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Inventions and Who Made Them
Famous inventions, their inventors, and when.
0 of 62 known
62 cards
- TelephoneInventionAlexander Graham Bell, patented 1876
- Light bulb (practical)InventionThomas Edison, 1879, building on others' work
- Airplane (first powered flight)InventionWilbur and Orville Wright, 1903
- Printing press with movable type (Europe)InventionJohannes Gutenberg, about 1440
- PhonographInventionThomas Edison, 1877
- Steam engine (improved)InventionJames Watt, 1760s-1770s
- Radio (wireless)InventionGuglielmo Marconi, 1890s
- Television (electronic)InventionPhilo Farnsworth, 1927
- Cotton ginInventionEli Whitney, 1793
- Sewing machine (practical)InventionElias Howe, 1846
- DynamiteInventionAlfred Nobel, 1867
- Vaccination (smallpox)InventionEdward Jenner, 1796
- PasteurizationInventionLouis Pasteur, 1860s
- Penicillin discoveryInventionAlexander Fleming, 1928
- World Wide WebInventionTim Berners-Lee, 1989
- Telescope (first)InventionHans Lippershey applied in 1608; Galileo improved it in 1609
- Microscope (early)InventionZacharias Janssen and others, about 1590s
- CompassInventionInvented in ancient China, over 1,000 years ago
- PaperInventionInvented in China, traditionally credited to Cai Lun about 105 CE
- GunpowderInventionInvented in China around 800 CE
- WheelInventionUsed by ancient peoples in Mesopotamia about 5,500 years ago
- Zipper (modern)InventionGideon Sundback, 1913
- Safety pinInventionWalter Hunt, 1849
- Bicycle (pedal)InventionPierre Michaux and others, 1860s
- Automobile (gas-powered)InventionKarl Benz, 1885-1886
- Model T mass productionInventionHenry Ford, 1908 onward
- Elevator safety brakeInventionElisha Otis, 1850s
- Refrigerator (early)InventionSeveral inventors; Jacob Perkins built an early one in 1834
- Camera (photograph)InventionLouis Daguerre's daguerreotype, 1839
- Movie camera (kinetoscope)InventionThomas Edison and W.K.L. Dickson, 1890s
- Morse code and telegraphInventionSamuel Morse, 1830s-1840s
- BrailleInventionLouis Braille, 1824
- StethoscopeInventionRene Laennec, 1816
- Thermometer (Fahrenheit)InventionDaniel Fahrenheit, 1714
- BarometerInventionEvangelista Torricelli, 1643
- Parachute (sketch)InventionLeonardo da Vinci drew one in about 1485
- Hot air balloonInventionThe Montgolfier brothers, 1783
- Steamboat (successful)InventionRobert Fulton, 1807
- Locomotive (early)InventionRichard Trevithick, 1804; George Stephenson's Rocket, 1829
- BatteryInventionAlessandro Volta, 1800
- Electric generator principleInventionMichael Faraday, 1831
- Alternating current systemsInventionNikola Tesla and George Westinghouse, 1880s-1890s
- TransistorInventionBell Labs: Bardeen, Brattain and Shockley, 1947
- Computer (Analytical Engine design)InventionCharles Babbage, 1830s
- First programmerInventionAda Lovelace, wrote notes with the first algorithm in 1843
- Helicopter (practical)InventionIgor Sikorsky, 1939
- Rocket (liquid fuel)InventionRobert Goddard, 1926
- Post-it notesInventionSpencer Silver and Art Fry at 3M, 1970s
- VelcroInventionGeorge de Mestral, 1941
- Ballpoint penInventionLaszlo Biro, 1938
- Pencil with eraserInventionHymen Lipman patented one in 1858
- Crayons (modern)InventionBinney and Smith, 1903
- BasketballInventionJames Naismith, 1891
- FrisbeeInventionWalter Morrison, 1948 (Pluto Platter, then Frisbee)
- Potato chipsInventionSaid to be created by George Crum, 1853
- Chocolate chip cookieInventionRuth Wakefield, 1938
- PopsicleInventionFrank Epperson, 1905 as a boy; patented 1923
- EarmuffsInventionChester Greenwood, 1873 at age 15
- TrampolineInventionGeorge Nissen, 1930s
- Snowboard (Snurfer)InventionSherman Poppen, 1965
- SkateboardInventionCalifornia surfers of the 1940s-50s
- Traffic light (electric)InventionJames Hoge and others, 1914
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