , meaning "salute" or "fireworks") was the first space station programme, undertaken by the Soviet Union. It involved a series of four crewed scientific research space stations and two crewed ...
) *
Pavel Cherenkov Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov (russian: Па́вел Алексе́евич Черенко́в ; July 28, 1904 – January 6, 1990) was a Soviet physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1958 with Ilya Frank and Igor Tamm for the discove ...
(1904–1990),
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
Cherenkov detector A Cherenkov detector (pronunciation: /tʃɛrɛnˈkɔv/; Russian: Черенко́в) is a particle detector using the speed threshold for light production, the speed-dependent light output or the speed-dependent light direction of Cherenkov radi ...
*
Evgeniy Chertovsky Yevgeny Yefimovich Chertovsky (russian: Евгений Ефимович Чертовский; born February 15, 1902 - died 1961) was a Soviet Russian inventor who designed the first full pressure suit in Leningrad in 1931. Chertovsky, an engineer ...
(1902-?), Russia –
pressure suit A pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pr ...
* Alicia Chong Rodriguez - American engineer and inventor *
Ward Christensen Ward Christensen (born 1945 in West Bend, Wisconsin, United States) is the co-founder of the CBBS bulletin board, the first bulletin board system (BBS) ever brought online. Christensen, along with partner Randy Suess, members of the Chicago Area ...
(born 1945), U.S. –
Bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...
*
Ole Kirk Christiansen Ole Kirk Kristiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958) was a Danish carpenter. In 1932, he founded the construction toy company The Lego Group. Over the course of his working life, Kristiansen developed his business from a small wood-worki ...
(1891–1958), Denmark – Creator of
Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
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Samuel Hunter Christie Samuel Hunter Christie FRS (22 March 1784 – 24 January 1865) was a British physicist and mathematician. Life He studied mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won the Smith's Prize and was second wrangler. He was particularly i ...
(1784–1865), UK –
Wheatstone bridge A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component. The primary benefit of the circuit is its ability to provid ...
*
Juan de la Cierva Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 in Murcia, Spain – 9 December 1936 in Croydon, United Kingdom) was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplish ...
(1895–1936), Spain – the
autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
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Charles Clagget Charles Clagget lso spelled Claget, Claggett, Claggitt(1740 – c.1795) was an Irish musician, composer, and inventor of improvements for musical instruments. Early career Clagget was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1740. He led theatre bands in ...
(1740–1795), UK – Improvements for musical instruments *
Leland Clark Leland C. Clark Jr. (December 4, 1918 – September 25, 2005) was an American biochemist born in Rochester, New York. He is most well known as the inventor of the Clark electrode, a device used for measuring oxygen in blood, water and other liquid ...
(1918–2005), U.S. –
Clark electrode The Clark electrode is an electrode that measures ambient oxygen partial pressure in a liquid using a catalytic platinum surface according to the net reaction: : O2 + 4 e− + 4 H+ → 2 H2O It improves on a bare platinum electrode by use of a me ...
(medicine) *
Georges Claude Georges Claude (24 September 187023 May 1960) was a French engineer and inventor. He is noted for his early work on the industrial liquefaction of air, for the invention and commercialization of neon lighting, and for a large experiment on genera ...
(1870–1960), France –
neon lamp A neon lamp (also neon glow lamp) is a miniature gas discharge lamp. The lamp typically consists of a small glass capsule that contains a mixture of neon and Penning mixture, other gases at a low pressure and two electrodes (an anode and a cold ...
* Henri Marie Coandă (1886–1972), Romania –
Coandă effect The Coandă effect ( or ) is the tendency of a fluid jet to stay attached to a convex surface. ''Merriam-Webster'' describes it as "the tendency of a jet of fluid emerging from an orifice to follow an adjacent flat or curved surface and to ent ...
*
Josephine Cochrane Josephine Garis Cochran (later Cochrane; March 8, 1839 – August 3, 1913) was an American inventor who was the inventor of the first commercially successful automatic dishwasher, which she designed in the shed behind her home; she then constructe ...
(1839–1913), U.S. –
dishwasher A dishwasher is a machine that is used to clean dishware, cookware, and cutlery automatically. Unlike manual dishwashing, which relies heavily on physical scrubbing to remove soiling, the mechanical dishwasher cleans by spraying hot water, ...
*
Christopher Cockerell Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE RDI FRS (4 June 1910 – 1 June 1999) was an English engineer, best known as the inventor of the hovercraft. Early life and education Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cocker ...
(1910–1999), UK –
Hovercraft A hovercraft, also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious Craft (vehicle), craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the hull ...
*
Aeneas Coffey Aeneas Coffey (1780–1839) was an Irish inventor and distiller. Biography Coffey was born in 1780. According to some sources he was born in Ireland most likely in Co. Dublin or Co. Wicklow. Some references refer to his birth in Calais, France, ...
(1780–1852), Ireland –
Coffey still A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills can produce rectified spirit (95% ABV). Description The first column (called the analyzer) in a column s ...
*
Sir Henry Cole Sir Henry Cole FRSA (15 July 1808 – 18 April 1882) was a British civil servant and inventor who facilitated many innovations in commerce and education in the 19th century in the United Kingdom. Cole is credited with devising the concept of ...
(1808–1882), UK –
Christmas card A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to Christmastide and the holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during t ...
*
Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of r ...
(1814–1862), U.S. –
Revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
development *
Sir William Congreve Lieutenant General Sir William Congreve, 1st Baronet (4 July 1742 – 30 April 1814) was a British military officer who improved artillery strength through gunpowder experiments. Personal life William Congreve was born in Stafford on 4 July 1 ...
(1772–1828), UK –
Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...
*
George Constantinescu George "Gogu" Constantinescu (; last name also Constantinesco; 4 October 1881 – 11 December 1965) was a Romanian scientist, engineer and inventor. During his career, he registered over 130 inventions. He is the creator of the ''theory of soni ...
(1881–1965),
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
– creator of the
theory of sonics The theory of sonics is a branch of continuum mechanics which describes the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations. The birth of the theory of sonics is the publication of the book ''A treatise on transmission of power by vibrations' ...
, a new branch of
continuum mechanics Continuum mechanics is a branch of mechanics that deals with the mechanical behavior of materials modeled as a continuous mass rather than as discrete particles. The French mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy was the first to formulate such m ...
*
Albert Coons Albert Hewett Coons (June 28, 1912 – September 30, 1978) was an American physician, pathologist, and immunologist. He was the first person to conceptualize and develop immunofluorescent techniques for labeling antibodies in the early 1940 ...
(1912–1978), U.S. –
Immunofluorescence Immunofluorescence is a technique used for light microscopy with a fluorescence microscope and is used primarily on microbiological samples. This technique uses the specificity of antibodies to their antigen to target fluorescent dyes to specif ...
(microscopy) * Martin Cooper (born 1928), U.S. –
Mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
*
Harry Coover Harry Wesley Coover Jr. (March 6, 1917 – March 26, 2011) was the inventor of Eastman 910, commonly known as Super Glue. Life and career Coover was born in Newark, Delaware. He lived in Delaware until his teen years. During this time he was hit ...
(1917–2011), U.S. –
Super Glue Cyanoacrylates are a family of strong fast-acting adhesives with industrial, medical, and household uses. They are derived from ethyl cyanoacrylate and related esters. The cyanoacrylate group in the monomer rapidly polymerizes in the presence ...
*
Lloyd Groff Copeman Lloyd Groff Copeman (December 28, 1881 – July 5, 1956) was an American inventor who devised the first electric stove and the flexible rubber ice cube tray, among other products. He had nearly 700 patents to his name, and he claimed that he cou ...
(1865–1956), U.S. –
Electric stove An electric stove or electric range is a stove with an integrated electrical heating device to cook and bake. Electric stoves became popular as replacements for solid-fuel (wood or coal) stoves which required more labor to operate and maintain. S ...
*
Cornelis Corneliszoon Cornelis Corneliszoon van Uitgeest, or Krelis Lootjes (c. 1550 - c. 1600) was a Dutch windmill owner from Uitgeest who invented the wind-powered sawmill, which made the conversion of log timber into planks 30 times faster than before.sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
* Alexander Coucoulas (born 1933), U.S. –
Thermosonic bonding Thermosonic bonding is widely used to wire bond silicon integrated circuits into computers. Alexander Coucoulas was named "Father of Thermosonic Bonding" by George Harman, the world's foremost authority on wire bonding, where he referenced Coucoul ...
*
Wallace H. Coulter Wallace H. Coulter (February 17, 1913 – August 7, 1998) was an American electrical engineer, inventor, and businessman. The best known of his 85 patents is the Coulter principle, which provides a method for counting and sizing microscopic part ...
(1913–1998), U.S. –
Coulter principle A Coulter counter is an apparatus for counting and sizing particles suspended in electrolytes. The Coulter counter is the commercial term for the technique known as resistive pulse sensing or electrical zone sensing, the apparatus is based on ...
*
Jacques Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...
(1910–1997), France – co-inventor of the aqualung and the
Nikonos Nikonos is the brand name of a series of 35mm format cameras specifically designed for underwater photography launched by Nikon in 1963. The early Nikonos cameras were improvements of the Calypso camera, which was an original design by Jacques-Y ...
underwater camera * John "Jack" Higson Cover Jr. (1920–2009), U.S. –
Taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
*
William Crookes Sir William Crookes (; 17 June 1832 – 4 April 1919) was a British chemist and physicist who attended the Royal College of Chemistry, now part of Imperial College London, and worked on spectroscopy. He was a pioneer of vacuum tubes, inventing t ...
(1832–1919), UK – Crookes radiometer, Crookes tube * Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655–1731), Italy – piano * Caresse Crosby (1891–1970), U.S. - Modern bra * S. Scott Crump (inv. c. 1989), U.S. – fused deposition modeling * Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (1725–1804), France – first steam-engine, steam-powered road vehicle * William Cullen (1710–1790), UK – first artificial refrigerator * Jan Czochralski (1885–1953), Poland / Germany – Czochralski process (crystal growth)


D

* Gustaf Dalén, Nils Gustaf Dalén (1869–1937), Sweden – AGA cooker, Dalén light, Agamassan, Sun valve for lighthouses and buoys * John Frederic Daniell (1790–1845), UK – Daniell cell * Corradino D'Ascanio (1891–1981), Italy – Vespa scooter * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italy – helicopter, tanks, and parachutes for safety * Robert Davidson (inventor), Robert Davidson (1804-1894), Scotland - electric locomotive * Jacob Davis (inventor), Jacob Davis (1868–1908), U.S. – Jeans#Riveted jeans, Riveted jeans * Humphry Davy (1778–1829), UK – Davy lamp, Davy miners lamp * Joseph Day (inventor), Joseph Day (1855–1946), UK – the crankcase-compression two-stroke engine * Lee de Forest (1873–1961), U.S. – Phonofilm, triode * Fe del Mundo (1911–2011), Philippines – non-electric incubator * Yuri Nikolaevich Denisyuk (1927–2006), Russia – 3D holography * Robert H. Dennard (born 1932), U.S. – Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) * Miksa Déri (1854–1938), Hungary – co-inventor of an improved closed-core
transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
* Robert DeStefano (born 1962), U.S. - exercise equipment * James Dewar (1842–1923), UK – vacuum flask, Thermos flask * Aleksandr Dianin (1851–1918), Russia – Bisphenol A, Dianin's compound * W.K. Dickson, William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (1860–1935), UK – motion picture camera * Philip Diehl (inventor), Philip Diehl (1847–1913), U.S. – Ceiling fan * Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913), Germany – Diesel engine * William H. Dobelle (1943–2004), U.S. – Visual prosthesis#Dobelle Eye, Dobelle Eye * Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner (1780–1849), Germany – Döbereiner's lamp (chemistry) * Toshitada Doi (born 1943), Japan, together with Joop Sinjou, Netherlands – Compact disc * Ray Dolby (1933–2013), U.S. – Dolby noise-reduction system * Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (1862–1919), Poland/Russia – three-phase electric power * Marion Donovan, Marion O'Brien Donovan (1917–1998), U.S. – Diaper, Waterproof diaper * Hub van Doorne (1900–1979), Netherlands, Variomatic continuously variable transmission * John Thompson Dorrance (1873–1930), U.S. – Soup#Canned, Condensed soup * Amanda Minnie Douglas (1831–1916), writer and inventor (portable folding mosquito net frame) * Charles Dow (1851–1902), U.S. – Dow Jones Industrial Average * Mulalo Doyoyo (born 1970), South Africa/U.S. – Cenocell – cementless concrete * Anastase Dragomir (1896–1966),
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
– Ejection seat * Karl Drais (1785–1851), Germany – dandy horse, Draisine * Richard Drew (Inventor), Richard Drew (1899–1980), U.S. – Masking tape * John Boyd Dunlop (1840–1921), UK – first practical pneumatic tyre * Cyril Duquet (1841–1922), Canada – Handset#Telephony, Telephone handset * Alexey Dushkin (1904–1977), Russia – deep column station * James Dyson (born 1947), UK – Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner, incorporating the principles of cyclonic separation.


