Famous Inventors & Discoverers - List of Famous Inventors & Discoverers

Today you would not be reading this page had it not been for the inventions of the geniuses like Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, and Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee whose works formed the foundation for the modern computer system and internet. Inventors are the individuals who develop a process or a product for the first time while discoverers are those who observe a scientific or natural phenomenon for the first time. Inventors and discoverers from the beginning of civilization have made this world a richer and better place through their relentless scientific observations, studies and researches. Centuries ago Hans Lippershey invented the first telescope thus ushering in a new era in the field of space sciences. What would have the world been like had it not been for Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors of all time? Can you imagine a world without electric lighting? The modern man is so dependent upon technology for communication and it is would have been possible without Graham Bell’s invention, the telephone, which set off newer inventions in the field of communication. Alexander Fleming might have discovered penicillin accidentally but there is no denying the fact that he revolutionized the world of modern medicine. Browse on to read more about the inventors and discoverers who changed the course of world history.

The Most Famous Inventors & Discoverers

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Thomas NewcomenJanuary 1, 1664BritishThomas Newcomen was a British inventor who developed the world’s first steam engine
Erno RubikJuly 13, 1944HungarianThe famous inventor and educationist, Erno Rubik is known world-wide for his invention the ‘Rubik’s Cube’
Ernst RuskaDecember 25, 1906GermanErnst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope
Nikola TeslaJuly 10, 1856AmericanNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems
Henry the NavigatorMarch 4, 1394PortugueseThe Portugal navigator is credited for founding the first navigation school and is considered one of the pioneers in discovery of new lands
Humphry DavyDecember 17, 1778BritishSir Humphry Davy was a British chemist who made major contributions to the discoveries of chlorine and iodine
Richard TrevithickApril 13, 1771BritishRichard Trevithick was a British inventor who was the pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport
Tim Berners-LeeJune 8, 1955BritishTim Berners-Lee is a British computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web
James DysonMay 2, 1947BritishSir James Dyson is a British inventor who invented the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner
Ismail al-Jazari1136TurkishIsmail al-Jazari was a Muslim polymath
Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick

Richard Trevithick was a British inventor who was the pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport

BritishApril 13, 1771374 views

William Moulton Marston

William Moulton Marston was an American psychologist, inventor, lawyer, and author of self-help books and comics

AmericanMay 9, 1893160 views

Philo Farnsworth

Philo Farnsworth was an inventor who invented the fully functional all-electronic TV

AmericanAugust 19, 1906180 views

Joseph Priestley

Joseph Priestley was a renowned English theologian, author, chemist and political theorist of the 18th century

BritishMarch 24, 1733139 views

Christopher Latham Sholes

Christopher Latham Sholes was an American inventor

AmericanFebruary 14, 1819277 views

Gustaf Dalén

Gustaf Dalén was a Swedish Nobel Laureate who invented automatic regulators, AGA cooker and the Dalén light

SwedishNovember 30, 1869175 views

Willem Einthoven

Willem Einthoven was a renowned Dutch physiologist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1924 for inventing the first practical electrocardiogram

DutchMay 21, 1860142 views

Dennis Gabor

Dennis Gabor was a Hungarian-born British electrical engineer and physicist, best known for inventing holography

HungarianJune 5, 1900136 views

Francis William Aston

Francis William Aston was a British scientist who won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Val Logsdon Fitch

Val Logsdon Fitch was an American nuclear physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos during the World War II

AmericanMarch 10, 1923107 views