01
Thomas Edison
Electric-light and recording inventor
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The invention collection
Inventors & innovators
101 minds that made something new
Practical ideas, ingenious machines, and the people who helped turn possibilities into everyday life. A collection of inventors and technological innovators.
02
Nikola Tesla
Electrical inventor
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Tesla_circa_1890.jpeg · Napoleon Sarony · Public domain03
Hedy Lamarr
Frequency-hopping co-inventor
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Hedy_Lamarr_Publicity_Photo_for_The_Heavenly_Body_1944.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain04
Guglielmo Marconi
Wireless communication pioneer
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Guglielmo_Marconi.jpg · Pach Brothers · Public domain05
Johannes Gutenberg
Movable-type printing innovator
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Mainz_Gutenbergdenkmal_2016_(cropped).jpg · Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.006
Grace Hopper
Computer programming pioneer
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Commodore_Grace_M._Hopper,_USN_(covered)_head_and_shoulders_crop.jpg · James S. Davis · Public domain07
Granville Woods
Electrical and railway inventor
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Woodsgr.jpg · William J. Simmons · Public domain08
Stephanie Kwolek
Chemist who invented Kevlar
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Stephanie_Kwolek_1986.TIF · Staff photographer · CC BY-SA 3.009
Alexander Graham Bell
Telephone inventor
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Alexander_Graham_Bell_1895_NPG_77_363.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · CC010
Ada Lovelace
Early computing visionary
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Ada_Lovelace_daguerreotype_by_Antoine_Claudet_1843_-_cropped.png · Antoine Claudet · Public domain11
James Watt
Steam-engine innovator
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Watt_James_von_Breda.jpg · Carl Frederik von Breda · Public domain12
Mary Anderson
Windshield-wiper inventor
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MaryAnderson(inventora).jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain13
Tim Berners-Lee
Inventor of the World Wide Web
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Tim_Berners-Lee_at_the_2025_Web_Summit_(Cropped).jpg · Summit · CC BY 4.014
George Washington Carver
Agricultural innovator
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George_Washington_Carver_c1910_-_Restoration.jpg · Adam Cuerden · Public domain15
Josephine Cochrane
Dishwasher inventor
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Stamps_of_Romania,_2013-34.jpg · Post of Romania · Public domain16
Al-Jazari
Medieval mechanical engineer
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Al-jazari_elephant_clock.png · Al-Jazari · Public domain17
Lewis Howard Latimer
Electrical inventor and draftsman
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Lewis_latimer.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain18
Margaret E. Knight
Paper-bag machinery inventor
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Margaret_knight_boston_sunday_post_march_31_1912_p.45.jpg · Boston Sunday Post · Public domain19
Samuel Morse
Telegraph innovator
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Samuel_Morse.jpg · Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain20
Patricia Bath
Laser cataract-treatment innovator
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Patriciabath.jpg · National Library of Medicine · Public domain21
Archimedes
Ancient mathematician and engineer
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Domenico-Fetti_Archimedes_1620.jpg · Domenico Fetti · Public domain22
Charles Babbage
Mechanical computing pioneer
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Charles_Babbage_-_1860.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain23
Marion Donovan
Waterproof diaper-cover inventor
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US_4169534_garment_hanger.jpg · Marion Donovan · Public domain24
Cai Lun
Papermaking innovator
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Cai-lun.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain25
Otis Boykin
Electronic-component inventor
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Otis_F._Boykin.jpg · Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain26
László Bíró
Ballpoint-pen inventor
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Laszlo_biro_inventor.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain27
Valerie Thomas
Illusion-transmitter inventor
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Valerie_L._Thomas_standing_with_a_stack_of_early_Landsat_Computer_Compatible_Tapes.jpg · Adam Cuerden · Public domain28
Leonardo da Vinci
Designer of ingenious machines
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Francesco_Melzi_-_Portrait_of_Leonardo.png · Attributed to Francesco Melzi · Public domain29
John Logie Baird
Television pioneer
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John_Logie_Baird_in_1917.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain30
Beulah Louise Henry
American inventor
31
Ruth Benerito
Textile chemist and inventor
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Ruth_R._Benerito.jpg · USDA · Public domain32
James Dyson
Vacuum-cleaner designer
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Sir_James_Dyson_CBE_FREng_FRS.jpg · Royal Society uploader · CC BY-SA 4.033
Elijah McCoy
Industrial lubrication inventor
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Elijah_McCoy_c1895_retouched.jpg · Photographer unknown. Cabinet card from Sexton & Maxwell (St. Louis) · Public domain34
Yvonne Brill
Rocket-propulsion innovator
