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Learn About Famous Inventors Who Have Changed the World

Browse List of Inductees
Browse List of Inductees
Showing 76 - 100 of 123 results

Oliver Evans

High-Pressure Steam Engine

Oliver Evans, one of America's pioneering inventors, created the high-pressure steam engine and advanced the milling industry by automating flour…
Inducted in: 2001
Born:
Died:
Rory Cooper

Rory Cooper

Wheelchair Technology

Biomedical engineer Rory Cooper developed innovations in wheelchair technology that have improved manual and electric wheelchairs, and advanced the…
Inducted in: 2023
Born:
U.S. Patent Nos.: 6,276,705, 8,264,458
Military Service: U.S. Army
John Macdougall headshot

John Macdougall

Ion Implantation

John Macdougall is one of the inventors of the first commercially viable method of ion implantation, a process that changes the conductivity of areas…
Inducted in: 2009
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 3,895,966

Charles Franklin Kettering

Electrical Ignition System

Charles Franklin Kettering invented the first electrical ignition system and the self-starter for automobile engines and the first practical engine-…
Inducted in: 1980
Born:
U.S. Patent Nos.: 1,150,523, 1,171,055
Died:
Otis Boykin

Otis Boykin

Electronic Resistors

Otis Boykin's innovations in electronic resistors enabled the more precise regulation of electrical current within a circuit. Variations of his…
Inducted in: 2014
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,891,227
Died:

Bernard Silver

First Optically Scanned Bar Code

Bob Silver and Joe Woodland invented the first optically scanned barcode. They were prompted in their work in 1948 after Silver overheard a food…
Inducted in: 2011
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,612,994
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Army

Donald Fletcher Holmes

Polyurethane

Donald Fletcher Holmes and William Hanford invented the process for making the multipurpose material polyurethane. Some of the first polyurethanes…
Inducted in: 1991
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,284,896
Died:

Rollin Henry White

Steam Generator; Controlled Differential

Rollin H. White contributed to the development of steam generation in early automobiles and trucks. He also designed and sold crawler tractors under…
Inducted in: 2011
Born:
U.S. Patent Nos.: 659,837, 1,253,319
Died:
Jan Ernst Matzeliger

Jan Ernst Matzeliger

Shoe-Lasting Machine

Jan Matzeliger invented the automatic shoe-lasting machine, mechanizing the complex process of joining a shoe sole to its upper, and revolutionizing…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 274,207
Died:
David Pall headshot

David Pall

Leukocyte Reduction Filter

David Pall received over 181 patents in the field of filtration. Among his most important inventions was a leukoreduction filter which makes blood…
Inducted in: 2008
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 4,925,572
Died:

Clair Lake

Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator (Mark I)

Already a prolific inventor at IBM in May 1939, Clair Lake was chosen to be chief engineer for the IBM Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also…
Inducted in: 2014
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,616,626
Died:
Marion Donovan

Marion Donovan

Waterproof Diaper Cover

Marion Donovan invented an innovative waterproof diaper cover and earned several more patents for inventions designed to improve everyday life.Born…
Inducted in: 2015
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,556,800
Died:

An Wang

Magnetic Core Memory

An Wang made many contributions to the advancement of computer technology, including the magnetic pulse controlling device, the principle upon which…
Inducted in: 1988
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,708,722
Died:

Charles Stark Draper

Stabilizing Gyroscope

Aeronautical engineer and university professor Charles Stark Draper developed gyroscope systems that stabilized and balanced gunsights and bombsights…
Inducted in: 1981
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,752,790
Died:

Auguste-Marie Lumiere

Cinematographe

Auguste-Marie and Louis Lumiere, inventors and experts in the realm of photography, designed a camera and projector apparatus known as the…
Inducted in: 2007
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 591,858
Died:

William P. Lear

Car Radio

Though his name is most often associated with corporate jet airplanes, William Lear earlier made his mark in car radios and by inventing the eight-…
Inducted in: 1993
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 1,944,139
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Navy

Charles G. Page

High-Voltage Induction Coil

Charles Grafton Page invented the first high-voltage induction coil in 1836. The high-voltage induction coil became an important tool of scientific…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 76,654
Died:
Irwin M. Lachman

Irwin M. Lachman

Ceramic Substrate in Catalytic Converters

Working at Corning, Irwin Lachman co-invented the ceramic substrate found in virtually all catalytic converters. Catalytic converters provide cleaner…
Inducted in: 2002
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 3,885,977
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Air Force
Asad Madni

Asad Madni

MEMS Gyroscope for Aerospace and Automotive Safety

Asad Madni led the development and commercialization of the MEMS gyroscope for aerospace and automotive safety. Commercialized as the GyroChip and…
Inducted in: 2024
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 7,360,422

Morton Mower

Implantable Heart Defibrillator

Morton Mower co-invented the automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator, now implanted in well over 300,000 people. The ICD monitors and…
Inducted in: 2002
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 4,202,340
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Army
Black and white picture of George Edward Alcorn

George Edward Alcorn

X-ray Spectrometer

George Alcorn was a pioneering physicist and engineer noted for his aerospace and semiconductor inventions. His X-ray imaging spectrometer, patented…
Inducted in: 2015
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 4,472,728
Died:

Eckley B. Coxe

Traveling-Grate Furnace

Eckley Coxe invented a mechanical stoker that allowed small pieces of coal, which had previously been discarded as waste, to be burned as fuel. His…
Inducted in: 2006
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 510,565
Died:

J. Paul Hogan

High-Density Polyethylene and Polypropylene Plastics

Paul Hogan was working with Robert Banks at Phillips Petroleum in 1951 when they invented crystalline polypropylene and a breakthrough process for…
Inducted in: 2001
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,825,721
Died:

Henry Timken

Tapered Roller Bearings

Henry Timken invented the Timken® tapered roller bearing. He found that conventional bearings of the 19th century worked well at reducing friction,…
Inducted in: 1998
Born:
U.S. Patent Nos.: 606,635, 606,636
Died:
Military Service: U.S. Army
Roger Bacon

Roger Bacon

High-Performance Carbon Fibers

In 1958, Roger Bacon's chance discovery revolutionized industries and became a multibillion-dollar-a-year business. While measuring the triple point…
Inducted in: 2016
Born:
U.S. Patent No.: 2,957,756
Died: