Inventions, IVA-MED
Without the efforts of famed inventors such as Thomas Edison, James Watt, Alexander Graham Bell, and the Wright brothers, our daily life today would look a lot different. Landmark inventions like the printing press, steam engine, telephone, incandescent light bulb, and airplane heralded new stages of progress in technology and spurred further innovation.
Inventions Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Ivanov, Ilya Ivanovich
Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov was a Soviet biologist who developed a method for artificially inseminating domestic animals.......
Ives, Frederic Eugene
Frederic Eugene Ives was an American photographer and inventor. As a boy, Ives was apprenticed to a printer at......
Jacquard, Joseph-Marie
Joseph-Marie Jacquard was a French inventor of the Jacquard loom, which served as the impetus for the technological......
Jahn, Friedrich Ludwig
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn was the German âfather of gymnasticsâ who founded the turnverein (gymnastics club) movement......
James Watt on the steam engine
Among the pleasures to be derived from venturing through the early editions of Britannica is the one we think of......
Jenks, Joseph
Joseph Jenks was a British American inventor. A skilled ironworker, Jenks emigrated to America in 1642 to help......
Jerome, Chauncey
Chauncey Jerome was an American inventor and clock maker whose products enjoyed widespread popularity in the mid-19th......
Jewett, Frank Baldwin
Frank Baldwin Jewett was a U.S. electrical engineer and the first president of the Bell Telephone Laboratories,......
Johnson, Kelly
Kelly Johnson was a highly innovative American aeronautical engineer and designer. Johnson received his B.S. (1932)......
Jouffroy dâAbbans, Claude-François-DorothĂ©e, marquis de
Claude-François-DorothĂ©e, marquis de Jouffroy dâAbbans was a French engineer and inventor who in 1783 traveled......
Kahn, Reuben Leon
Reuben Leon Kahn was an American immunologist best known for his investigations of blood reactions, which led him......
Kahn, Robert
Robert Kahn is an American electrical engineer, one of the principal architects, with Vinton Cerf, of the Internet.......
Kamen, Dean
Dean Kamen is an American inventor who created the Segway Human Transporter (Segway HT; later called the Segway......
Kamkwamba, William
William Kamkwamba is a Malawian inventor and author who worked on projects to improve the lives of his family and......
Kao, Charles
Charles Kao was a physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2009 for his discovery of how light......
Kay, John
John Kay was an English machinist and engineer, inventor of the flying shuttle, which was an important step toward......
Keely, John E.W.
John E.W. Keely was a fraudulent American inventor. Keely was orphaned in early childhood. He is said to have been......
Kellogg, John Harvey
John Harvey Kellogg was an American physician and health-food pioneer whose development of dry breakfast cereals......
Kelly, William
William Kelly was an American ironmaster who invented the pneumatic process of steelmaking, in which air is blown......
Kelvin, William Thomson, Baron
William Thomson, Baron Kelvin was a Scottish engineer, mathematician, and physicist who profoundly influenced the......
Kepler, Johannes
Johannes Kepler German astronomer who discovered three major laws of planetary motion, conventionally designated......
Kerr, Sir John Graham
Sir John Graham Kerr was an English embryologist who became known for his study of lungfishes and who greatly advanced......
Kettering, Charles F.
Charles F. Kettering was an American engineer whose inventions, which included the electric starter, were instrumental......
Kilby, Jack
Jack Kilby was an American engineer and one of the inventors of the integrated circuit, a system of interconnected......
King, Franklin Hiram
Franklin Hiram King was an American agricultural scientist, inventor of the cylindrical tower silo. He also invented......
Kinnersley, Ebenezer
Ebenezer Kinnersley was a British colonial contemporary of Benjamin Franklin in the investigation of electricity......
KliÄ, Karl
Karl KliÄ was a Czech graphic artist and printer who in 1878 invented the most precise and (despite its slowness)......
Knight, Gowin
Gowin Knight was an English scientist and inventor whose work in the field of magnetization led to significant......
Knight, Margaret E.
Margaret E. Knight was a prolific American inventor of machines and mechanisms for a variety of industrial and......
Korolev, Sergei
Sergei Korolev was a Soviet designer of guided missiles, rockets, and spacecraft. Korolev was educated at the Odessa......
Kurchatov, Igor Vasilyevich
Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov was a Soviet nuclear physicist who guided the development of his countryâs first atomic......
