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1.
Lewis
Latimer |
Louis Latimer received a
patent for an improved process for manufacturing the carbon filaments in
light bulbs. These improvements allowed for a reduction in time to
produce and an increase in quality. During his life time he had worked
with and for Alexander Bell, Hiram Maxim and Thomas Edison.
Latimer was the only black member of an
exclusive social group, the Edison Pioneers. |
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2.
George W. Carver |
One of the 20th century's greatest scientists, George Washington
Carver's influence is still being felt today. Rising from slavery to
become one of the world's most respected and honored men, he devoted his
life to understanding nature and the many uses for the simplest of plant
life. He is best known for developing crop-rotation methods for
conserving nutrients in soil and discovering hundreds of new uses for
crops such as the peanut. |
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3.
James Watt |
James Watt's improvements in
1769 and 1784 to the steam engine converted a machine of limited
use, to one of efficiency and many applications. It was the foremost
energy source in the emerging Industrial Revolution, and greatly
multiplied its productive capacity. Watt was a creative genius who
radically transformed the world from an agricultural society into an
industrial one. Through Watt’s invention of the first practical
steam engine, our modern world eventually moved from a 90% rural
basis to a 90% urban basis |
| 4.
Henry Ford |
Henry Ford realized he'd
need a more efficient way to mass produce cars in
order to lower the price. He looked at other
industries and found four principles that would
further their goal: interchangeable parts,
continuous flow, division of labor, and reducing
wasted effort.
Ford put these principles into play gradually over five years, fine-tuning
and testing as he went along. In 1913, they came together in the first
moving assembly line ever used for large-scale
manufacturing. Ford produced cars at a
record-breaking rate. |
| 5.
Alessandro
Volta |
Alessandro
Volta, Italian physicist, known for his pioneering work in
electricity. Volta was born in Como and educated in the public schools
there. By 1800 he had developed the so-called voltaic pile, a forerunner
of the electric battery, which produced a steady stream of electricity.
In honor of his work in the field of electricity, the electrical unit
known as the volt was named in his honor. |
| 6.
Johannes Gutenberg |
In
1440, German inventor Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press
process that, with refinements and increased mechanization, remained the
principal means of printing until the late 20th century. The inventor's
method of printing from movable type, including the use of metal molds
and alloys, a special press, and oil-based inks, allowed for the first
time the mass production of printed books. |
| 7.
Charles Drew |
The American Red Cross blood program of today is a direct
result of the work of medical pioneer Dr. Charles Drew, beginning in
1940 and throughout World War II. Dr. Drew was instrumental in
developing blood plasma processing, storage and transfusion therapy. His
groundbreaking work in the large-scale production of human plasma
was eventually used by the U.S. Army and the American Red Cross as the
basis for blood banks.. |
| 8.
Thomas Alva Edison |
The
modern world is an electrified world. The light bulb, in particular, profoundly changed human existence by
illuminating the night and making it hospitable to a wide range of human activity.
The electric light, one of the everyday
conveniences that most affects our lives, was invented in 1879 by Thomas
Alva Edison. He put together
what he knew about electricity with what he knew about gas lights and
invented a whole of electrical system. |
| 9.
Ruth Handler |
Ruth Handler invented
an anatomically improbable molded plastic statuette named Barbie. Since
its debut in 1959, the Barbie doll has become an American icon that functions as both a steady
outlet for girls'
dreams and an ever changing reflection of American society. This can be seen in the
history of Barbie's clothes, and even her various "face lifts" to suit the
times; in her professional, political and charitable endeavors; and more recently in the
multi-culturalizing of her product line. |
| 10.
Leonardo
da Vinci |
Fascinating facts about Leonardo da Vinci, whose
innovations in the field scientific studies—particularly in the
fields of anatomy, optics, and hydraulics—anticipated many of the
developments of modern science. |
| * Based on
page views at The Great Idea Finder during 2006. |
