|
Invention |
Year |
Inventor |
Nationality |
|
Achromatic lens |
1733 |
Chester M. Hall |
English |
|
Adding machine |
1642 |
Blaise Pascal |
French |
|
Adding machine (practical) |
1888 |
W. Burroughs |
American |
|
Air conditioning |
1911 |
W.H. Carrier |
American |
|
Air-inflated rubber tire |
1887 |
J.B. Dunlop |
Scottish |
|
Airplane |
1903 |
Wright brothers |
American |
|
Aluminum reduction |
1886 |
Charles M. Hall + Paul Heroult (worked independently) |
American + French |
|
Antiseptic surgery |
1865 |
Joseph Lister |
English |
|
Arc lamp |
1878 |
C.F. Brush |
American |
|
Artificial heart |
1957 |
Willem Kolff (head of team) |
Dutch |
|
Aspirin |
1889 |
Dresser |
German |
|
Atomic bomb |
1945 |
J. Robert Oppenheimer (head of team) |
American. |
|
Audion |
1906 |
Lee De Forest |
American |
|
Automatic digital computer |
1944 |
Howard Aiken |
American |
|
Automatic rifle |
1918 |
John Browning |
American |
|
Automobile self-starter |
1911 |
C.F. Kettering |
American |
|
Babbitt metal |
1838 |
Isaac Babbitt |
American |
|
Ballistic missile |
1944 |
Wernher von Braun |
German |
|
Balloon |
1783 |
Montgolfier brothers |
French |
|
Barometer |
1643 |
Evangelista Torricelli |
Italian |
|
Bathysphere |
1930 |
Charles William Beebe |
American |
|
Bessemer converter |
1851 |
William Kelly |
American |
|
Betatron |
1940 |
D.W. Kerst |
American |
|
Bicycle |
1816 |
Karl D. Sauerbronn |
German |
|
Bifocal spectacles |
1760 |
Benjamin Franklin |
American |
|
Blasting cap |
1862 |
Alfred Nobel |
Swedish |
|
Blood transfusion |
1625 |
Jean-Baptiste Denys |
French |
|
Blueprint |
1840 |
John Herschel |
English |
|
Bolt-action rifle |
1889 |
P. von Mauser |
German |
|
Bottle-making machinery |
1904 |
Michael J. Owens |
American |
|
Braille printing |
1829 |
Louis Braille |
French |
|
Breech-loading cannon |
1852 |
W.G. Armstrong |
English |
|
Breech-loading rifle |
1810 |
John H. Hall |
American |
|
Bunsen burner |
1855 |
Robert Bunsen |
German |
|
Calotype photography |
1835 |
Henry F. Talbot |
English |
|
Canning |
1804 |
Francois Appert |
French |
|
Car coupler |
1873 |
Eli H. Janney |
American |
|
Carbon dating |
1955 |
W.F. Libby (head of team) |
American |
|
Carborundum |
1891 |
E.G. Acheson |
American |
|
Cardiac pacemaker |
1932 |
A.S. Hyman |
American |
|
Cash register |
1879 |
James Ritty |
American |
|
Cast-iron plow |
1797 |
Charles Newbold |
American |
|
CAT scanner |
1968 |
Godfrey Hounsfield + Allan Cormack (worked independently) |
English + American |
|
Cathode ray tube |
1879 |
William Crookes |
English |
|
Color television |
1950 |
Peter Carl Goldmark |
American |
|
Compact disc |
1979 |
Joop Sinjou + Toshitada Doi |
Dutch + Japanese |
|
Compact disc interactive |
1986 |
Richard Bruno |
American |
|
Compound microscope |
1590 |
Zacharias Janssen |
Dutch |
|
Comptometer |
1885 |
Dorr E. Felt |
American |
|
Conception of television |
1908 |
A.A.C. Swinton |
Scottish |
|
Condensed milk |
1853 |
Gail Borden |
American |
|
Conical bullet |
1849 |
Claude Minie |
French |
|
Cotton gin |
1793 |
Eli Whitney |
American |
|
Cotton-picking machine |
1936 |
John and Mack Rust |
American |
|
Crucible steel process |
1740 |
Benjamin Huntsman |
English |
|
Cyclotron |
1931 |
E.O. Lawrence |
American |
|
Cylinder lock |
1860 |
Linus Yale |
American |
|
Daguerreotype photography |
1839 |
Louis Daguerre + J.N. Niepce |
French |
|
Diesel engine |
1892 |
Rudolph Diesel |
German |
|
Diode |
1904 |
J.A. Fleming |
English |
|
Diving bell |
1717 |
Edmund Halley |
English |
|
Dry cell |
1868 |
Georges Leclanche |
French |
|
Dynamo |
1831 |
Michael Faraday |
English |
|
Electric furnace |
1861 |
William Siemens |
British |
|
Electric streetcar |
1834 |
Thomas Davenport |
American |
|
Electricity-producing breeder reactor |
1951 |
Atomic Energy Commission |
American |
|
Electro-cardiograph |
1903 |
Willem Einthoven |
Dutch |
|
Electroencephalogram |
1929 |
Hans Berger |
German |
|
Electrolysis |
1834 |
Michael Faraday |
English |
|
Electron microscope |
1932 |
Max Knoll + Ernst Ruska |
Germans |
|
Electronic digital computer |
1946 |
J.P. Eckert +J.W. Mauchly |
Americans |
|
Electronic pocket calculator |
1972 |
J.S. Kilby + J.D. Merryman |
Americans |
|
Electroplating |
1805 |
Luigi Brugnatelli |
Italian |
|
Elevator |
1852 |
Elisha G. Otis |
American |
|
Ethyl gasoline |
1922 |
T. Midgley, Jr. |
American |
|
Facsimile |
1843 |
Alexander Bain |
Scottish |
|
Flexible roll film |
1884 |
George Eastman |
American |
|
Flying shuttle |
1733 |
John Kay |
English |
|
Fountain pen |
1884 |
L.E. Waterman |
American |
|
Frequency modulation (FM) |
1933 |
E.H. Armstrong |
American |
|
Garand rifle |
1934 |
John C. Garand |
American |
|
Gas engine |
1860 |
Etienne Lenoir |
French |
|
Gas engine (practical) |
1876 |
Nikolaus A. Otto |
German |
|
Gasoline-powered automobile |
1885 |
Karl Benz |
German |
|
Gatling gun |
1861 |
R.J. Gatling |
American |
|
Glider |
1877 |
Otto Lilienthal |
German |
|
Guided missile |
1942 |
Wernher von Braun |
German |
|
Guncotton |
1845 |
Christian Schonbein |
German |
|
Gyrocompass |
1911 |
Elmer A. Sperry |
American |
|
Gyroscope |
1852 |
J.B.L. Foucault |
French |
|
Halftone engraving |
1886 |
F.E. Ives |
American |
|
Harvester |
1858 |
Charles and William Marsh |
American |
|
Helicopter |
1939 |
Igor Sikorsky |
American |
|
High-temperature super-conductors |
1986 |
J. Georg Bednorz + Karl A. Muller |
German + Swiss |
|
Holography |
1947 |
Dennis Gabon |
English |
|
Hook-and-loop fastener |
1948 |
G. de Mestral |
Swiss |
|
Hovercraft |
1956 |
Christopher Cockerell |
English |
|
Hydraulic cement |
1756 |
John Smeaton |
English |
|
Hydraulic press |
1795 |
Joseph Bramah |
English |
|
Hydraulic turbine |
1849 |
James B. Francis |
American |
|
Hydrogen bomb |
1952 |
Edward Teller (head of team) |
American. |
|
Hydroplane |
1911 |
Glenn Curtis |
American |
|
Hygrometer |
1820 |
J.F. Daniell |
English |
|
Hypodermic syringe |
1853 |
Alexander Wood |
Scottish |
|
Ice-making machine |
1830 |
Jacob Perkins |
American |
|
Iconoscope |
1923 |
V. Zworykin |
American |
|
Illuminating gas |
1792 |
William Murdoch |
Scottish |
|
Image dissector |
1928 |
P. Farnsworth |
American |
|
Incandescent lamp |
1879 |
Thomas Edison |
American |
|
Insulin |
1922 |
Sir Frederick G. Banting + J.J.R. MacLeod |
Canadians |
|
Integrated circuit |
1959 |
Jack Kilby + Robert Noyce |
Americans |
|
Internal combustion engine |
1875 |
Siegfried Marcus |
Austrian |
|
Ironclad steamboat |
1861 |
John Ericsson |
American |
|
Jacquard loom |
1800 |
J.M. Jacquard |
French |
|
Jarvik-7 artificial heart |
1978 |
Robert K. Jarvik |
American |
|
Jet propulsion |
1937 |
Frank Whittle |
English |
|
Kidney machine |
1944 |
Willem Kolff (head of team) |
Dutch |
|
Knitting machine |
1589 |
William Lee |
English |
|
Kodak camera |
1888 |
George Eastman |
American |
|
Laser |
1958 |
Gordon Gould |
American |
|
Lewis gun |
1911 |
Isaac Lewis |
American |