E

* George Eastman (1854–1932), U.S. – roll film * J. Presper Eckert (1919–1995), U.S. – ENIAC, ENIAC – the first general purpose programmable digital computer * Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), U.S. – phonograph, commercially practical incandescent light bulb, List of Edison patents, etc. * Pehr Victor Edman (1916–1977), Sweden – Edman degradation for Protein sequencing * Robert Edwards (physiologist), Sir Robert Geoffrey Edwards (1925–2013), UK – In vitro fertilisation * Ellen Eglin (1849–c. 1890), U.S. – Clothes wringer * Brendan Eich (born 1961), U.S. – JavaScript (programming language) * Willem Einthoven (1860–1927), The Netherlands – the electrocardiogram * Benjamin Eisenstadt (1906–1996), U.S. – Sugar packet * Paul Eisler (1907–1992), Austria/U.S. – Printed circuit board (electronics) * Giorgi Eliava (1892–1937), together with Félix d'Herelle (1873–1949), France / Georgia – Phage therapy * Ivan Elmanov, Russia – first monorail (horse-drawn) * Rune Elmqvist (1906–1996), Sweden – implantable pacemaker * John Haven Emerson (1906–1997), U.S. – Negative pressure ventilator, iron lung * Douglas Engelbart (1925–2013), U.S. – the computer mouse * John Ericsson (1803–1889), Sweden – the two screw-propeller * Emil Erlenmeyer (1825–1909), Germany – Erlenmeyer flask * Sir Martin John Evans (born 1941), together with Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 1937), and
Oliver Smithies Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
(1925–2017), U.S. – Knockout mouse,
Gene targeting Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...
* Ole Evinrude (1877–1934), Norway – outboard motor


F

* Charles Fabry (1867–1945), together with Alfred Perot (1863–1925), France – Fabry–Pérot interferometer (physics) * Samuel Face (1923–2001), U.S. – concrete flatness/levelness technology; Lightning Switch * Federico Faggin (born 1941), Italy – microprocessor * Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), The Netherlands – Fahrenheit temperature scale, Mercury-in-glass thermometer * Michael Faraday (1791–1867), UK – electric
transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
, electric motor * Johann Maria Farina (1685–1766), Germany; Eau de Cologne * Myra Juliet Farrell (1878–1957), Australia – stitchless button, Snap fastener, Press stud * Philo Farnsworth (1906–1971), U.S. – electronics, electronic television * Muhammad al-Fazari (died 796/806),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
* John Fenn (chemist), John Bennett Fenn (1917–2010), U.S. – Electrospray ionization * Henry John Horstman Fenton (1854–1929), UK – Fenton's reagent (chemistry) * James Fergason (1934–2008), U.S. – improved liquid crystal display * Enrico Fermi (1901–1954), Italy – nuclear reactor * Humberto Fernández-Morán (1924–1999), Venezuela – Scalpel, Diamond scalpel, Microtome, Ultra microtome * Michele Ferrero (1925–2015), Italy – Kinder Surprise = Kinder Eggs, Nutella * Bran Ferren (born 1953), U.S. – Pinch to zoom, Pinch-to-zoom (multi-touch), together with Danny Hillis, Daniel Hillis * Reginald Fessenden (1866–1932), Canada – two-way radio * Robert Feulgen (1884–1955), Germany – Feulgen stain (histology) * Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick (1829–1901), Germany – contact lens * Abbas Ibn Firnas (810–887), Al-Andalus – fused quartz and silica glass, metronome * Artur Fischer (inventor), Artur Fischer (1919–2016) Germany – fasteners including fischertechnik. * Franz Joseph Emil Fischer (1877–1947), together with Fischer assay, Hans Schrader (1921–2012), Germany – Fischer assay (oil yield test) * Franz Joseph Emil Fischer (1877–1947), together with Hans Tropsch (1889–1935), Germany – Fischer–Tropsch process (refinery process) * Gerhard Fischer (inventor), Gerhard Fischer (1899–1988), Germany/U.S. – metal detector, hand-held metal detector * Paul C. Fisher (1913–2006), U.S. – Space Pen * Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scotland – Penicillin * John Ambrose Fleming (1848–1945), UK – Vacuum tube, Vacuum diode * Sandford Fleming (1827–1915), Canada – Universal Standard Time * Nicolas Florine (1891–1972), Georgia (country), Georgia/Russia/Belgium – first tandem rotor helicopter to fly freely * Tommy Flowers (1905–1998), UK – Colossus computer, Colossus an early electronic computer. * Thomas J. Fogarty (born 1934), U.S. – Thomas J. Fogarty, Embolectomy catheter (medicine) * Enrico Forlanini (1848–1930), Italy – Enrico Forlanini, Steam helicopter, hydrofoil, List of Forlanini airships, Forlanini airships * Eric Fossum (born 1957), U.S. – intra-pixel charge transfer in CMOS image sensors * Jean Bernard Léon Foucault (1819–1868), France – Foucault pendulum, gyroscope, eddy current * Benoît Fourneyron (1802–1867), France – water turbine * John Fowler (agricultural engineer), John Fowler (1826–1864), UK – steam-driven ploughing engine * Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), U.S. – the lightning rod, pointed lightning rod conductor, bifocals, bifocal glasses, the Franklin stove, the glass harmonica * Herman Frasch (1851–1914), Germany / U.S. – Frasch process (petrochemistry), Paraffin wax purification * Ian Frazer, Ian Hector Frazer (born 1953), together with Jian Zhou (1957–1999), U.S./China – HPV vaccine against cervical cancer * Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827), France – Fresnel lens * William Friese-Greene (1855–1921), UK – cinematography * Julius Fromm (1883–1945), Germany – first seamless Condom * Arthur Fry (born 1931), U.S. – Post-it note * Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), U.S. – geodesic dome * Gilhoolie, C. W. Fuller (inv. 1953), U.S. – Gilhoolie * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), United States – first commercially successful steamboat, first practical submarine * Ivan Fyodorov (printer), Ivan Fyodorov (c. 1510–1583), Russia/Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland–Lithuania – invented Barrel (firearms), multibarreled Mortar (weapon), mortar, introduced printing in Russia * Svyatoslav Fyodorov (1927–2000), Russia – radial keratotomy * Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov, Vladimir Fyodorov (1874–1966), Russia – Fedorov Avtomat (first self-loading battle rifle, arguably the first assault rifle)


G

* Dennis Gabor (1900–1979), Hungarian-British – holography * Boris Borisovich Galitzine (1862–1916), Russia – electromagnetism, electromagnetic seismograph * Joseph G. Gall (born 1928), U.S. – In situ hybridization (cell biology) * Bill Gallagher (inventor), Alfred William Gallagher (1911–1990), New Zealand – Electric fence for farmers * Dmitri Z. Garbuzov, Dmitri Garbuzov (1940–2006), Russia/U.S. – continuous-wave-operating laser diode, diode lasers (together with Zhores Alferov), high-power diode lasers * Elmer R. Gates (1859–1923), U.S. – foam fire extinguisher, electric loom mechanisms, magnetic & diamagnetic separators, educational toy ("box & blocks")* * Richard J. Gatling (1818–1903), U.S. – wheat drill, first successful machine gun * Georgy Gause (1910–1986), Russia – gramicidin S, neomycin, lincomycin and other antibiotics * E. K. Gauzen, Russia – three bolt equipment (early standard diving dress, diving costume) * Norman Gaylord (1923–2007), U.S. – rigid gas-permeable contact lens * Karl-Hermann Geib (1908–1949), Germany / USSR – Girdler sulfide process * Hans Wilhelm Geiger (1882–1945), Germany – Geiger counter * Andre Geim, Andrey Geim (born 1958), Russia/United Kingdom – graphene * Nestor Genko (1839–1904), Russia – Genko's Forest Belt (the first large-scale windbreak system) *
Christoph Gerber Christoph Gerber is a titular professor at the Department of Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland. Christoph Gerber is the co-inventor of the atomic force microscope. Born in Basel, Switzerland, on 15 May 1942, he was among the 250 most cit ...
(1942–), with
Calvin Quate Calvin Forrest Quate (December 7, 1923 – July 6, 2019) was one of the inventors of the atomic force microscope. He was a professor emeritus of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Education He earned his bachelo ...
(1923–2019), and with
Gerd Binnig Gerd Binnig (; born 20 July 1947) is a German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. Early life and education Binnig wa ...
(1947–), Germany/U.S./Switzerland –
Atomic force microscope Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the diffr ...
* Friedrich Clemens Gerke (1801–1888), Germany – current international Morse code#International Morse Code, Morse code * David Gestetner (1854–1939), Austria-Hungary / UK – Gestetner, Gestetner copier * Alberto Gianni (1891–1930), Italy – Torretta butoscopica * John Heysham Gibbon (1903–1973), U.S. – Heart-lung machine * Gustav Giemsa (1867–1948), Germany – Giemsa stain (histology) * Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen (1903–1992), Austria – Giesl ejector * Henri Giffard (1825–1882), France – powered airship, injector * David J. Gingery (1932–2004), USA * Donald A. Glaser (1926–2013), U.S. – Bubble chamber * Joseph Glass (inventor), Joseph Glass (1791–1867), England – chimney-sweeping apparatus * Valentyn Glushko (1908–1989), Russia – hypergolic propellant, Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion, electric propulsion, Soviet rocket engines (including world's most powerful liquid-fuel rocket, liquid-fuel rocket engine RD-170 (rocket engine), RD-170) * Heinrich Göbel (1818–1893), Germany – incandescent lamp * Leonid Gobyato (1875–1915), Russia – man-portable Mortar (weapon), mortar * Robert Goddard (scientist), Robert Goddard (1882–1945), U.S. – liquid fuel rocket * Sam Golden (1915–1997), together with Leonard Bocour (1910–1993), U.S. – Acrylic paint * Peter Carl Goldmark (1906–1977), Hungary – vinyl record (LP), CBS
color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...
* Camillo Golgi (1843–1926), Italy – Golgi's method (histology) * György Gömöri (1904–1957), Hungary / U.S. – Gömöri trichrome stain, Gömöri methenamine silver stain (histology) * Lewis Gompertz (—1861), UK – expanding chuck, improved velocipede * Sarah E. Goode (1855–1905), US – cabinet bed. First African-American woman to receive a United States patent. * Charles Goodyear (1800–1860), U.S. – vulcanization, vulcanization of rubber * Praveen Kumar Gorakavi (born 1989), India – low-cost Braille Typewriter * Robert W. Gore (1937–2020), U.S. – Gore-Tex * Igor Gorynin (1926–2015), Russia – weldable titanium alloys, high strength aluminium alloys, Radiation hardening, radiation-hardened steels * James Gosling (born 1955), U.S. – Java (programming language) * Gordon Gould (1920–2005), U.S. – Laser, see also Theodore Maiman * Richard Hall Gower (1768–1833), UK – Transit (ship), ship's hull and rigging * Boris Grabovsky (1901–1966), Russia – cathode commutator, an early electronic TV pickup tube * Bette Nesmith Graham (1924–1980), U.S. – Correction fluid, Liquid Paper * Iréne Grahn (1945–2013), Sweden – finger joint support for patients with rheumatoid arthritis * Hans Christian Gram (1853–1938), Denmark / Germany – Gram staining (histology) * Zénobe Gramme (1826–1901), Belgium/France – Gramme dynamo * Temple Grandin (born 1947), Inventor of the squeeze machine and humane abattoirs. * Michael Grätzel (born 1944), Germany/Switzerland– Dye-sensitized solar cell * James Henry Greathead (1844–1896), South Africa – tunnel boring machine, tunnelling shield technique * Chester Greenwood (1858–1937), U.S. – Earmuffs, thermal earmuffs * Lori Greiner (born 1969), U.S. – Silver Safekeeper anti-tarnish lining (jewelry organizers) and multiple consumer products, 120 US and foreign patents * James Gregory (astronomer and mathematician), James Gregory (1638–1675), Scotland – Gregorian telescope * William Griggs (inventor), William Griggs (1832–1911), England – a process of photolithography * William Robert Grove (1811–1896), Wales – fuel cell * Gustav Guanella (1909–1982), Switzerland – DSSS, Guanella-Balun * Otto von Guericke (1602–1686), Germany – vacuum pump, manometer, dasymeter * Mikhail Gurevich (aircraft designer), Mikhail Gurevich (1893–1976), Russia – MiG-series fighter aircraft, including world's List of most produced aircraft, most produced jet aircraft Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, MiG-15 and most produced supersonic aircraft Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, MiG-21 (together with Artem Mikoyan) * Goldsworthy Gurney (1793–1875), England – Gurney Stove * Bartolomeu de Gusmão (1685–1724), Brazil – early air balloons * Johann Gutenberg (c. 1398–1468), Germany – movable type printing press * Samuel Guthrie (physician) (1782–1848), U.S. – discovered chloroform