KĂĄrmĂĄn, Theodore von
Theodore von KĂĄrmĂĄn was a Hungarian-born American research engineer best known for his pioneering work in the use......
Köhler, Georges J.F.
Georges J.F. Köhler was a German immunologist who in 1984, with César Milstein and Niels K. Jerne, received the......
Lake, Simon
Simon Lake was a U.S. inventor who built the âArgonaut,â the first submarine to operate extensively in the open......
Lamarr, Hedy
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American film star who was often typecast as a provocative femme fatale. Years......
Land, Edwin Herbert
Edwin Herbert Land was an American inventor and physicist whose one-step process for developing and printing photographs......
Langley, Samuel Pierpont
Samuel Pierpont Langley was an American astrophysicist and aeronautical pioneer who developed new instruments with......
Langmuir, Irving
Irving Langmuir was an American physical chemist who was awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for Chemistry âfor his discoveries......
Lattes, CĂ©sare Mansueto Giulio
CĂ©sare Mansueto Giulio Lattes was a Brazilian physicist who, with American physicist Eugene Gardner at the University......
Laval, Carl Gustaf Patrik de
Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval was a Swedish scientist, engineer, and inventor who pioneered in the development of......
Lawes, Sir John Bennet, 1st Baronet
Sir John Bennet Lawes, 1st Baronet was an English agronomist who founded the artificial fertilizer industry and......
Lawrance, Charles Lanier
Charles Lanier Lawrance was an American aeronautical engineer who designed the first successful air-cooled aircraft......
Lawrence, Ernest Orlando
Ernest Orlando Lawrence was an American physicist, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention......
Laënnec, René
René Laënnec was a French physician who invented the stethoscope and perfected the art of auditory examination......
Lear, William P
William P. Lear was a self-taught American electrical engineer and industrialist whose Lear Jet Corporation was......
Lebon, Philippe
Philippe Lebon was a French engineer and chemist, known as the inventor of illuminating gas. While employed as......
Leclanché, Georges
Georges Leclanché was a French engineer who in about 1866 invented the battery that bears his name. In slightly......
Lederberg, Joshua
Joshua Lederberg was an American geneticist and a pioneer in the field of bacterial genetics. He shared the 1958......
Lee, William
William Lee was an English inventor who devised the first knitting machine (1589), the only one in use for centuries.......
Lee, Yuan T.
Yuan T. Lee is a Taiwanese-American chemist who, with Dudley R. Herschbach and John C. Polanyi, received the Nobel......
Lenoir, (Jean-Joseph-) Ătienne
(Jean-Joseph-) Ătienne Lenoir was a Belgian inventor who devised the first commercially successful internal-combustion......
Lenormand, Louis-Sebastien
Louis-Sebastien Lenormand was a French aeronaut, generally recognized as the first person to make a parachute descent.......
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence,......
Leonardo da Vinciâs parachute
Leonardo da Vinci discussed the parachute in a notebook entry now contained in the Codex Atlanticus. Although it......
Leopold I
Leopold I was a prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian field marshal and reformer and inventor of the iron ramrod; he......
Levassor, Ămile
Ămile Levassor was a French businessman and inventor who developed the basic configuration of the automobile. Levassor......
Lewis, Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton Lewis was a U.S. Army officer and inventor best known for the Lewis machine gun, widely used in World......
Lilienthal, Otto
Otto Lilienthal was a German aviation pioneer. Lilienthal was the most significant aeronautical pioneer in the......
Linde, Carl (Paul Gottfried) von
Carl von Linde was a German engineer whose invention of a continuous process of liquefying gases in large quantities......
Lippershey, Hans
Hans Lippershey was a spectacle maker from the United Netherlands, traditionally credited with inventing the telescope......
Lippisch, Alexander M
Alexander M. Lippisch was a German-American aerodynamicist whose designs of tailless and delta-winged aircraft......
Lippmann, Gabriel
Gabriel Lippmann was a French physicist who received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1908 for producing the first......
Lisa Su
When Lisa Su became chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 2014, the semiconductor company......
Lister, Joseph Jackson
Joseph Jackson Lister was an English amateur opticist whose discoveries played an important role in perfecting......
Little America
Little America, principal American base in Antarctica, lying on the northeastern edge of Ross Ice Shelf near Kainan......