|
Light-emitting diode |
1962 |
Nick Holonyak, Jr. |
American |
|
Linotype |
1883 |
O. Mergenthaler |
American |
|
Liquid-crystal display |
1964 |
George Heilmeier |
American |
|
Liquid-fuel rocket |
1926 |
R.H. Goddard |
American |
|
Lithography |
1796 |
Alois Senefelder |
German |
|
Loudspeaker |
1924 |
C.W. Rice + E.W. Kellogg |
Americans |
|
LP record |
1948 |
Peter Carl Goldmark |
American |
|
Mackintosh (raincoat) |
1823 |
C. Macintosh |
Scottish |
|
Magnetic recording tape |
1928 |
Fritz Pfleumer |
German |
|
Manganese steel |
1883 |
Robert Hadfield |
English |
|
Marine chronometer |
1749 |
John Harrison |
English |
|
Maser |
1953 |
Charles Townes (head of team) |
American |
|
Maxim gun |
1884 |
Hiram S. Maxim |
British |
|
Mechanical computer |
1928 |
Vannevar Bush |
American |
|
Mercerized cotton |
1844 |
John Mercer |
English |
|
Micrometer |
1636 |
W. Gascoigne |
English |
|
Microphone |
1878 |
D.E. Hughes |
American |
|
Microprocessor |
1971 |
Ted Hoff |
American |
|
Microwave oven |
1947 |
Percy L. Spencer |
American |
|
Milk test |
1890 |
S.M. Babcock |
American |
|
Miner's safety lamp |
1815 |
Humphry Davy |
English |
|
Monotype |
1887 |
Tolbert Lanston |
American |
|
Morse code |
1838 |
S.F.B. Morse |
American |
|
Motorized carriage |
1769 |
Nicolas Cugnot |
French |
|
Movie projector |
1893 |
Thomas Edison |
American |
|
Neon light |
1910 |
Georges Claude |
French |
|
Neutron bomb |
1958 |
Samuel Cohen (head of team) |
American |
|
Nonrigid airship |
1852 |
H. Giffard |
French |
|
Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging |
1971 |
Raymond Damadian |
American |
|
Nuclear reactor |
1942 |
Enrico Fermi (head of team) |
American |
|
Nylon |
1937 |
W.H. Carothers |
American |
|
Open-hearth steel process |
1858 |
William Siemens |
British |
|
Optical fiber |
1955 |
Narinder Kapany |
German |
|
Oral contraceptive |
1955 |
Gregory Pincus |
American |
|
Papermaking machine |
1798 |
N.L. Robert |
French |
|
Parallel computing |
1979 |
Seymour R. Cray, Jr. + David Gelernter |
Americans |
|
Pendulum clock |
1656 |
Christiaan Huygens |
Dutch |
|
Penicillin |
1928 |
Alexander Fleming |
English |
|
Phonograph |
1877 |
Thomas Edison |
American |
|
Photoelectric cell |
1893 |
Julius Elster + Hans F. Geitel |
Germans |
|
Platform scales |
1830 |
Thaddeus Fairbanks |
American |
|
Polaroid camera |
1948 |
Edwin Land + Walter H. Brattain |
Americans |
|
Polio vaccine |
1954 |
Jonas Salk |
American |
|
Portland cement |
1824 |
Joseph Aspdin |
English |
|
Positron emission tomography |
1978 |
Louis Sokoloff |
American |
|
Power loom |
1785 |
E. Cartwright |
English |
|
Printing press |
1810 |
Frederick Koenig |
German |
|
Quick-frozen food |
1925 |
C. Birdseye |
American |
|
Radar parts |
1935 |
R. Watson-Watt |
Scottish |
|
Railway air brakes |
1868 |
G. Westinghouse |
American |
|
Railway locomotive |
1814 |
George Stephenson |
English |
|
Rayon |
1884 |
H. de Chardonnet |
French |
|
Reaper |
1831 |
Cyrus McCormick |
American |
|
Recombinant-DNA technology |
1972 |
Paul Berg + Herbert W. Boyer + Stanley Cohen |
Americans |
|
Reflecting telescope |
1668 |
Isaac Newton |
English |
|
Refrigerating machine |
1851 |
John Gorrie |
American |
|
Refrigerator car |
1877 |
G.F. Swift |
American |
|
Regenerative steam engine |
1847 |
William Siemens |
British |
|
Reinforced concrete |
1849 |
F.J. Monier |
French |
|
Revolver |
1835 |
Samuel Colt |
American |
|
Rotary printing press |
1846 |
