Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell, patented 1876
Light bulb (practical): Thomas Edison, 1879, building on others' work
Airplane (first powered flight): Wilbur and Orville Wright, 1903
Printing press with movable type (Europe): Johannes Gutenberg, about 1440
Phonograph: Thomas Edison, 1877
Steam engine (improved): James Watt, 1760s-1770s
Radio (wireless): Guglielmo Marconi, 1890s
Television (electronic): Philo Farnsworth, 1927
Cotton gin: Eli Whitney, 1793
Sewing machine (practical): Elias Howe, 1846
Dynamite: Alfred Nobel, 1867
Vaccination (smallpox): Edward Jenner, 1796
Pasteurization: Louis Pasteur, 1860s
Penicillin discovery: Alexander Fleming, 1928
World Wide Web: Tim Berners-Lee, 1989
Telescope (first): Hans Lippershey applied in 1608; Galileo improved it in 1609
Microscope (early): Zacharias Janssen and others, about 1590s
Compass: Invented in ancient China, over 1,000 years ago
Paper: Invented in China, traditionally credited to Cai Lun about 105 CE
Gunpowder: Invented in China around 800 CE
Wheel: Used by ancient peoples in Mesopotamia about 5,500 years ago
Zipper (modern): Gideon Sundback, 1913
Safety pin: Walter Hunt, 1849
Bicycle (pedal): Pierre Michaux and others, 1860s
Automobile (gas-powered): Karl Benz, 1885-1886
Model T mass production: Henry Ford, 1908 onward
Elevator safety brake: Elisha Otis, 1850s
Refrigerator (early): Several inventors; Jacob Perkins built an early one in 1834
Camera (photograph): Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype, 1839
Movie camera (kinetoscope): Thomas Edison and W.K.L. Dickson, 1890s
Morse code and telegraph: Samuel Morse, 1830s-1840s
Braille: Louis Braille, 1824
Stethoscope: Rene Laennec, 1816
Thermometer (Fahrenheit): Daniel Fahrenheit, 1714
Barometer: Evangelista Torricelli, 1643
Parachute (sketch): Leonardo da Vinci drew one in about 1485
Hot air balloon: The Montgolfier brothers, 1783
Steamboat (successful): Robert Fulton, 1807
Locomotive (early): Richard Trevithick, 1804; George Stephenson's Rocket, 1829
Battery: Alessandro Volta, 1800
Electric generator principle: Michael Faraday, 1831
Alternating current systems: Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, 1880s-1890s
Transistor: Bell Labs: Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley, 1947
Computer (Analytical Engine design): Charles Babbage, 1830s
First programmer: Ada Lovelace, wrote notes with the first algorithm in 1843
Helicopter (practical): Igor Sikorsky, 1939
Rocket (liquid fuel): Robert Goddard, 1926
Post-it notes: Spencer Silver and Art Fry at 3M, 1970s
Velcro: George de Mestral, 1941
Ballpoint pen: Laszlo Biro, 1938
Pencil with eraser: Hymen Lipman patented one in 1858
Crayons (modern): Binney and Smith, 1903
Basketball: James Naismith, 1891
Frisbee: Walter Morrison, 1948 (Pluto Platter, then Frisbee)
Potato chips: Said to be created by George Crum, 1853
Chocolate chip cookie: Ruth Wakefield, 1938
Popsicle: Frank Epperson, 1905 as a boy; patented 1923
Earmuffs: Chester Greenwood, 1873 at age 15
Trampoline: George Nissen, 1930s
Snowboard (Snurfer): Sherman Poppen, 1965
Skateboard: California surfers of the 1940s-50s
Traffic light (electric): James Hoge and others, 1914

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