Lodge, Sir Oliver Joseph
Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge was a British physicist who perfected the coherer, a radio-wave detector and the heart......
Long, Crawford Williamson
Crawford Williamson Long was an American physician traditionally considered the first to have used ether as an......
Lori Greiner
Lori Greiner is an American entrepreneur and inventor who built a career developing consumer products and bringing......
Loutherbourg, Philip James de
Philip James de Loutherbourg was an early Romantic painter, illustrator, printmaker, and scenographer, especially......
Lovell, Sir Bernard
Sir Bernard Lovell was an English radio astronomer, founder and director (1951â81) of Englandâs Jodrell Bank Experimental......
Lovelock, James
James Lovelock was an English chemist, medical doctor, scientific instrument developer, and author best known for......
Ludwig, Carl F.W.
Carl F.W. Ludwig was a founder of the physicochemical school of physiology in Germany. A professor of physiology......
Lukin, Lionel
Lionel Lukin was a pioneer in the construction of the modern âunsinkableâ lifeboat. While he was working as a London......
Lyot, Bernard
Bernard Lyot was a French astronomer who invented the coronagraph (1930), an instrument which allows the observation......
MacCready, Paul Beattie
Paul Beattie MacCready was an American aerodynamicist who headed a team that designed and built both the first......
Macintosh, Charles
Charles Macintosh was a Scottish chemist, best known for his invention in 1823 of a method for making waterproof......
MacKaye, (James Morrison) Steele
Steele MacKaye was a U.S. playwright, actor, theater manager, and inventor who has been called the closest approximation......
Mance, Sir Henry Christopher
Sir Henry Christopher Mance was a British scientist and engineer who invented the heliograph, a signaling device......
Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project, U.S. government research project (1942â45) that produced the first atomic bombs. See Britannicaâs......
Mannes, Leopold
Leopold Mannes was an American musician and photographic technician known as a co-developer of Kodachrome film......
Mannlicher, Ferdinand, Ritter von
Ferdinand, knight von Mannlicher was an Austrian firearms designer who invented the cartridge clip, which allows......
Marconi, Guglielmo
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian physicist and inventor of a successful wireless telegraph, or radio (1896). In......
Marcus, Siegfried
Siegfried Marcus was an inventor who built four of the worldâs earliest gasoline-powered automobiles. Marcus became......
Marey, Ătienne-Jules
Ătienne-Jules Marey was a French physiologist who invented the sphygmograph, an instrument for recording graphically......
Martenot, Maurice
Maurice Martenot was a French musician who was the inventor of the ondes martenot (also called ondes musicales......
Martin, Pierre-Ămile
Pierre-Ămile Martin was a French engineer who invented the SiemensâMartin (open-hearth) process, which produced......
Marvel, Carl Shipp
Carl Shipp Marvel was an American chemist whose early research was in classic organic chemistry but who is best......
Masham, Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 1st Baron
Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 1st Baron Masham was an English inventor whose contributions included a wool-combing machine......
Matzeliger, Jan Ernst
Jan Ernst Matzeliger was an inventor best known for his shoe-lasting machine that mechanically shaped the upper......
Mauchly, John
John Mauchly was an American physicist and engineer, co-inventor in 1946, with John P. Eckert, of the Electronic......
Maudslay, Henry
Henry Maudslay was a British engineer and inventor of the metal lathe and other devices. The son of a workman at......
Maxim, Hiram
Hiram Maxim was a prolific inventor best known for the Maxim machine gun. The eldest son of a farmer who was a......
Maxim, Hiram Percy
Hiram Percy Maxim was an American inventor and manufacturer known especially for the âMaxim silencerâ gun attachment.......
Maxim, Hudson
Hudson Maxim was an American inventor of explosives extensively used in World War I. Maximâs study of chemistry......
McAdam, John Loudon
John Loudon McAdam was a Scottish inventor of the macadam road surface. In 1770 he went to New York City, entering......
McCormick, Cyrus
Cyrus McCormick was an American industrialist and inventor who is generally credited with the development (from......
McCoy, Elijah
Elijah McCoy was a Canadian-American inventor of a device to lubricate steam engines. McCoyâs inventions were considered......
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station, research and logistics installation located on the Hut Point Peninsula, on Ross Island, Antarctica.......
Medina, Bartolomé de
Bartolomé de Medina was a Spanish Dominican theologian who developed the patio process for extracting silver from......