List of inventors facts for kids

Inventors are super creative people who come up with new ideas and make them real! Their inventions change the world and make our lives easier, more fun, or help us solve big problems. From simple tools to complex machines, inventors have always pushed the boundaries of what's possible. This list introduces you to some amazing inventors and their cool creations!

Awesome Inventors and Their Discoveries

Inventors from A to Z

A

• Samuel W. Alderson (1914–2005), U.S. – Created the crash test dummy, which helps make cars safer.
• Mary Anderson (1866–1953), U.S. – Invented the windshield wiper blade, making it safer to drive in bad weather.
• Momofuku Ando (1910–2007), Japan – Gave us Instant noodles, a quick and easy meal!
• Nicolas Appert (1749–1841), France – Figured out canning to preserve food using glass bottles.
• Archimedes (c. 287–212 BC), Greece – Invented the Archimedes' screw, a device for lifting water.
• Joseph Aspdin (1788–1855), UK – Developed Portland cement, a key material for building.
• John Vincent Atanasoff (1903–1995), Bulgaria/U.S. – Helped create the electronic digital computer.

B

• Charles Babbage (1791–1871), UK – Designed early mechanical computers, like the Analytical engine.
• Tabitha Babbit (1779–1853), U.S. – Invented the circular saw for sawmills.
• Leo Baekeland (1863–1944), Belgian–American – Created Bakelite, one of the first plastics.
• Ralph H. Baer (1922–2014), German born American – Known as the "Father of Video Games" for inventing the video game console.
• John Logie Baird (1888–1946), Scotland – Showed the world the first working television.
• Frederick Banting (1891–1941), Canada – Co-discovered Insulin, a life-saving medicine for diabetes.
• John Bardeen (1908–1991), U.S. – Co-invented the transistor, a tiny electronic switch.
• Patricia Bath (1942–2019), U.S. – Invented laser cataract surgery, helping many people see better.
• Trevor Baylis (1937–2018), UK – Created the wind-up radio, useful in places without electricity.
• Maria Beasley (1847–1904), U.S. – Invented a machine for making barrels and an improved life raft.
• Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), UK, Canada, and U.S. – Famous for inventing the telephone.
• Melitta Bentz (1873–1950), Germany – Invented the paper Coffee filter.
• Karl Benz (1844–1929), Germany – Built the first petrol-powered automobile.
• Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), UK – Created the World Wide Web, connecting us all online.
• László Bíró (1899–1985), Hungary – Invented the Ballpoint pen.
• Nils Bohlin (1920–2002), Sweden – Designed the three-point seat belt, saving countless lives.
• Sarah Boone (1832–1908), U.S. – Improved the ironing board design.
• Louis Braille (1809–1852), France – Developed the Braille writing system for blind people.
• Jacques E. Brandenberger (1872–1954), Switzerland – Invented Cellophane.
• Karl Ferdinand Braun (1850–1918), Germany – Developed the cathode-ray tube, important for early TVs.
• David Brewster (1781–1868), UK – Invented the Kaleidoscope.
• Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922–1999), U.S. – Created an early home security system.
• Robert Bunsen (1811–1899), Germany – Invented the Bunsen burner, a common lab tool.

C

• Robert Cailliau (born 1947), Belgium – Worked with Tim Berners-Lee on the World Wide Web.
• Chester Carlson (1906–1968), U.S. – Invented xerographic copier (photocopier).
• Wallace Carothers (1896–1937), U.S. – Invented Nylon and Neoprene.
• George Cayley (1773–1857), UK – Designed tension-spoke wheels.
• Anders Celsius (1701–1744), Sweden – Created the Celsius temperature scale.
• Vint Cerf (born 1943), U.S. – Co-invented the Internet Protocol (IP), a core part of the internet.
• Josephine Cochrane (1839–1913), U.S. – Invented the dishwasher.
• Christopher Cockerell (1910–1999), UK – Invented the Hovercraft.
• Samuel Colt (1814–1862), U.S. – Developed the Revolver.
• Martin Cooper (born 1928), U.S. – Invented the first modern Mobile phone.
• Harry Coover (1917–2011), U.S. – Invented Super Glue.
• Jacques Cousteau (1910–1997), France – Co-invented the aqualung for underwater diving.
• Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (1725–1804), France – Built the first steam-powered road vehicle.
• William Cullen (1710–1790), UK – Created the first artificial refrigerator.
• Marie Curie (1867–1934), Poland – Developed portable X-ray units ("Little Curies").