H

* Fritz Haber (1868–1934), Germany – Haber process (ammonia synthesis) * John Hadley (1682–1744), UK – octant (instrument), Octant * Waldemar Haffkine (1860–1930), Russia/Switzerland – first anti-cholera and anti-bubonic plague, plague vaccines * Gunther von Hagens (born 1945), Germany – whole body Plastination * Charles Martin Hall, Charles Hall (1863–1914), U.S. – aluminum production * Robert N. Hall (1919–2016), U.S. – Laser diode, Semiconductor laser * Samuel Hall (inventor), Samuel Hall (1782–1863), UK – condenser (heat transfer), condenser to enable recycling of water in ship's steam engine * Tracy Hall (1919–2008), U.S. – synthetic diamond * Nicholas Halse (died 1636), England – malt kiln * Richard Hamming (1915–1998), U.S. – Hamming code * John Hays Hammond Jr. (1888–1965), U.S. – radio control * Ruth Handler (1916–2002), U.S. – Barbie doll * James Hargreaves (1720–1778), UK – spinning jenny * John Harington (writer), John Harington (1561–1612), UK – the flush toilet * William Snow Harris (1791–1867), UK – much improved naval Lightning rods * John Harrison (1693–1776), UK – marine chronometer * Ross Granville Harrison (1870–1959), U.S. – first successful animal Tissue culture, Cell culture * Kazuo Hashimoto (died 1995), Japan – Caller-ID, answering machine * Victor Hasselblad (1906–1978), Sweden – invented the 6 x 6 cm single-lens reflex camera * Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1039), Iraq – camera obscura, pinhole camera, magnifying glass * George H. Heilmeier (1936–2014), U.S. – liquid crystal display (LCD) * Henry Heimlich (1920–2016), U.S. – Heimlich maneuver#Abdominal thrusts, Heimlich maneuver * Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988), U.S. –
waterbed A waterbed, water mattress, or flotation mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water. Waterbeds intended for medical therapies appear in various reports through the 19th century. The modern version, invented in San Francisco and patented in ...
* Jozef Karol Hell (1713–1789), Slovakia – the water pillar * Rudolf Hell (1901–2002), Germany – the Hellschreiber * Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894), Germany – Helmholtz pitch notation, Helmholtz resonator, ophthalmoscope * Zhang Heng (78–139), China – Seismometer, first hydraulic-powered armillary sphere * Beulah Louise Henry (1887–1973), U.S. – bobbin-free sewing machine, vacuum ice cream freezer * Charles H. Henry (1937-2016), U.S. – Quantum well laser * Joseph Henry (1797–1878), Scotland/U.S. – electromagnetic relay * Félix d'Herelle (1873–1949), together with Giorgi Eliava (1892–1937), France,Georgia – Phage therapy * Hero of Alexandria, Heron (c. 10–70), Ægyptus, Roman Egypt – usually credited with invention of the aeolipile, although it may have been described a century earlier * John Herschel (1792–1871), UK – photographic fixer (hypo), actinometer * Harry Houdini (1874–1926) U.S. – flight time illusion * Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894), Germany – radio telegraphy, electromagnetic radiation * Ephraim Hertzano (1912–1987), Roumania / Israel – Rummikub * Lasse Hessel (1940–2019), Denmark – Female condom * George de Hevesy (1885–1966), Hungary – radioactive tracer * Ron Hickman, Ronald Price Hickman (1932–2011), U.S. – designed the original Lotus Elan#1960s Elan, Lotus Elan, the Lotus Elan#1960s Elan, Lotus Elan +2 and the Lotus Europa, as well as the Black & Decker Workmate * Rowland Hill (postal reformer), Rowland Hill (1795–1879), UK – postage stamp * Maurice Hilleman (1919–2005) – vaccines against childhood diseases * Tanaka Hisashige (1799–1881), Japan – Myriad year clock * Marcian Hoff, Ted Hoff (born 1937), U.S. – microprocessor * Felix Hoffmann (Bayer) (1868–1949), Germany – Aspirin * Albert Hofmann (1906–2008), Switzerland – LSD * Kotaro Honda (1870–1954), Japan – KS steel * Huang Hongjia (1924–2021), China – Single-mode optical fiber. * Herman Hollerith (1860–1929), U.S. – recording data on a machine readable medium, tabulating machine, tabulator, punched cards * Nick Holonyak (born 1928), U.S. – LED (Light Emitting Diode) * Norman Holter (1914–1983), U.S. – Holter monitor * Robert Hooke (1635–1703), UK – balance wheel, iris diaphragm, Tin can telephone, acoustic telephone * Erna Schneider Hoover (born 1926), U.S. – computerized telephone switching system * Harold Hopkins (physicist), Harold Hopkins (1918–1994), UK – zoom lens, rod lens endoscope * Grace Hopper, Grace Murray Hopper (1906–1992), U.S. – Compiler * Frank Hornby (1863–1936), UK – invented Meccano * Jimmy Hotz (born 1953), U.S. – Hotz MIDI Translator, Atari Hotz Box * Royal Earl House (1814–1895), U.S. – first Printing telegraph * Coenraad Johannes van Houten (1801–1887), Netherlands – cocoa powder, cacao butter, chocolate milk * Elias Howe (1819–1867), U.S. – sewing machine * David Edward Hughes (1831–1900), UK – printing telegraph * Chuck Hull (born 1939), U.S. – 3D printing, 3D printer * Troy Hurtubise (1963–2018), Canada – Trojan Ballistics Suit of Armor, Ursus suit, Firepaste, Angel Light * Miller Reese Hutchison (1876–1944), U.S. – Klaxon, electric hearing aid * Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695), Netherlands – pendulum clock * John Wesley Hyatt (1837–1920), U.S. – celluloid manufacturing


I

* Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov, Gavriil Ilizarov (1921–1992), Russia – Ilizarov apparatus, external fixation, distraction osteogenesis * Mamoru Imura (born 1948), Japan – RFIQin (automatic cooking device) * Daisuke Inoue (born 1940), Japan – Karaoke machine * János Irinyi (1817–1895), Hungary – noiseless match * Ub Iwerks (1901–1971), U. S. – Multiplane camera for animation


J

* Moritz von Jacobi (1801–1874), Germany/Russia – electrotyping, electric boat * Rudolf Jaenisch (born 1942), Germany/U.S. – first Genetically modified mouse * Alcinous Burton Jamison (1851–1938), American physician, inventor of medical devices * Karl Guthe Jansky (1905–1950), U.S. – radio telescope * Karl Jatho (1873–1933), Germany – aeroplane *
Ali Javan Ali Javan ( fa, علی جوان, Ali Javān; December 26, 1926 – September 12, 2016) was an Iranian-American physicist and inventor. He was the first to propose the concept of the gas laser in 1959 at the Bell Telephone Laboratories. A successf ...
(1926–2016), together with William R. Bennett Jr. (1930–2008), Iran/U.S. –
Gas laser A gas laser is a laser in which an electric current is discharged through a gas to produce coherent light. The gas laser was the first continuous-light laser and the first laser to operate on the principle of converting electrical energy to a lase ...
(Helium-Neon) * Al-Jazari (1136–1206), Iraq – crank-driven and hydropowered saqiya chain pump, crank-driven screw and Archimedes' screw, screwpump, elephant clock, Maintaining power, weight-driven clock, weight-driven pump, Reciprocating engine, reciprocating piston suction pump, geared and hydropowered Water supply network, water supply system, Program (machine), programmable humanoid robots, robotics, hand washing Automaton, automata, Flush toilet, flush mechanism, Laminate, lamination, Mechanical equilibrium, static balancing, paper model, sand casting, molding sand, intermittency, Linkage (mechanical), linkage * Ibn Al-Jazzar (Algizar) (895–979), Tunisia – sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction treatment drugs * Ányos Jedlik (1800–1898), Hungary – Dynamo#Jedlik's dynamo, Jedlik dynamo * Alec Jeffreys, Alec John Jeffreys (born 1950), UK – DNA profiling (forensics) * Charles Francis Jenkins (1867–1934), U.S. – television and movie projector (Phantoscope) * Thomas L. Jennings (1791–1859), U.S. – novel method of dry cleaning * Steve Jobs (1955–2011), U.S. – Apple Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone, iPad and other devices, software operating systems and applications. * Amos E. Joel Jr., Amos Edward Joel Jr. (1918–2008) U.S. – electrical engineer, known for several contributions and over seventy patents related to telecommunications switching systems * Carl Edvard Johansson (1864–1943), Sweden – Gauge blocks * Johan Petter Johansson (1853–1943), Sweden – Pipe wrench and adjustable spanner * Reynold B. Johnson (1906–1998), U.S. – Hard disk drive * Philipp von Jolly (1809–1884), Germany – Jolly balance * Scott A. Jones (born 1960), U.S. – created one of the most successful versions of voicemail as well as ChaCha Search, a human-assisted internet Web search engine, search engine * Tom Parry Jones (1935–2013), UK – first electronic Breathalyzer * Assen Jordanoff (1896–1967), Bulgaria – airbag * Marc Jorgenson, Canada, engineer, inventor and musician * Anatol Josepho (1894–1980), patented the first coin-operated photo booth called the "Photomaton" in 1925. * Marjorie Joyner (1896–1994), U.S. – Permanent wave machine * Whitcomb Judson (1836–1909), U.S. – zipper * Percy Lavon Julian (1899–1975), U.S. – chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants * Ma Jun (mechanical engineer), Ma Jun (''fl.'' 220–265), China – south-pointing chariot (see differential gear), mechanical puppet theater, chain pumps, improved silk looms