Richard M. Hoe |
American |
|
Rubber heel |
1896 |
H. O'Sullivan |
American |
|
Rubber vulcanization |
1839 |
C. Goodyear |
American |
|
Scanning tunneling microscope |
1983 |
Gerd Binnig + Heinrich Rohrer |
Germans |
|
Screw propeller |
1804 |
John Stevens |
American |
|
Seed drill |
1701 |
Jethro Tull |
English |
|
Self-powered model airplane |
1896 |
S.P. Langley |
American |
|
Self-propelled torpedo |
1864 |
Robert Whitehead |
English |
|
Sewing machine |
1830 |
B. Thimonnier |
French |
|
Sewing machine (practical) |
1845 |
Elias Howe |
American |
|
Shoe welt stitcher |
1874 |
C. Goodyear, Jr. |
American |
|
Shrapnel shell |
1784 |
Henry Shrapnel |
English |
|
Sleeping car |
1857 |
George M. Pullman |
American |
|
Soda from salt |
1789 |
N. Leblanc |
French |
|
Solar cell |
1954 |
D.M. Chaplin, C.S. Fuller + G.L. Pearson |
Americans |
|
Sound motion pictures |
1922 |
T.W. Case |
American |
|
Spinning frame |
1769 |
R. Arkwright |
English |
|
Spinning jenny |
1764 |
J. Hargreaves |
English |
|
Spinning mule |
1779 |
Samuel Crompton |
English |
|
Steam Engine |
1765 |
James Watt |
Scottish |
|
Steam engine, reciprocating |
1705 |
Thomas Newcomen |
English |
|
Steam hammer |
1839 |
James Nasmyth |
Scottish |
|
Steam locomotive |
1804 |
Richard Trevithick |
English |
|
Steam pump |
1698 |
Thomas Savery |
English |
|
Steam turbine |
1884 |
C.A. Parsons |
English |
|
Steam turbine |
1889 |
C.G. de Laval |
Swedish |
|
Steamboat |
1787 |
John Fitch |
American |
|
Steel converter |
1856 |
Henry Bessemer |
English |
|
Steel pen |
1780 |
Samuel Harrison |
English |
|
Steel plow |
1837 |
John Deere |
American |
|
Steel rolling mill |
1783 |
Henry Cort |
English |
|
Stereophonic sound system |
1931 |
A.D. Blumlein |
English |
|
Stereoscope |
1832 |
C. Wheatstone |
English |
|
Stereotyping |
1725 |
William Ged |
Scottish |
|
Stethoscope |
1781 |
Rene-Theophile-Hyacinthe Laennac |
French |
|
Streamlined train |
1865 |
Samuel Calthrop |
American |
|
Submarine |
1775 |
David Bushnell |
American |
|
Sulfa drugs |
1908 |
Paul Gelmo |
Austrian |
|
Supercomputer |
1976 |
J.H. Van Tassel |
American |
|
Superconducting magnetic levitation |
1968 |
James Powell + Gordon Danby |
American + Swiss |
|
Superheterodyne radio circuit |
1918 |
E.H. Armstrong |
American |
|
Synchrocyclotron |
1945 |
E.M. McMillan + Vladimir Veksler (worked independently) |
American + Soviet |
|
Tank |
1914 |
E.D. Swinton |
English |
|
Telegraph |
1837 |
S.F.B. Morse |
American |
|
Telephone |
1876 |
A.G. Bell |
American |
|
Telephotography |
1904 |
Arthur Korn |
American |
|
Televisor |
1925 |
John L. Baird |
Scottish |
|
Thermite |
1895 |
Hans Goldschmidt |
German |
|
Thermometer |
1593 |
Galileo |
Italian |
|
Thresher |
1786 |
Andrew Meikle |
Scottish |
|
Transformer |
1885 |
William Stanley |
American |
|
Transistor |
1948 |
William Shockley + John Bardeen |
Americans |
|
Typewriter |
1829 |
W.A. Burt |
American |
|
Vaccination, small pox |
1796 |
Edward Jenner |
English |
|
Videotape |
1956 |
Charles Ginsberg + Ray Dolby |
Americans |
|
Voltaic cell |
1800 |
Alessandro Volta |
Italian |
|
Wankel engine |
1956 |
Felix Wankel |
German |
|
Web-fed rotary press |
1865 |
William Bullock |
American |
|
Welsbach (gas) mantle |
1885 |
K.A. von Welsbach |
Austrian |
|
Wireless telegraphy |
1896 |
G. Marconi |
Italian |
|
X-ray |
1895 |
Wilhelm Konrad Rontgen |
German |
|
Xerography |
1942 |
Chester Carlson |
American |
|
Zipper |
1893 |
W.L. Judson |
American |