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Yvonne_Brill_(Ausschnitt).jpg · The White House · Public domain35
Samuel Colt
Revolver manufacturer and inventor
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Samuel_Colt_engraving_by_John_Chester_Buttre,_c1855.jpg · John Chester Buttre (1821-1893) [1] · Public domain36
Igor Sikorsky
Helicopter pioneer
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Sikorsky,_Igor.jpg · SDASM Archives · Public domain37
Melitta Bentz
Coffee-filter inventor
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Melitta_Bentz.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain38
Alexander Lodygin
Electric-light inventor
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Lodygin.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain39
Jan Matzeliger
Shoe-manufacturing inventor
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Jan_ernst_matzeliger.gif · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain40
John Ambrose Fleming
Thermionic-valve inventor
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John_Ambrose_Fleming_1890.png · JDR · Public domain41
Mária Telkes
Solar-energy innovator
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Maria_Telkes_NYWTS.jpg · New York World-Telegram and the Sun staff photographer · Public domain42
Gustaf Dalén
Automatic lighthouse innovator
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Nils_Gustaf_Dalén.jpg · Atelier Jaeger · Public domain43
Philo Farnsworth
Electronic television pioneer
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Philo_T_Farnsworth.jpg · Harris & Ewing · Public domain44
Sarah Boone
Ironing-board innovator
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Sarah_Boone.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain45
Hermann Hollerith
Punched-card data pioneer
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Hollerith.jpg · Charles Milton Bell · Public domain46
Joseph Marie Jacquard
Programmable loom innovator
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Joseph_Marie_Jacquard.jpg · Ephraïm Conquy / After Jean-Claude Bonnefond · Public domain47
Madam C. J. Walker
Hair-care entrepreneur and innovator
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Madam_C._J._Walker_by_Addison_N._Scurlock.jpg · Addison Norton Scurlock / Adam Cuerden · Public domain48
Emile Berliner
Gramophone inventor
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Emile_Berliner_crop.jpg · Unknown · Public domain49
Lillian Moller Gilbreth
Industrial engineering and ergonomics pioneer
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Lillian_Moller_Gilbreth,_1921.jpg · Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at en.wikipedia · Public domain50
Charles Goodyear
Rubber-vulcanization innovator
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Southworth_and_Hawes_-_Charles_Goodyear_(Zeno_Fotografie)_crop.png · Southworth & Hawes · Public domain51
William Shockley
Transistor co-inventor
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Shockley.jpg · Nobel foundation · Public domain52
Barbara Liskov
Programming-language innovator
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Barbara_Liskov_MIT_computer_scientist_2010.jpg · Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 3.053
Whitcomb L. Judson
Slide-fastener inventor
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Judson_clasp_locker_patent_1893.png · United States Patent Office · Public domain54
Joseph Lister
Antiseptic-surgery pioneer
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Joseph_Lister_1902.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain55
Katharine Burr Blodgett
Nonreflective-glass inventor
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Katharine_Burr_Blodgett_(1898-1979),_demonstrating_equipment_in_lab.jpg · Smithsonian Institution from United States · No restrictions56
Richard Trevithick
Steam-locomotive pioneer
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Richard_Trevithick_portrait.jpg · John Linnell · Public domain57
George Stephenson
Railway engineer
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George_Stephenson_-_Project_Gutenberg_etext_13103.jpg · Project Gutenberg; illustration from Great Britain and Her Queen by Anne E. Keeling · Public domain58
James Naismith
Inventor of basketball
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Dr._James_Naismith.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain59
Dean Kamen
Medical-device and transport inventor
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Dean_Kamen_at_MAGNET_in_Cleveland_-_2025_(cropped).jpg · US Department of Education · CC BY 4.060
Radia Perlman
Computer-networking pioneer
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Radia_Perlman_2009.jpg · Scientist-100 at English Wikipedia · Public domain61
Willis Carrier
Air-conditioning pioneer
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Willis_Carrier_1915.jpg · 100th Anniversary Press Kit - Carrier Corp · Public domain62
Clarence Birdseye
Frozen-food innovator
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Clarence_Birdseye_1930.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain63
Lonnie Johnson
Engineer and toy inventor
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Lonnie_Johnson,_Office_of_Naval_Research_(crop).jpg · Office of Naval Research · Public domain64
Virginia Apgar
Newborn health-assessment innovator
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Virginia-Apgar-July-6-1959.jpg · March of Dimes · Public domain65
Willem Einthoven
Electrocardiograph pioneer
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Willem_Einthoven.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain66
John Gorrie
Refrigeration pioneer
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Gorrie.jpg · C. Adrian Pillars (sculpture); Architect of the Capitol (photograph) · Public domain67
Luis von Ahn
Computer scientist and entrepreneur