K

* Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919–2013), Russia – AK-47 and AK-74 assault rifles (the most produced ever) *
Bob Kahn Robert Elliot Kahn (born December 23, 1938) is an American electrical engineer who, along with Vint Cerf, first proposed the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), the fundamental communication protocols at the hea ...
(born 1938), together with
Vint Cerf Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of " the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Bob Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that include t ...
(born 1943), U.S. –
Internet Protocol The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet. IP h ...
(TCP/IP) * Dawon Kahng (1931–1992), South Korea, together with Simon Sze (born 1936), Taiwan/U.S. – Floating-gate MOSFET * Dean Kamen (born 1951), U.S. – Invented the Segway HT scooter and the IBOT Mobility Device * Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1853–1926), Netherlands – helium, liquid helium * Nikolay Kamov (1902–1973), Russia – armored battle
autogyro An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...
, Kamov, Ka-series coaxial rotor helicopters * Pyotr Kapitsa (1894–1984), Russia – first ultrastrong magnetic field creating techniques, basic low-temperature physics inventions * Georgii Karpechenko (1899–1941), Russia – rabbage (the first ever non-sterile hybrid obtained through the crossbreeding) * Jamshīd al-Kāshī (c. 1380–1429),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– plate of Conjunction (astronomy and astrology), conjunctions, analog planetary Analog computer, computer * Andrew Kay (1919–2014), U.S. – Voltmeter#Digital voltmeter, Digital voltmeter * Adolphe Kégresse (1879–1943), France/Russia – Kégresse track (first half-track and first off-road vehicle with continuous track), dual-clutch transmission * Carl D. Keith (1920–2008), together with John J. Mooney (1930–2020), U.S. – three way Catalytic converter#Types, catalytic converter * Mstislav Keldysh (1911–1978), Latvia/Russia – co-developer of Sputnik 1 (the first artificial satellite) together with Sergey Korolyov, Korolyov and Mikhail Tikhonravov, Tikhonravov * John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943), corn flakes, cornflake breakfasts * John G. Kemeny (1926–1992), together with Thomas E. Kurtz (born 1928), Hungary/U.S. – BASIC (programming language) * Alexander Kemurdzhian (1921–2003), Russia – first space exploration Rover (space exploration), rover (Lunokhod programme, Lunokhod) * Mary Kenner (1912–2006), U.S. – sanitary napkin, sanitary belt * William Saville-Kent (1845–1908), UK/Australia – Cultured pearl, Pearl culture, see also Mikimoto Kōkichi * Kerim Kerimov (1917–2003), Azerbaijan and Russia – co-developer of human spaceflight, space dock,
space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...
* Jacques de Kervor (1928-2010), French industrial designer * Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958), U.S. – invented automobile self-starter ignition, Freon Tetra ethyl lead, ethyl gasoline and more * Fazlur Khan (1929–1982), Bangladesh – structural systems for high-rise skyscrapers * Yulii Khariton (1904–1996), Russia – chief designer of the Soviet atomic bomb, co-developer of the Tsar Bomba * Anatoly Kharlampiyev (1906–1979), Russia – Sambo (martial art) * Al-Khazini (''fl.''1115–1130),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– hydrostatic balance * Konstantin Khrenov (1894–1984), Russia – underwater welding * Abu-Mahmud Khojandi (c. 940–1000),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– sextant (astronomical), astronomical sextant * Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (Algoritmi) (c. 780–850),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– modern algebra, mural instrument, horary quadrant, Sine quadrant, shadow square * Johann Kiefuss – inventor in Nuremberg in 1517 * Marcel Kiepach (1894–1915), Croatia – dynamo, maritime compass that indicates north regardless of the presence of iron or magnetic forces * Erhard Kietz (1909–1982), Germany & U.S. – signal improvements for video transmissions * Jack Kilby (1923–2005), U.S. – patented the first integrated circuit * Al-Kindi (Alkindus) (801–873), Iraq/Yemen – unambiguously described the distillation of wine in the 9th century, cryptanalysis, frequency analysis * Petrus Jacobus Kipp (1808–1864), The Netherlands – Kipp's apparatus (chemistry) * Steve Kirsch (born 1956), U.S. – Optical mouse * Fritz Klatte (1880–1934), Germany – vinyl chloride, forerunner to polyvinyl chloride * Yves Klein (1928–1962), France – International Klein Blue * Margaret E. Knight (1838–1914), U.S. – machine that completely constructs box-bottom brown paper bags * Tom Knight (scientist), Tom Knight (? – ), U.S. – BioBricks (synthetic biology) * Ivan Knunyants (1906–1990), Armenia/Russia – capron, Nylon 6, polyamide-6 * Robert Koch (1843–1910), Germany – method for culturing bacteria on solid media * Willem Johan Kolff (1911–2009), Netherlands – artificial kidney hemodialysis machine * Rudolf Kompfner (1909–1977), U.S. – Traveling-wave tube * Konstantin Konstantinov (1817/1819–1871), Russia – device for measuring flight speed of projectiles, Ballistic missile, ballistic rocket pendulum, launch pad, rocket-making machine * Sergei Korolev (1907–1966),
USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
– first successful intercontinental ballistic missile (R-7 Semyorka), R-7 (rocket family), R-7 rocket family, Sputniks (including the Sputnik 1, first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite), Vostok program (including the Vostok 1, first human spaceflight) * Nikolai Korotkov (1874–1920),
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
– auscultatory technique for blood pressure measurement * Semyon Korsakov (1787–1853),
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
– punched card for information storage * Mikhail Koshkin (1898–1940), Russia – T-34 medium tank, the best and most produced tank of World War II * Ognjeslav Kostović Stepanović, Ognjeslav Kostović (1851–1916), Serbia/Russia – arborite (high-strength plywood, an early plastic) * Gleb Kotelnikov (1872–1944), Russia – knapsack parachute, drogue parachute * William Justin Kroll (1889–1973), Luxemburg/U.S. – Kroll process * Alfred Krupa (1915-1989), Yugoslavia – the modern wheeled suitcase, a glass-bottom boat, the skis for use in walking on water, a folding canvas catamaran * Aleksey Krylov (1863–1945), Russia – gyroscope, gyroscopic Damping ratio, damping of ships * Ivan Kulibin (1735–1818), Russia – egg-shaped clock, candle searchlight, elevator using screw mechanisms, a ''self-rolling carriage'' featuring a flywheel, brake, gear box, and bearing (mechanical), bearing, an early optical telegraph * Shen Kuo (1031–1095), China – improved gnomon, armillary sphere, Water clock, clepsydra, and sighting tube * Igor Kurchatov (1903–1960), Russia – first nuclear power plant, first nuclear reactors for submarines and Nuclear marine propulsion, surface ships * Thomas E. Kurtz (born 1928), together with John G. Kemeny (1926–1992), U.S./Hungary – BASIC (programming language) * Raymond Kurzweil (born 1948), Optical character recognition; flatbed scanner * Ken Kutaragi (born 1950), Japan – PlayStation * Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014), U.S. – Kevlar * John Howard Kyan (1774–1850), Ireland – The process of Kyanization used for wood preservation


L

* Dmitry Lachinov (1842–1902), Russia – mercury (element), mercury pump, economizer for electricity consumption, Insulator (electrical), electrical insulation tester, optical dynamometer, photometer, Electrolysis, electrolyser * René Laennec (1781–1826), France – stethoscope * Georges Lakhovsky (1869–1942), Russia/U.S. – Multiple Wave Oscillator * Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), Austria and U.S. – Spread spectrum radio * Edwin H. Land (1909–1991), U.S. – Polaroid Corporation, Polaroid polarizing filters and the Land Camera * Samuel P. Langley (1834–1906), U.S. – bolometer * Alexander Nikolayevich Lodygin (1847–1923),
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
– incandescent lamp * Irving Langmuir (1851–1957), U.S. – gas filled incandescent light bulb, hydrogen welding * Norm Larsen (1923–1970), U.S. – WD-40 * Lewis Latimer (1848–1928), U.S. – improved carbon-filament light bulb * Gustav de Laval (1845–1913), Sweden – invented the milk separator and the milking machine * Semyon Lavochkin (1900–1960), Russia – Lavochkin, La-series aircraft, first operational surface-to-air missile S-25 Berkut * John Bennet Lawes (1814–1900), UK – superphosphate or chemical fertilizer * Ernest Lawrence, Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901–1958), U.S. – Cyclotron * Nikolai Lebedenko, Russia – Tsar Tank, the largest armored vehicle in history * Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev, Sergei Lebedev (1874–1934), Russia – commercially viable synthetic rubber * William Lee (inventor), William Lee (1563–1614), UK – Stocking frame knitting machine * Edward Leedskalnin (1887–1951), U.S. – construction techniques used to single-handedly lift massive coral blocks in the creation of his Coral Castle * Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), The Netherlands – development of the microscope * Jerome H. Lemelson (1923–1997), U.S. – Inventions in the fields in which he patented make possible, wholly or in part, innovations like automated warehouses, industrial robots, cordless telephones, fax machines, videocassette recorders, camcorders, and the magnetic tape drive used in Sony's Walkman tape players. * Etienne Lenoir, Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir (1822–1900), Belgium – internal combustion engine, motorboat * Giacomo da Lentini (13th century), Italy – Sonnet * R. G. LeTourneau (1888–1969), U.S. – electric wheel, motor scraper, mobile oil drilling platform, bulldozer, cable control unit for scrapers * Rasmus Lerdorf (born 1968), Greenland/Canada – PHP (programming language) * Willard Frank Libby (1908–1980), U.S. – radiocarbon dating * Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), Germany – nitrogen-based fertilizer * Hon Lik (born 1951), China – electronic cigarette * Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896), Germany – hang gliding, hang glider * Lin Yutang (1895–1976), China/U.S. – Chinese typewriter, Chinese language typewriter * Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974), U.S. – organ perfusion pump * Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist (1862–1931), Sweden – Kerosene stove operated by compressed air * Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), Sweden – formal Binomial nomenclature for living organisms, Linnaeus' flower clock, Horologium Florae * Hans Lippershey (1570–1619), The Netherlands – associated with the appearance of the telescope * Gabriel Lippmann, Jonas Ferdinand Gabriel Lippmann (1845–1921), France – Lippmann plate, Integral imaging, Lippmann electrometer * Lisitsyns, Lisitsyn brothers, Ivan Fyodorovich and Nazar Fyodorovich, Russia – samovar (the first documented makers) * William Howard Livens (1889–1964), UK – chemical warfare – Livens Projector * Eduard Locher (1840–1910), Switzerland – Rack railway#Locher, Locher rack railway system * Fredrik Ljungström (1875–1964) and Birger Ljungström (1872–1948), Sweden - Ljungström turbine, Ljungström air preheater, Ljungström method * Alexander Lodygin (1847–1923), Russia – electrical filament, incandescent light bulb with tungsten filament * Louis Lombard-Gérin (1848-1918), France - trolleybus * Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765), Russia – night vision telescope, off-axis reflecting telescope, coaxial rotor, re-invented smalt * Yury Lomonosov (1876–1952), Russia/UK – first successful mainline diesel locomotive * Aleksandr Loran (1849 – after 1911), Russia – fire fighting foam, Fire extinguisher#Foams, foam extinguisher * Oleg Losev (1903–1942), Russia – light-emitting diode, crystadine * Antoine Louis (1723–1792), France – Guillotine * Archibald Low (1882–1956), UK – Pioneer of radio guidance systems * Ed Lowe (businessman), Ed Lowe (1920–1995), U.S. – Cat litter * Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy (1909–2001), Russia – Buran (spacecraft), Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105, Spiral project * Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822–1882), Poland – Kerosene lamp * Auguste and Louis Lumière (1862–1954 and 1864–1948), France – Cinématographe * Cai Lun, 蔡倫 (50–121), China – paper * Giovanni Luppis or Ivan Vukić (1813–1875), Austrian Empire (ethnical Croatian, from Rijeka) – self-propelled torpedo * Richard F. Lyon (born 1952), U.S. – Optical mouse * Arkhip Mikhailovich Lyulka, Arkhip Lyulka (1908–1984), Russia – first double jet turbofan engine, Lyulka, other Soviet aircraft engines


