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Famous Inventors : A to Z

Research the history of famous inventors - past and present.

By Mary Bellis, About.com

Benjamin Banneker

A portrait of Benjamin Banneker on the cover of his Farmers Almanac - circa 1795

Benjamin Banneker

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Charles Babbage

English mathematician that invented a precursor to the computer.

George H. Babcock

Received a patent for the water tube steam boiler, a safer and more efficient boiler.

John Backus

The first high level computer programming language, Fortran was written by John Backus and IBM. See also - Story of Fortran

Leo Baekeland

Leo Hendrik Baekeland patented a "Method of Making Insoluble Products of Phenol and Formaldehyde". Research plastic history, uses for and the making of plastic, plastic in the fifties, and visit an online plastic museum.

Alexander Bain

We owe the development of the fax machine to Alexander Bain.

John Logie Baird

Remembered for the mechanical television (an earlier version of television) Baird also patented inventions related to radar and fiber optics.

Robert Banks

Robert Banks and fellow research chemist Paul Hogan invented a durable plastic called Marlex®.

Benjamin Banneker

His inventive spirit would lead Banneker into publishing a Farmers' Almanac.

John Bardeen

Received a patent for the transistor invented in 1947.

Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi - Statue of Liberty

Earned U.S. Patent #11,023 for a "Design for a Statue".

Jean Bartik

Profile of the first ENIAC computer programmer

Earl Bascom

Earl Bascom invented and manufactured the rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging.

Patricia Bath

The first African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention.

Alfred Beach

Editor and co-owner of "Scientific American", Beach was awarded patents for an improvement he made to typewriters, for a cable traction railway system, and for a pneumatic transit system for mail and passengers.

Andrew Jackson Beard

Received a patent for a railroad car coupler and a rotary engine.

Arnold O. Beckman

Invented an apparatus for testing acidity.

George Bednorz

In 1986, Alex Müller and Johannes Georg Bednorz invented the first high-temperature superconductor.

S. Joseph Begun

Patented magnetic recording.

Alexander Graham Bell

Bell and the telephone -- the history of the telephone and cellular phone history. See also - Timeline of Alexander Graham Bell

Vincent Bendix

Automotive and aviation inventor and industrialist.

Miriam E. Benjamin

Ms. Benjamin was the second black woman to receive a patent. She received a patent for a "Gong and Signal Chair for Hotels".

Willard H. Bennett

Invented the radio frequency mass spectrometer.

Karl Benz

On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz received his first patent for a crude gas-fueled car.

Emile Berliner

The history of the disk gramophone. See also - Emile Berliner Biography, Timeline, Photo Gallery

Tim Berners-Lee

Invented the World Wide Web and HTML or hypertext markup language.

Clifford Berry

Determining who was first in the computer biz is not always as easy as ABC.

Henry Bessemer

An English engineer who invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively.

Patricia Billings

Invented a indestructible and fireproof building material--Geobond®.

Edward Binney

Co-invented Crayola Crayons.

Gerd Karl Binnig

Co-invented the scanning tunneling microscope.

Forrest M. Bird

Invented the fluid control device; respirator and the pediatric ventilator.

Clarence Birdseye

Invented a method to make commercial frozen foods.

Harold Stephen Black

Invented the wave translation system that eliminates feedback distortion in telephone calls.

Henry Blair

The second black man issued a patent by the United States Patent Office.

Lyman Reed Blake

An American who invented a sewing machine for sewing the soles of shoes to the uppers. In 1858, he received a patent for his special sewing machine.

Katherine Blodgett

Invented the non-reflecting glass.

Bessie Blount

Invented a device to help a disabled person eat.

Baruch S. Blumberg

Co-invented a vaccine against viral hepatitis and developed a test that identified hepatitis B in blood sample.

Joseph-Armand Bombardier

Bombardier developed in 1958 the type of sport machine that we know today as a "snowmobile".

Sarah Boone

An improvement to the ironing board was invented by African American Sarah Boone on April 26, 1892.

Eugene Bourdon

In 1849, the Bourdon tube pressure gauge was patented by Eugene Bourdon.

Robert Bower

Invented a device that provided semiconductors with more speed.

Bill Bowerman - Sneakers

Co-invented the modern athletic shoe.

Herbert Boyer

Considered the founding father of genetic engineering.

Otis Boykin

Invented an improved "Electrical Resistor" used in computers, radios, television sets, and a variety of electronic devices.

Louis Braille

Invented braille printing.

Joseph Bramah

A pioneer in the machine tool industry.

Dr. Jacques Edwin Brandenberger

Cellophane was invented in 1908 by Brandenberger, a Swiss textile engineer, who came up with the idea for a clear and protective, packaging film.

Walter H. Brattain

Co-invented the transistor - invented in 1947.

Karl Braun

Electronic television is based on the development of the cathode ray tube that is the picture tube found in modern television sets. German scientist, Karl Braun invented the cathode ray tube oscilloscope (CRT) in 1897.

Allen Breed

Patented the first successful car air bag.

Charles Brooks

C. B. Brooks invented an improved street sweeper truck.

Phil Brooks

Patented an improved "Disposable Syringe".

Henry Brown

Patented a "receptacle for storing and preserving papers" on November 2, 1886. It was special in that it kept the papers separated.

Rachel Fuller Brown

Invented the world's first useful antifungal antibiotic, Nystatin.

John Moses Browning

Prolific gun inventor known for his automatic pistols.

Luther Burbank

Holds agricultural patents on different types of potatoes (Idaho), peaches etc.

Joseph H. Burckhalter

Co-patented first antibody labeling agent.

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