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Wikimania_2015_-_Day_2_(18)_(cropped).jpg · EneasMx · CC BY-SA 4.068
Douglas Engelbart
Interactive-computing pioneer
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SRI_Douglas_Engelbart_1968_(cropped).jpg · SRI International · CC BY-SA 3.069
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Railway and shipbuilding innovator
70
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Innovator in mathematical methods
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Srinivasa_Ramanujan-Add._MS_a94_version2_(cropped).jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 4.071
Akira Yoshino
Lithium-ion battery pioneer
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Akira_Yoshino_20170920_(cropped_2).jpg · 大臣官房人事課 · CC BY 4.072
Shuji Nakamura
Blue LED pioneer
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Shuji_Nakamura_Nobel.jpg · 文部科学省 · CC BY 4.073
Nick Holonyak
Visible LED pioneer
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Nick_Holonyak_Jr.jpg · Anonymous Unknown author · Public domain74
Fujio Masuoka
Flash-memory inventor
75
Vint Cerf
Internet protocol co-designer
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Dr_Vint_Cerf_ForMemRS_(cropped).jpg · Duncan.Hull · CC BY-SA 4.076
Robert Kahn
Internet protocol co-designer
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Bob_Kahn.jpg · Вени Марковски | Veni Markovski · CC BY-SA 3.077
Steve Wozniak
Personal-computer designer
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Steve_Wozniak_by_Gage_Skidmore_3_(cropped).jpg · Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 3.078
Sophie Wilson
Computer processor designer
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Sophie_Wilson.jpg · Chris Monk · CC BY 2.079
Lynn Conway
Microchip-design innovator
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Lynn_Conway_July_2006.jpg · Charles Rogers · CC BY-SA 2.580
Chieko Asakawa
Accessibility technology pioneer
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Field_experiment_in_Nihonbashi,_Tokyo_(Feb_2017)_1-19_screenshot.png · IBM Research · CC BY 3.081
James West
Electret microphone co-inventor
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James_West_(professor)_(cropped).jpg · Sonavi Labs · CC BY-SA 4.082
Lisa Gelobter
Internet multimedia technologist
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Lisa_Gelobter_(cropped).jpg · NASA/Aubrey Gemignani · Public domain83
Frances Arnold
Directed-evolution innovator
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Frances_Arnold_in_2021_at_Caltech_01_(cropped).jpg · Christopher Michel · CC BY-SA 4.084
Jennifer Doudna
Gene-editing pioneer
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Jennifer_Doudna_by_Christopher_Michel_in_2023_01.jpg · Christopher Michel · CC BY-SA 4.085
Michelangelo
Italian sculptor and painter
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Michelangelo_Daniele_da_Volterra_(dettaglio).jpg · Attributed to Daniele da Volterra · Public domain86
Tu Youyou
Antimalarial drug discoverer
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D810_4987_Tu_Youyou,_medicine_(22945001843)_(cropped).jpg · Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden · CC BY 2.087
Katalin Karikó
Messenger-RNA technology pioneer
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Katalin_Karikó_at_the_United_States_Embassy_Sweden,_2023_Nobel_Reception_(cropped).jpg · US Embassy Sweden · CC BY 2.088
Carl Benz
Automobile pioneer
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Carl_Benz_circa_1920.jpg · Unknown (same photo credited to various stock photo agencies. The copyright is also claimed by the Mercedes-Benz Public Archive ) · Public domain89
Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner
Personal-care product inventor
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Sanitary_Belt.jpg · Helen LaRuse · CC BY-SA 4.090
Luther Burbank
Plant breeder and horticultural innovator
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Luther_Burbank_cph.3a00184.jpg · Fred Hartsook · Public domain91
Elisha Otis
Elevator safety innovator
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Otis.jpg · Unknown · Public domain92
Eugène Freyssinet
Prestressed-concrete pioneer
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Eugène_Freyssinet_uniforme_école_polytechnique.jpg · Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain93
David Schwarz
Airship pioneer
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David_schwarz.jpg · Via CroatianHistory.net; photographer not identified · Public domain94
Juan de la Cierva
Autogyro inventor
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Juan_de_la_Cierva,_aeródromo_de_Lasarte,_1930.jpg · Pascual Marín · Public domain95
Frank Whittle
Jet-engine pioneer
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Frank_Whittle_CH_011867_crop.jpg · British Government · Public domain96
Hans von Ohain
Jet-engine pioneer
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Ohain.jpg · Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate · Public domain97
Charles Drew
Blood-banking innovator
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Portrait_of_Charles_Drew.jpg · Associated Photographic Services, Inc · Public domain98
Robert H. Goddard
Liquid-fueled rocket pioneer
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Dr._Robert_H._Goddard_-_GPN-2002-000131.jpg · NASA · Public domain99
Eli Whitney
Cotton-gin inventor
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Eli_Whitney_by_Samuel_Finley_Breese_Morse_1822.jpeg · Samuel Finley Breese Morse · Public domain100
John Harrison
Marine chronometer inventor
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John_Harrison_(Gemälde).jpg · Thomas King († circa 1796 date QS:P,+1796-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902 ) · Public domain101
Yoshiro Nakamatsu
Japanese inventor