M

* Charles Macintosh (1766–1843), Scotland – waterproof raincoat, life vest * Theodore Maiman (1927–2007), U.S. – Laser, see also Gordon Gould * Ahmed Majan (born 1963), UAE – instrumented racehorse saddle and others * Alexander Alexeyevich Makarov, Aleksandr Makarov (born 1966), Russia/Germany – Orbitrap mass spectrometer * Stepan Makarov (1849–1904), Russia – Icebreaker Yermak, the first true icebreaker able to ride over and crush pack ice * Victor Makeev (1924–1985), Russia – first submarine-launched ballistic missile * Nestor Makhno (1888–1934), Ukraine/Russia – tachanka * Dmitri Dmitrievich Maksutov (1896–1964), Russia – Maksutov telescope * Annie Malone (1869–1957), U.S. – Annie Malone, Cosmetics for African American women * Sergey Malyutin (1859–1937), Russia – designed the first matryoshka doll (together with Vasily Zvyozdochkin) * Al-Ma'mun (786–833), Iraq – singing bird Automaton, automata, terrestrial globe * Boris Aleksandrovich Mamyrin, Boris Mamyrin (1919–2007), Russia – reflectron (ion mirror) * George William Manby (1765–1854), UK – Fire extinguisher * Harry Mendell US - invented the first Sampler (musical instrument), digital sampling synthesizer * Joy Mangano (born 1956), U.S. – household appliances * Anna Mangin (1844-1931), American inventor, educator, caterer and women's rights campaigner * Charles Mantoux (1877–1947), France – Mantoux test (tuberculosis) * Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937), Italy – radio telegraphy * Gheorghe Marinescu (1863–1938), Romania – the first science films in the world in the neurology clinic in Bucharest (1898–1901) * Sylvester Marsh (1803–1884), U.S. – Rack railway#Marsh, Marsh rack railway system * Konosuke Matsushita (1894–1989), Japan – battery-powered Bicycle lighting * Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf (1526–1585), Syria/Egypt/Turkey – steam turbine, six-Cylinder (engine), cylinder 'Monobloc' suction pump, Sextant (astronomical), framed sextant * Alex Mashinsky (born 1965), U.S. - VoIP * John Landis Mason (1826–1902), U.S. – Antique fruit jar, Mason jars * Fujio Masuoka (born 1943), Japan – Flash memory * John W. Mauchly (1907–1980), U.S. – ENIAC, ENIAC – the first general purpose programmable digital computer * Henry Maudslay (1771–1831), UK – screw-cutting lathe, bench Micrometer (device), micrometer * Hiram Maxim (1840–1916), U.S. born, UK – First self-powered machine gun * James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) and Thomas Sutton (photographer), Thomas Sutton, Scotland – color photography * Stanley Mazor (born 1941), U.S. – microprocessor * John Loudon McAdam (1756–1836), Scotland – improved "macadam" road surface * Elijah McCoy (1843–1929), Canada – Displacement lubricator * Nicholas McKay (inventor), Nicholas McKay Sr. (1920–2014), U.S. – Lint roller * Frederick McKinley Jones (1893–1961), U.S. – 22 patents, the most prominent for an automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks * James McLurkin (born 1972), U.S. – Ant robotics (robotics) * Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1845–1916), Russia – probiotics * Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès (1817–1880), France – margarine * Mordecai Meirowitz (born 1930), Roumania / Israel – Mastermind (board game) * Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907), Russia – Periodic table, pycnometer, pyrocollodion * Richard B. Merrill (1949–2008), U.S. – Foveon X3 sensor * George de Mestral (1907–1990), Switzerland – Velcro * Robert Metcalfe (born 1946), U.S. –
Ethernet Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
* Antonio Meucci (1808–1889), Italy/U.S. – various early
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
s, a hygrometer, a Antonio Meucci, milk test * Édouard Michelin (born 1859), Édouard Michelin (1859–1940), France – pneumatic tire * Anthony Michell (1870–1959), Australia – tilting pad thrust bearing, crankless engine * Artem Mikoyan (1905–1970), Armenia/Russia – MiG-series fighter aircraft, including world's List of most produced aircraft, most produced jet aircraft Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, MiG-15 and most produced supersonic aircraft Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, MiG-21 (together with Mikhail Gurevich (aircraft designer), Mikhail Gurevich) * Alexander Mikulin (1895–1985), Russia – Mikulin AM-34 and other Soviet aircraft engines, co-developer of the Tsar Tank * Mikhail Mil (1909–1970), Russia – Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant, Mi-series helicopter aircraft, including Mil Mi-8 (the world's List of most produced aircraft, most-produced helicopter) and Mil Mi-12 (the world's largest helicopter) * Alexander Miles (1838–1918), U.S. – system for automatically opening and closing elevator doors * David L. Mills (born 1938), U.S. – Fuzzball router, Network Time Protocol * Marvin Minsky (1927–2016), U.S. – Confocal microscopy * Tokushichi Mishima (1893–1975), Japan – MKM steel, MKM magnetic steel * Pavel Molchanov (1893–1941), Russia – Radiosonde * Jules Montenier (1895–1962), U.S. – Anti-perspirant deodorant * Montgolfier brothers (1740–1810) and (1745–1799), France – hot air balloon * John J. Montgomery (1858–1911), U.S. – heavier-than-air gliders * Narcis Monturiol i Estarriol (1819–1885), Spain – steam powered submarine * Robert Moog (1934–2005), U.S. – the Moog synthesizer * John J. Mooney (1930–2020), together with Carl D. Keith (1920–2008), U.S. – three way Catalytic converter#Types, catalytic converter * Roland Moreno (1945–2012), France – inventor of the smart card * Samuel Morey (1762–1843), U.S. – internal combustion engine * Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963), U.S. – inventor of the smoke hood * Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov, Alexander Morozov (1904–1979), Russia – T-54/55 (the most produced tank in history), co-developer of T-34 * Walter Frederick Morrison (1920–2010), U.S. – Flying disc * William Morrison (dentist) (1860–1926), U.S. – Cotton candy machine * Samuel F. B. Morse, Samuel Morse (1791–1872), U.S. – early Morse code, see also Alfred Vail#Controversy over Morse Code, Morse Code controversy * Sergei Ivanovich Mosin (1849–1902), Russia – Mosin–Nagant rifle * Motorins, Ivan Feodorovich (1660s–1735) and his son Mikhail Ivanovich (?–1750), Russia – Tsar Bell * Vera Mukhina (1889–1953), Russia – welded sculpture * Kary Mullis (1944–2019), U.S. – Polymerase chain reaction, PCR * Fe del Mundo (1911–2011), Philippines – Neonatal intensive care unit, medical incubator made out of bamboo for use in rural communities without electrical power * Colin Murdoch (1929–2008), New Zealand – Tranquillizer gun, disposable hypodermic syringe * William Murdoch (1754–1839), Scotland – Gas lighting * Jozef Murgas (1864–1929), Slovakia – inventor of the wireless telegraph (forerunner of the radio) * Evgeny Murzin (1914–1970), Russia – ANS synthesizer * Banū Mūsā brothers, Muhammad (c. 800–873), Ahmad (803–873), Al-Hasan (810–873), Iraq – Mechanical puzzle, mechanical trick devices, hurricane lamp, self-trimming and self-feeding Oil lamp, lamp, gas mask, Dredging#Grab, clamshell grab, fail-safe system, mechanical musical instrument, automatic flute player, Program (machine), programmable machine * Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692–1761), Netherlands – Leyden jar, pyrometer * Walton Musser (1909–1998), U.S. – Harmonic drive gear * Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904), UK – motion picture * Ted Myerson (born 1975), U.S. – data cloud computing system patents


N

* Georgi Nadjakov (1896–1981), Bulgaria – :wikt:photoelectret * Alexander Nadiradze (1914–1987), Georgia/Russia – first mobile ICBM (RT-21 Temp 2S), first reliable mobile ICBM (RT-2PM Topol) * Nagai Nagayoshi (1844–1929), Japan – Methamphetamine * James Naismith (1861–1939), Canadian born, U.S. – invented basketball and American football helmet * Yoshiro Nakamatsu (born 1928), Japan – "PyonPyon" spring shoes, digital watch, CinemaScope, chair, armchair "Cerebrex", sauce pump, Taximeter, taxicab meter * Shuji Nakamura (born 1954), Japan – Blue laser * John Napier (1550–1617), Scotland – logarithms * Andrey Nartov (1683–1756), Russia – first lathe with a mechanic Tool bit, cutting tool-supporting Lathe carriage, carriage and a set of
gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...
s, fast-fire artillery battery, battery on a rotating disc, Screw (simple machine), screw mechanism for changing the artillery fire angle, Gauge (bore diameter), gauge–boring (manufacturing), boring lathe for cannon-making, early telescopic sight * James Nasmyth (1808–1890), Scotland – steam hammer * Giulio Natta (1903–1979), together with Karl Ziegler (1898–1973), Italy/Germany – Ziegler–Natta catalyst * William Neade (fl.1624–1637), England – weapon combining a longbow and a pike * Nebuchadrezzar II (634–562 BC), Iraq (Mesopotamia) – screw, Archimedes' screw, screwpump * Erwin Neher (born 1944), together with Bert Sakmann (1942–), Germany – Patch clamp technique * Ted Nelson (born 1937), U.S. – Hypertext, Hypermedia * Sergey Nepobedimiy (1921–2014), Russia – first supersonic anti-tank guided missile ''Sturm'', other Soviet rocket weaponry * Karl Nessler (1872–1951), Germany/U.S. – Permanent wave machine, Karl Nessler, artificial eyebrows * Bernard de Neumann (1943–2018), UK – massively parallel self-configuring multi-processor * John von Neumann (1903–1957), Hungary – Von Neumann Von Neumann architecture, computer architecture, Stochastic computing, Merge sort algorithm * Isaac Newton (1642–1727), UK – reflecting telescope (which reduces chromatic aberration) * Miguel Nicolelis (born 1961), Brazil – Brain-machine interfaces * Nicéphore Niépce, Joseph Nicephore Niépce (1765–1833), France – photography * Nikolai Nikitin (1907–1973), Russia – prestressed concrete with wire ropes structure (Ostankino Tower), Nikitin-Travush 4000 project (precursor to X-Seed 4000) * Paul Gottlieb Nipkow (1860–1940), Germany – Nipkow disk * Jun-ichi Nishizawa (1926–2018), Japan – Optical communication system, SIT/SITh (Static Induction Transistor/Thyristor), Laser diode, PIN diode * Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), Sweden – dynamite * Ludvig Nobel (1831–1888), Sweden/Russia – first successful oil tanker * Emmy Noether (1882–1935), Germany, groundbreaking contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics; Noether's Theorem * Jean-Antoine Nollet (1700–1770), France – Electroscope * Wilhelm Normann (1870–1939), Germany – Hydrogenation, Hydrogenation of fats * Carl Richard Nyberg (1858–1939), Sweden – the blowtorch


O

* Aaron D. O'Connell (born 1981), U.S. – first Quantum machine * Joseph John O'Connell (1861–1959), U.S. – number of inventions relating to telephony and electrical engineering * Wilgott Theophil Odhner, Theophil Wilgodt Odhner (1845–1903), Sweden/Russia – the Odhner Arithmometer, a Calculator#The 19th century, mechanical calculator * Paul Offit (born 1951), U.S., along with Fred Clark and Stanley Plotkin, invented a pentavalent Rotavirus vaccine * Jarkko Oikarinen (born 1967), Finland – Internet Relay Chat, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) * Katsuhiko Okamoto (?–), Japan – Katsuhiko Okamoto, Okamoto Cubes = modifications of Rubik's Cube * Ransom Eli Olds (1864–1950), U.S. – Assembly line * Lucien Olivier (1838–1883), Belgium or France / Russia – Russian salad (Olivier salad) * Gerard K. O'Neill (1927–1992), U.S. – Storage ring (physics) * J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967), United States – Atomic bomb * Hugh Orr (inventor), Hugh Orr (1715–1798), U.S. – machine for cleaning flax seed * Hans Christian Ørsted (1777–1851), Denmark – electromagnetism, aluminium * Elisha Otis (1811–1861), U.S. – safety system for elevators * William Oughtred (1575–1660), UK – slide rule


