Famous Inventors & Discoverers - List of Famous Inventors & Discoverers - page 2

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
Wallace Carothers

Wallace Carothers

Wallace Hume Carothers was an American chemist who invented nylon and neoprene

AmericanApril 27, 1896128 views

Lawrence Hargrave

Lawrence Hargrave was an Australian engineer, aviation pioneer, inventor, explorer, and astronomer

AustralianJanuary 29, 1850131 views

Charles H. Townes

Charles Hard Townes was an American physicist and inventor

AmericanJuly 28, 1915151 views

Ernst Ruska

Ernst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope

GermanDecember 25, 1906496 views

Shiva Ayyadurai

Shiva Ayyadurai is an American inventor of Indian origin, credited by some sources to be the inventor of email

IndianDecember 2, 1963156 views

Ray Tomlinson

Raymond Tomlinson was an American computer programmer who was for long credited as the inventor of the email

AmericanApril 23, 1941254 views

Olive Dennis

Olive Dennis was the first woman to become a member of the American Railway Engineering Association

AmericanNovember 20, 1885181 views

Mary Walton

Mary Walton was a 19th century American inventor who devised methods for minimising the effects of pollution

American1827199 views

William Shockley

William Shockley was an American physicist and inventor

AmericanFebruary 13, 1910156 views

Edith Clarke

Edith Clarke was the first woman to earn an electrical engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

AmericanFebruary 10, 1883266 views