P

* Arogyaswami Paulraj (born 1944), India/U.S. – MIMO * Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), Italy – Dynamo#Pacinotti dynamo, Pacinotti dynamo * Hilary Page (1904-1957), UK – Self-Locking Building Bricks, the predecessor of
Lego Lego ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlocking ...
* Larry Page (born 1973), U.S. – with Sergey Brin invented Google Search, Google web search engine * William Painter (inventor), William Painter (1838–1906), UK/U.S. – Crown cork, William Painter (inventor), Bottle opener * Salvatore Pais (born 1967), Romania/U.S. – an electromagnetic field generator to deflect asteroids away from the Earth, an inertial mass reduction device, a room-temperature superconductor, a gravitational wave generator, and a compact fusion reactor * Alexey Pajitnov (born 1956), Russia/U.S. – Tetris * Julio Palmaz (born 1945), Argentina – balloon-expandable, stent * Helge Palmcrantz (1842–1880), Sweden – the multi-barrel, lever-actuated, machine gun * Daniel David Palmer (1845–1913), Canada – chiropractic * Luigi Palmieri (1807–1896), Italy – seismometer * Frank Pantridge (1916–2004), Ireland – Defibrillation#Portable units become available, Portable defibrillator * Georgios Papanikolaou (1883–1962), Greece / U.S. – Papanicolaou stain, Pap test = Pap smear * Alice H. Parker (1895–1920), U.S. – central heating using natural gas Furnace (house heating), furnace * Philip M. Parker (born 1960), U.S. – computer automated book authoring * Thomas Parker (inventor), Thomas Parker (1843–1915), England – electric car * Alexander Parkes (1831–1890), UK – celluloid * Florence Parpart ( 1856–?), U.S. – industrial sweeping machine, electrical refrigerator * Forrest Parry (1921–2005), U.S. – Magnetic stripe card * Charles Algernon Parsons (1854–1931), British – steam turbine * Spede Pasanen (1930–2001), Finland – ski jumping sling, boat ski * Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), France – Pascal's calculator * Gustaf Erik Pasch (1788–1862), Sweden – safety match * Dimitar Paskov (1914–1986), Bulgaria – Galantamine * C. Kumar N. Patel (born 1938), India/U.S. – Carbon dioxide laser * Les Paul (1915–2009), U.S. – multitrack recording * Andreas Pavel (born 1945), Brazil – audio devices * Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), Russia, – classical conditioning * Floyd Paxton (1918–1975), U.S. – Bread clip * John Pemberton (1831–1888), U.S. – Coca-Cola * Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (1871–1922), Croatia – mechanical pencil * Ralph Peo (1897–1966), U.S. – early Automobile air conditioning, shock absorbers * William Henry Perkin (1838–1907), UK – first synthetic organic chemical dye Mauveine * Henry Perky (1843–1906), U.S. – shredded wheat * Alfred Perot (1863–1925), together with Charles Fabry (1867–1945), France – Fabry–Pérot interferometer (physics) * Stephen Perry (inventor), Stephen Perry, UK (''fl.'' 19th century) – rubber band * Aurel Persu (1890–1977), Romania – first aerodynamic car, aluminum body with wheels included under the body, 1922 * Vladimir Petlyakov (1891–1942), Russia – heavy bomber * Julius Richard Petri (1852–1921), Germany – Petri dish * Peter Petroff (1919–2004), Bulgaria – digital wrist watch, heart monitor, weather instruments * Fritz Pfleumer (1881–1945), Germany – magnetic tape * Auguste Piccard (1884–1962), Switzerland – Bathyscaphe *
Gregory Goodwin Pincus Gregory Goodwin Pincus (April 9, 1903 – August 22, 1967) was an American biologist and researcher who co-invented the combined oral contraceptive pill. Early life Gregory Goodwin Pincus was born in Woodbine, New Jersey to Jewish parents, who we ...
(1903–1967), together with
Min Chueh Chang Min Chueh Chang (, October 10, 1908 – June 5, 1991), often credited as M.C. Chang, was a Chinese-American reproductive biologist. His specific area of study was the fertilisation process in mammalian reproduction. Though his career produced ...
(1908–1991), U.S./China –
Combined oral contraceptive pill The combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP), often referred to as the birth control pill or colloquially as "the pill", is a type of birth control that is designed to be taken orally by women. The pill contains two important hormones: progest ...
* Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (1810–1881), Russia – early use of diethyl ether, ether as anaesthetic, first anaesthesia in a field operation, various kinds of surgical operations * Fyodor Pirotsky (1845–1898), Russia – electric tram * Arthur Pitney (1871–1933), U.S. – postage meter * Hippolyte Pixii (1808–1835), France – Dynamo#Pixii's dynamo, Pixii dynamo * Joseph Plateau (1801–1883), Belgium – phenakistiscope (stroboscope) * Baltzar von Platen (inventor), Baltzar von Platen (1898–1984), Sweden – gas absorption refrigerator * James Leonard Plimpton (1828–1911), U.S. – quad skates, roller skates * Ivan Plotnikov (1902–1995), Russia – kirza leather * Roy Plunkett (1910–1994), U.S. – Teflon * Petrache Poenaru (1799–1875),
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
– fountain pen * Christopher Polhem (1661–1751), Sweden – Padlock * Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, Nikolai Polikarpov (1892–1944), Russia – Polikarpov, Po-series aircraft, including Polikarpov Po-2 ''Kukuruznik'' (world's List of most produced aircraft, most produced biplane) * Eugene Polley (1915–2012), U.S. – wireless remote control (with Robert Adler) * Ivan Polzunov (1728–1766), Russia – first two-cylinder steam engine * Mikhail Pomortsev (1851–1916), Russia – nephoscope * Olivia Poole (1889–1975), U.S. – the Jolly Jumper baby harness * Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Alexander Popov (1859–1906), Russia – radio pioneer, created a radio receiver that worked as a lightning detector * Nikolay Popov (1931–2008), Russia – first fully
gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directi ...
main battle tank (T-80) * Josef Popper (1838–1921), Austria – discovered the transmission of power by electricity. * Aleksandr Porokhovschikov (1892–1941), Russia – Vezdekhod (the first prototype tank, or tankette, and the first continuous track, caterpillar amphibious ATV) * Ignazio Porro (1801–1875), Italy – Porro prism, strip camera * Valdemar Poulsen (1869–1942), Denmark – Wire recording, magnetic wire recorder, arc converter * Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), UK – soda water * Robert Taylor Pritchett (1828–1907), UK – Pritchett bullet * Alexander Procofieff de Seversky (1894–1974), Russia/U.S. – first gyroscope, gyroscopically stabilized bombsight, ionocraft, also developed air-to-air refueling * Alexander Prokhorov (1916–2002), Russia – co-inventor of
laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
and
maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...
* Petro Prokopovych (1775–1850),
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
– early Frame (beehive), beehive frame, queen excluder and other beekeeping novelties * Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky (1863–1944), Russia/France – early colour photography method based on three colour channels, also colour film slides and colour motion pictures * Mark Publicover (born 1958), U.S. – first affordable trampoline safety net enclosure * George Pullman (1831–1897), U.S. – Pullman sleeping car, sleep wagon * Michael I. Pupin (1858–1935), Serbia – pupinization (loading coils), tunable oscillator * Tivadar Puskás (1844–1893), Hungary – telephone exchange


Q

*
Calvin Quate Calvin Forrest Quate (December 7, 1923 – July 6, 2019) was one of the inventors of the atomic force microscope. He was a professor emeritus of Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. Education He earned his bachelo ...
(1923–2019), with
Gerd Binnig Gerd Binnig (; born 20 July 1947) is a German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. Early life and education Binnig wa ...
(born 1947), and with
Christoph Gerber Christoph Gerber is a titular professor at the Department of Physics, University of Basel, Switzerland. Christoph Gerber is the co-inventor of the atomic force microscope. Born in Basel, Switzerland, on 15 May 1942, he was among the 250 most cit ...
(1942–), U.S./Germany/Switzerland –
Atomic force microscope Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the diffr ...
* Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874), France/Belgium – Body mass index, Body mass index (BMI)


R

* Jacob Rabinow (1910–1999), U.S. – Magnetic particle clutch, various Phonograph-related patents * John Goffe Rand (1801–1873), U.S. – Tube (container) * Robert Ransome (1753–1830), England – improvement to the plough * Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi (Rhazes) (865–965),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– distillation and Extraction (chemistry), extraction methods, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid, soap kerosene, kerosene lamp, chemotherapy, sodium hydroxide * Alec Reeves (1902–1971), UK – Pulse-code modulation * Karl von Reichenbach (1788–1869), Germany – Kerosene, paraffin, creosote, creosote oil, phenol * Tadeus Reichstein (1897–1996), Poland/Switzerland – Reichstein process (industrial vitamin C synthesis) * Ira Remsen (1846–1927), U.S. – saccharin * Ralf Reski (born 1958), Germany – Moss bioreactor 1998 * Josef Ressel (1793–1857), Czechoslovakia – ship propeller * William Reynolds (industrialist), William Reynolds (1758–1803), England – canal inclined plane * Ri Sung-gi (1905–1996), North Korea – Vinylon * Charles Francis Richter (1900–1985), U.S. – Richter magnitude scale * Adolph Rickenbacker (1886–1976), Switzerland – Electric guitar * Hyman George Rickover (1900–1986), U.S. – Nuclear submarine * Niklaus Riggenbach (1817–1899), Switzerland – Rack railway#Riggenbach, Riggenbach rack railway system, Counter-pressure brake * Dennis Ritchie (1941–2011), U.S. – C (programming language) * Gilles de Roberval (1602–1675), France – Roberval balance * John Roebuck (1718–1794) UK – lead chamber process for sulfuric acid synthesis * Francis Rogallo (1912–2009), U.S. – Rogallo wing *
Heinrich Rohrer Heinrich Rohrer (6 June 1933 – 16 May 2013) was a Swiss physicist who shared half of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics with Gerd Binnig for the design of the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The other half of the Prize was awarded to Ernst R ...
(1933–2013), together with
Gerd Binnig Gerd Binnig (; born 20 July 1947) is a German physicist. He is most famous for having won the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Heinrich Rohrer in 1986 for the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope. Early life and education Binnig wa ...
(1947–), Switzerland/Germany –
Scanning tunneling microscope A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is a type of microscope used for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer, then at IBM Zürich, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986. ...
* Peter I of Russia, Peter I the Great (Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov), Tsar and Emperor of Russia (1672–1725), Russia – decimal currency, yacht club, sounding line with separating plumb-bob, plummet (Deep-sea exploration#Oceanographic Instrumentation, sounding weight probe) * Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923), Germany – the X-ray machine * Ida Rosenthal (1886–1973), Belarus/Russia/U.S. – Bra (Maidenform), the standard of Bra sizing, cup sizes, nursing bra, full-figured bra, the first seamed uplift bra (all with her husband William) * Sidney Rosenthal (1907–1979), U.S. – Magic Marker * Eugene Roshal (born 1972), Russia – FAR Manager, FAR file manager, RAR (file format), RAR file format, WinRAR file archiver * Boris Rosing (1869–1933), Russia – CRT television (first television system using cathode ray tube, CRT on the receiving side) * Guido van Rossum (born 1956), The Netherlands – Python (programming language) * M. A. Rothman, Michael Rothman, U.S. – UEFI * Subrata Roy (scientist) (born 1962), India, U.S. – Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle, Serpentine geometry plasma actuator, Wingless Electromagnetic Air Vehicle#Novel Technologies, micro-scale actuators * Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754–1785), France – Rozière balloon * Ernő Rubik (born 1944), Hungary – Rubik's Cube, Rubik's Magic and Rubik's Clock * Ernst Ruska (1906–1988), Germany – electron microscope * François van Rysselberghe (1846–1893), Belgium – Universal meteorograph, Condenser telephone


S

* Albert Sabin, Albert Bruce Sabin (1906–1993), U.S. – oral Polio vaccine * Alexander Sablukov (1783–1857), Russia – centrifugal fan * Şerafeddin Sabuncuoğlu (1385–1468), Turkey – illustrated Surgery, surgical atlas * Quasiturbine, Gilles Saint-Hilaire (born 1948), Canada – Quasiturbine, Qurbine * Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989), Russia – invented explosively pumped flux compression generator, co-developed the Tsar Bomb and tokamak * Jonas Salk, Jonas Edward Salk (1914–1995), U.S. – injection Polio vaccine * Robert Salmon (inventor), Robert Salmon (1763–1821), England – agricultural implements * Franz San Galli (1824–1908), Poland/Russia (Italian people, Italian and German people, German descent) – radiator, central heating * Frederick Sanger (1918–2013), U.S. – Sanger sequencing (= DNA sequencing) * Larry Sanger (born 1968), together with Jimmy Wales, U.S. – Wikipedia * Yoshiyuki Sankai (born c. 1957), Japan – HAL (robot), Robotic exoskeleton for motion support (medicine) * Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932), Brazil – airship, non-rigid airship and airplane * Arthur William Savage (1857–1938) – radial tires, magazine (firearms), gun magazines, Savage Model 99 lever action rifle * Thomas Savery (1650–1715), UK – steam engine * Adolphe Sax (1814–1894), Belgium – saxophone * Vincent Schaefer, Vincent Joseph Schaefer (1906–1993), U.S. – Cloud seeding by dry ice * Bela Schick (1877–1967), Hungary – Schick test, diphtheria test * Wilhelm Schickard (1592–1635), Germany – mechanical calculator * Hugo Schiff (1834–1915), Germany – Schiff test (histology) * Pavel Schilling (1786–1837), Estonia/Russia – first electromagnetic telegraph, Land mine, mine with an electric fuse (electrical), fuse * Gilmore Schjeldahl (1912–2002), U.S. – Airsickness bag * Hubert Schlafly (1919–2011), U.S. – Teleprompter = Teleprompter, Autocue * Wilhelm Schlenk (1879–1943), Germany – Schlenk flask (chemistry) * Bernhard Schmidt (1879–1935), Estonia/Germany – Schmidt camera * Friedrich Schmiedl (1902–1994), Austria – rocket mail * Otto Schmitt (1913–1998), U.S. – Schmitt trigger (electronics) * Christian Schnabel (1878–1936), German – simplistic food cutleries * Kees A. Schouhamer Immink (born 1946), Netherlands – Major contributor to development of Compact Disc * August Schrader (1807–1894), U.S. – Schrader valve for Pneumatic tire * David Schwarz (aviation inventor), David Schwarz (1852–1897), Croatia, – rigid airship, later called Zeppelin * Raymond Scott (1908–1994), U.S. – inventor and developer of electronic music technology * Girolamo Segato (1792–1836), Italy – artificial petrifaction of human cadavers * Marc Seguin (1786–1875), France – suspension bridge, wire-cable suspension bridge * Hanaoka Seishū (1760–1835), Japan – General anaesthetic * Ted Selker (inv. 1987), U.S. – Pointing stick * Sennacherib (705–681 BC), Iraq (Mesopotamia) – screw pump * Léon Serpollet (1858–1907), France – Flash boiler, Gardner-Serpollet, Gardner-Serpollet steam car * Iwan Serrurier (1878–1953), Netherlands/U.S. – inventor of the Moviola for film editing * Mark Serrurier (1904–1988), U.S. – Serrurier truss for Optical telescopes * Gerhard Sessler (born 1931), Germany – electret microphone, foil electret microphone, microphone#MEMS microphone, silicon microphone * Guy Severin (1926–2008), Russia – extra-vehicular activity supporting system * Ed Seymour (inv. c. 1949), U.S. – Aerosol paint * Leonty Shamshurenkov (1687–1758), Russia – first self-propelling carriage (a precursor to both bicycle and
automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
), projects of an original odometer and self-propelling sledge * Ibn al-Shatir (1304–1375), Syria – "jewel box" device which combined a compass with a universal sundial * Bi Sheng () (c. 990–1051), China – clay movable type printing * Patsy O’Connell Sherman (1930–2008), U.S. – Scotchgard * Murasaki Shikibu (c. 973–1025), Japan – psychological novel * Pyotr Shilovsky (1871–1957), Russia/UK – gyrocar * Masatoshi Shima (born 1943), Japan – microprocessor * Fathullah Shirazi (c. 1582), Mughal Empire, Mughal India – early volley gun * Joseph Shivers (1920–2014), U.S. – Spandex * William Shockley, William Bradford Shockley (1910–1989), U.S. – co-inventor of
transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch e ...
* Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), UK – Shrapnel shell ammunition * Vladimir Shukhov (1853–1939), Russia – Cracking (chemistry), thermal cracking (Shukhov cracking process), thin-shell structure, tensile structure, hyperboloid structure, gridshell, Pipeline transport, oil pipeline, cylindric oil depot * Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor (born 1972), Malaysia – Cell (biology), cell growth in outer space, crystallization of proteins and microbes in space * Augustus Siebe (1788–1872), Germany/UK – Inventor of the standard diving dress * Carl Wilhelm Siemens, Sir William Siemens (1823–1883), Germany – Siemens regenerative furnace, regenerative furnace * Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), Germany – electric elevator, Electromote (= first trolleybus), an early Dynamo#Siemens and Wheatstone dynamo (1867), Dynamo * Al-Sijzi (c. 945–1020),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– Heliocentrism, heliocentric
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
* Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972), Russia/U.S. – first four-engine fixed-wing aircraft (Russky Vityaz), first airliner and purpose-designed bomber (Sikorsky Ilya Muromets, Ilya Muromets), helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Sikorsky-series helicopters * Bernard Silver (1924–1963), together with Norman Joseph Woodland (1921–2012), U.S. – Barcode * Kia Silverbrook (born 1958), Australia – Memjet printer, world's most List of prolific inventors, prolific inventor * Vladimir Simonov (engineer), Vladimir Simonov (1935–2020), Russia – APS Underwater Assault Rifle, SPP-1 underwater pistol * Charles Simonyi (born 1948), Hungary – Hungarian notation * Avicenna, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980–1037),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– steam distillation, essential oil, pharmacopoeia, clinical pharmacology, clinical trial, randomized controlled trial, quarantine, cancer surgery, Alternative cancer treatments, cancer therapy, pharmacotherapy, phytotherapy, Hindiba, Taxus baccata L, calcium channel blocker * Clive Sinclair (1940-2021), U.K. - Sinclair C5, ZX Spectrum and A-bike * Isaac Singer (1811–1875), U.S. – sewing machine * B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), U.S. – Operant conditioning chamber * Nikolay Slavyanov (1854–1897), Russia – shielded metal arc welding * Alexander Smakula (1900–1983), Ukraine/Russia/U.S. – anti-reflective coating * Michael Smith (chemist), Michael Smith (1932–2000), U.S. – Site-directed mutagenesis (molecular biology) *
Oliver Smithies Oliver Smithies (23 June 1925 – 10 January 2017) was a British-American geneticist and physical biochemist. He is known for introducing starch as a medium for gel electrophoresis in 1955, and for the discovery, simultaneously with Mario Capec ...
(1925–2017), together with Sir Martin John Evans (born 1941), and Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 1937), U.S. – Knockout mouse,
Gene targeting Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...
* Yefim Smolin, Russia – table-glass (''stakan granyonyi'') * Friedrich Soennecken (1848–1919), Germany – Ring binder, Hole punch * Su Song (1020–1101), China – first chain drive * Marin Soljačić (born 1974), Croatia – Resonant inductive coupling * Edwin Southern (born 1938), U.S. – Southern blot (molecular biology) * Alfred P. Southwick (1826–1898), U.S. – Electric chair * Igor Spassky (born 1926), Russia – Sea Launch platform * Percy Spencer (1894–1970), U.S. – microwave oven * Elmer Ambrose Sperry (1860–1930), U.S. – gyroscope-guided autopilot, automatic pilot * Lyman Spitzer (1914–1997), U.S. – Stellarator (physics) * Bhargav Sri Prakash (born 1977), India/U.S. – Digital data, Digital vaccines, learnification platform at FriendsLearn, virtual reality system, electromagnetic collision avoidance system, On-board diagnostics, OBD based in-vehicle powertrain performance measurement, rate-based driver controls for drive by wire systems * Ladislas Starevich (1882–1965), Russia/France – puppet animation, live-action/animated film * Gary Starkweather (1938–2019), U.S. – laser printer, color management * John Kemp Starley (1855-1901), U.K. - safety bicycle * Betsey Ann Stearns (1830-1914), U.S. – garment cutting diagram and system * Boris Stechkin (1891–1969), Russia – co-developer of Sikorsky Ilya Muromets and Tsar Tank, developer of Soviet heat engine, heat and aircraft engines * George Stephenson (1781–1848), UK – steam railway * Simon Stevin (1548–1620), Netherlands – land yacht * Andreas Stihl (1896–1973), Switzerland/Germany – Electric chain saw * Robert Stirling, Reverend Dr Robert Stirling (1790–1878), Scotland – Stirling engine * Aurel Stodola (1859–1942), Slovakia – gas turbines * Aleksandr Stoletov (1839–1896), Russia – first solar cell based on the outer photoelectric effect * Levi Strauss (1829–1902), U.S. – blue jeans * John Stringfellow (1799–1883), UK – aerial steam carriage * Bjarne Stroustrup (born 1950), Denmark – C++ (programming language) * Almon Strowger (1839–1902), U.S. – automatic telephone exchange * Emil Strub (1858–1909), Switzerland – Rack railway#Strub, Strub rack railway system * Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi (Azophi) (903–986),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– timekeeping
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
, Mariner's astrolabe, navigational astrolabe, surveying astrolabe * René Núñez Suárez (born 1945/1946), El Salvador – "turbococina" (turbo-cooker) * Kyota Sugimoto (1882–1972), Japan – Japanese typewriter, Japanese language typewriter * Mutsuo Sugiura (1918–1986), Japan – Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, Esophagogastroduodenoscope * Pavel Sukhoi (1895–1975), Russia – Sukhoi, Su-series fighter aircraft * Simon Sunatori (born 1959), Canada – inventor of MagneScribe and Magic Spicer * Sushruta (600 BC), Vedic India – inventor of Plastic Surgery, Cataract Surgery, Rhinoplasty * Theodor Svedberg (1884–1971), Sweden – Ultracentrifuge, Analytical ultracentrifuge * Joseph Swan (1828–1914), UK – Incandescent light bulb * Robert Swanson (inventor), Robert Swanson (1905–1994), Canada – invented and developed the first multi-chime train horn, air horn for use with diesel locomotives * Remi Swierczek (born 1958), Poland – inventor of Music Identification System and the Mico Changer (coin hopper and dispenser used in casinos) * Andrei Sychra (c.1773/76–1850), Lithuania/Russia, Czech people, Czech descent – Russian guitar, Russian seven-string guitar * Walter Sylvester (1867–1944), UK – the "Sylvester", for safely removing pit props * Vladimir Syromyatnikov (1933–2006), Russia – Androgynous Peripheral Attach System and other spacecraft docking mechanisms * Simon Sze (born 1936), Taiwan/U.S., together with Dawon Kahng (1931–1992), South Korea – Floating-gate MOSFET * Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Hungary/U.S. – co-developed the atomic bomb, patented the nuclear reactor, catalyst of the Manhattan Project


T

* Muhammad Salih Tahtawi (''fl.''1659–1660), Mughal Empire, Mughal India – seamless globe and celestial globe * Gyula Takátsy (1914–1980), Hungary – first Microtiter plate * Esther Takeuchi (born 1953) – holds more than 150 US-patents, the largest number for any woman in the United States * Igor Tamm (1895–1971), Russia – co-developer of tokamak * Ching W. Tang (born 1947), Hong Kong/U.S., together with Steven Van Slyke, U.S. – OLED * Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi (c. 1187), Middle East – counterweight trebuchet, mangonel * Gustav Tauschek (1899–1945), Austria – Drum memory * Kenyon Taylor (1908–1986), U.S. – Flip-disc display * Bernard Tellegen (1900–1990), Netherlands – pentode * Edward Teller (1908–2003), Hungary – hydrogen bomb * Eli Terry (1772–1852) * Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), Serbia – induction motor, high-voltage / high-frequency power experiments, the transmission of electrical power * Léon Theremin (1896–1993), Russia – theremin, Interlaced video, interlace, burglar alarm, terpsitone, Rhythmicon (first drum machine), The Thing (listening device) * Charles Xavier Thomas de Colmar (1785–1870), France – Arithmometer * Elihu Thomson (1853–1937), UK, U.S. – Prolific inventor, Arc lamp and many others * William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), UK – Kelvin absolute temperature scale * Eric Tigerstedt (1887–1925), Finland – Sound-on-film, triode vacuum tube * Kálmán Tihanyi (1897–1947), Hungary – co-inventor of cathode ray tube and iconoscope * Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974), Russia – co-developer of Sputnik 1 (the first artificial satellite) together with Sergey Korolyov, Korolyov and Mstislav Keldysh, Keldysh, designer of further Sputniks * Gavriil Adrianovich Tikhov (1875–1960), Russia – feathering spectrograph * Benjamin Chew Tilghman (1821–1897), U.S. – sandblasting * Fedor Tokarev (1871–1968), Russia – TT-33 semiautomatic handgun and SVT-40 self-loading rifle * Ray Tomlinson (1941–2016), U.S. – First inter-computer email * Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647), Italy – barometer * Alfred Traeger (1895–1980), Australia – Pedal radio#Pedal-powered transmitter, Pedal radio * Richard Trevithick (1771–1833), UK – high-pressure steam engine, first full-scale steam locomotive * Franc Trkman (1903–1978), Slovenia – electrical switches, accessories for opening windows * Hans Tropsch (1889–1935), together with Franz Joseph Emil Fischer (1877–1947), Germany – Fischer–Tropsch process (refinery process) * Yuri Trutnev (scientist), Yuri Trutnev (1927–2021), Russia – co-developer of the Tsar Bomb * Roger Y. Tsien (1952–2016), together with Osamu Shimomura (1928–2018) and Martin Chalfie (born 1947), U.S. – Discovery and development of Green fluorescent protein * Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), Russia – spaceflight * Mikhail Tsvet (1872–1919), Russia – chromatography (specifically adsorption chromatography, the first chromatography method) * Alexei Tupolev (1925–2001), Russia – the Tupolev Tu-144 (first supersonic passenger jet) * Andrei Tupolev (1888–1972), Russia – turboprop powered long-range airliner (Tupolev Tu-114), turboprop strategic bomber (Tupolev Tu-95) * Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1201–1274),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– observatory, Tusi-couple * Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī (1135–1213),
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
/
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– linear
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
* Ralph Hart Tweddell (1843–1895), England – portable hydraulic riveter


U

* Shintaro Uda (1869–1976), together with Hidetsugu Yagi (1886–1976), Japan – Yagi–Uda antenna– * Lewis Urry (1927–2004), Canada – long-lasting alkaline battery * Tomislav Uzelac, Croatia – first successful MP3 player, AMP


V

* Ira Van Gieson (1866–1913), U.S. – Van Gieson's stain (histology) * Theophilus Van Kannel (1841–1919), U.S. – revolving door (1888) * Vladimir Veksler (1907–1966), Russia – synchrophasotron, co-inventor of synchrotron * John Venn (1834–1923), UK – Venn diagram (1881) * Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil (1856–1913), France – Verneuil process (crystal growth) * Pierre Vernier (1580–1637), France – Vernier scale (1631) * Lucien Vidi (1805–1866), France – Barograph * Edgar Villchur (1917–2011), U.S. – Acoustic suspension (loudspeaker) * Artturi Ilmari Virtanen (1895–1973), Finland – AIV fodder * Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italy – Battery (electricity), battery, see also Voltaic pile * Bernard Vonnegut (1914–1997), together with Cloud seeding, Henry Chessin, and Cloud seeding, Richard E. Passarelli Jr., U.S. – Cloud seeding by silver iodide * Ivan Vučetić (1858–1925), Croatia – method of fingerprint classification


W

* Ruth Graves Wakefield (1903–1977), U.S. – chocolate chip cookie * Paul Walden (1863–1957), Latvia/Russia/Germany – Walden inversion, Ethylammonium nitrate (the first room temperature ionic liquid) * Jimmy Wales (born 1966), together with Larry Sanger, U.S. – Wikipedia * Adam Walker (inventor), Adam Walker (1730–1821), UK – eidouranion * Madam C.J. Walker (1867–1919), U.S. – beauty and hair products for African American women * Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), UK – bouncing bomb * Frederick Walton (c. 1834–1928), UK – Linoleum * Maurice Ward (1933–2011), UK – Starlite * Aldred Scott Warthin (1866–1931), together with Allen Chronister Starry (1890–1973), U.S. – Warthin–Starry stain (histology) * Robert Watson-Watt (1892–1973), Scotland – microwave radar * James Watt (1736–1819), Scotland – improved Steam engine * Thomas Wedgwood (1771–1805), Thomas Wedgwood (1771–1805), UK – first (not permanent) photograph * Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858–1929), Austria – Gas mantle, ferrocerium * Jonas Wenström (1855–1893), Sweden – Three-phase electric power, three-phase electrical power * George Westinghouse (1846–1914), U.S. – Air brake (rail) * Charles Wheatstone (1802–1875), UK – concertina, stereoscope, microphone, Playfair cipher, pseudoscope, Dynamo#Siemens and Wheatstone dynamo (1867), dynamo * Richard T. Whitcomb (1921–2009), U.S. – Supercritical airfoil, Wingtip device, Winglet * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), UK – method of manufacturing tubes cheaply and accurately * Eli Whitney (1765–1825), U.S. – the cotton gin * Frank Whittle (1907–1996), UK – co-inventor of the jet engine * Otto Wichterle (1913–1989), Czechoslovakia – soft contact lens * Norman Wilkinson (artist), Norman Wilkinson (1878–1971), UK – Dazzle camouflage * Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869–1959), UK – Cloud chamber * Paul Winchell (1922–2005), U.S. – the artificial heart * Sergei Winogradsky (1856–1953), Russia / USSR – Winogradsky column for culturing microorganisms * Niklaus Wirth (born 1934), Switzerland – Pascal (programming language) * A. Baldwin Wood (1879–1956), U.S. – high volume pump * Norman Joseph Woodland (1921–2012), together with Bernard Silver (1924–1963), U.S. – Barcode * Granville Woods (1856–1910), U.S. – the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph * Steve Wozniak (born 1950), U.S. – Apple I & Apple II, II computers, early Apple Macintosh, Macintosh concepts, CL 9, CL 9 CORE universal remote and other devices and applications. * James Homer Wright (1869–1928), U.S. – Wright's stain (histology) * Wright brothers, Orville (1871–1948) and Wilbur (1867–1912) – U.S. – Fixed-wing aircraft, powered airplane * Wu Yulu, Chinese farmer and inventor of home-made robots * Adam Wybe (1584-1653), Dutch - inventor of the cable car on multiple supports * Arthur Wynne (1871–1945), UK – creator of crossword puzzle


X

* Yi Xing (683–727), China – Astronomical clock


Y

* Pavel Yablochkov (1847–1894), Russia – Yablochkov candle (first commercially viable electric carbon arc lamp) * Hidetsugu Yagi (1886–1976), together with Shintaro Uda (1896–1976), Japan – Yagi–Uda antenna * Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Alexander Yakovlev (1906–1989), Russia – Yakovlev, Yak-series aircraft, including Yakovlev Yak-40 (the first regional jet) * Linus Yale Jr. (1821–1868), U.S. – cylinder lock * Linus Yale Sr. (1797–1858), U.S. – pin tumbler lock * Shunpei Yamazaki (born 1942), Japan – patents in computer science and solid-state physics, see List of prolific inventors * Gazi Yaşargil (born 1925), Turkey – Microneurosurgery * Ryōichi Yazu (1878–1908), Japan – Ryōichi Yazu, Yazu Arithmometer * Gunpei Yokoi (1941–1997), Japan – Game Boy * Arthur M. Young (1905–1995), U.S. – the Bell Helicopter * Vladimir Yourkevich (1885–1964), Russia/France/U.S. – ship hull (watercraft), hull design * Tu Youyou (born 1930), China – Artemisinin * Sergei Yudin (surgeon), Sergei Yudin (1891–1954), Russia – cadaveric blood transfusion and other medical operations * Muhammad Yunus (born 1940), Bangladesh – microcredit, microfinance * Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq, Abu Yusuf Yaqub (c. 1274), Morocco/Al-Andalus, Spain – Siege engine, siege cannon * A. Albert Yuzpe, Abraham Albert Yuzpe (born 1938), U.S. – Yuzpe regimen (= form of Emergency contraception)


Z

* Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Abulcasis) (936–1013), Al-Andalus, Islamic Spain – catgut surgical suture, various surgical instruments and dental devices * Frank Zamboni (1901–1988), U.S. – Ice resurfacer * Giuseppe Zamboni (1776–1846), Italy – Zamboni pile (early battery) * L. L. Zamenhof, Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof (1859–1917), Russia/Poland – Esperanto * Walter Zapp (1905–2003), Latvia/Estonia/Germany – Minox (subminiature camera) * Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī (Arzachel) (1028–1087), Al-Andalus, Islamic Spain – almanac, equatorium, universal
astrolabe An astrolabe ( grc, ἀστρολάβος ; ar, ٱلأَسْطُرلاب ; persian, ستاره‌یاب ) is an ancient astronomical instrument that was a handheld model of the universe. Its various functions also make it an elaborate inclin ...
* Yevgeny Zavoisky (1907–1976), Russia – EPR spectroscopy, co-developer of NMR spectroscopy * Nikolay Zelinsky (1861–1953), Russia – the first effective filtering coal gas mask in the world * Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), Germany – Zeppelin * Frits Zernike (1888–1966), The Netherlands – Phase contrast microscopy, Phase contrast microscope * Tang Zhongming (1897–1980), China – internal combustion engine powered by charcoal * Jian Zhou (1957–1999), together with Ian Frazer, Ian Hector Frazer (1953–), China/U.S. – HPV vaccine against cervical cancer * Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky, Nikolai Zhukovsky (1847–1921), Russia – an early wind tunnel, co-developer of the Tsar Tank * Karl Ziegler (1898–1973), together with Giulio Natta (1903–1979), Germany/Italy – Ziegler–Natta catalyst * Franz Ziehl (1857–1926), together with Friedrich Neelsen (1854–1898), Germany – Ziehl–Neelsen stain (histology) * Konrad Zuse (1910–1995), Germany – invented the first programmable general-purpose computer (Z1 (computer), Z1, Z2 (computer), Z2, Z3 (computer), Z3, Z4 (computer), Z4) * Vasily Zvyozdochkin (1876–1956), Russia – matryoshka doll (together with Sergey Malyutin) * Vladimir Zworykin (1889–1982), Russia/U.S. – Iconoscope, kinescope.


See also

* Creativity techniques * List of emerging technologies * List of prolific inventors * Ten Japanese Great Inventors * The heroic theory of invention and scientific development * Timeline of historic inventions * List of African-American inventors and scientists


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inventors Inventors, * Lists of inventors, sv:Alfabetisk lista över svenska uppfinnare och vetenskapsmän