D

• Nils Gustaf Dalén (1869–1937), Sweden – Invented the Dalén light and Sun valve for lighthouses.
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italy – Designed early concepts for a helicopter, tanks, and parachutes.
• Jacob Davis (1868–1908), U.S. – Invented riveted jeans with Levi Strauss.
• Humphry Davy (1778–1829), UK – Invented the Davy miners lamp for safety.
• Lee de Forest (1873–1961), U.S. – Invented the triode, a key part of early electronics.
• Rudolf Diesel (1858–1913), Germany – Invented the Diesel engine.
• Ray Dolby (1933–2013), U.S. – Developed the Dolby noise-reduction system for better sound.
• Marion Donovan (1917–1998), U.S. – Invented the waterproof diaper.
• Karl Drais (1785–1851), Germany – Invented the dandy horse, an early bicycle.
• Richard Drew (1899–1980), U.S. – Invented Masking tape.
• John Boyd Dunlop (1840–1921), UK – Invented the first practical pneumatic tyre (air-filled tire).
• James Dyson (born 1947), UK – Invented the Dual Cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner.

E

• George Eastman (1854–1932), U.S. – Invented roll film, making photography easier for everyone.
• J. Presper Eckert (1919–1995), U.S. – Co-invented ENIAC, one of the first electronic digital computers.
• Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), U.S. – A very famous inventor, known for the phonograph and a practical incandescent light bulb.
• Brendan Eich (born 1961), U.S. – Created JavaScript, a programming language for websites.
• Willem Einthoven (1860–1927), The Netherlands – Invented the electrocardiogram (ECG) for heart monitoring.
• Douglas Engelbart (1925–2013), U.S. – Invented the computer mouse.
• Ole Evinrude (1877–1934), Norway – Invented the outboard motor for boats.

F

• Federico Faggin (born 1941), Italy – Helped invent the microprocessor, the "brain" of computers.
• Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), The Netherlands – Created the Fahrenheit temperature scale.
• Michael Faraday (1791–1867), UK – Invented the electric transformer and the first electric electric motor.
• Philo Farnsworth (1906–1971), U.S. – Invented the first fully electronic television system.
• Enrico Fermi (1901–1954), Italy – Built the first nuclear reactor.
• Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scotland – Discovered Penicillin, a life-saving antibiotic.
• John Ambrose Fleming (1848–1945), UK – Invented the vacuum diode, a key electronic component.
• Sandford Fleming (1827–1915), Canada – Proposed Universal Standard Time (time zones).
• Tommy Flowers (1905–1998), UK – Built Colossus, an early electronic computer.
• Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), U.S. – Invented the lightning rod, bifocal glasses, and the Franklin stove.
• Arthur Fry (born 1931), U.S. – Invented the Post-it note.
• Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983), U.S. – Designed the geodesic dome.
• Robert Fulton (1765–1815), United States – Built the first commercially successful steamboat.

G

• Dennis Gabor (1900–1979), Hungarian-British – Invented holography.
• Richard J. Gatling (1818–1903), U.S. – Invented the first successful machine gun.
• Hans Wilhelm Geiger (1882–1945), Germany – Invented the Geiger counter for measuring radiation.
• King Camp Gillette (1855-1932), U.S. – Invented the double-edge safety razor.
• Donald A. Glaser (1926–2013), U.S. – Invented the Bubble chamber for studying particles.
• Robert Goddard (1882–1945), U.S. – Built the first liquid fuel rocket.
• Peter Carl Goldmark (1906–1977), Hungary – Invented the vinyl record (LP).
• Charles Goodyear (1800–1860), U.S. – Developed vulcanization of rubber.
• Gordon Gould (1920–2005), U.S. – Co-invented the Laser.
• Bette Nesmith Graham (1924–1980), U.S. – Invented Correction fluid, or Liquid Paper.
• Chester Greenwood (1858–1937), U.S. – Invented thermal earmuffs.
• Johann Gutenberg (c. 1398–1468), Germany – Invented the movable type printing press.

H

• Fritz Haber (1868–1934), Germany – Developed the Haber process for making ammonia, important for fertilizers.
• Charles Martin Hall (1863–1914), U.S. – Invented a way to produce aluminum cheaply.
• Ruth Handler (1916–2002), U.S. – Invented the Barbie doll.
• James Hargreaves (1720–1778), UK – Invented the spinning jenny, a textile machine.
• John Harington (1561–1612), UK – Invented the flush toilet.
• John Harrison (1693–1776), UK – Invented the marine chronometer for accurate time at sea.
• Victor Hasselblad (1906–1978), Sweden – Developed the 6x6 cm single-lens reflex camera.
• Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1039), Iraq – Described the camera obscura and pinhole camera.
• George H. Heilmeier (1936–2014), U.S. – Invented the liquid crystal display (LCD).
• Henry Heimlich (1920–2016), U.S. – Invented the Heimlich maneuver to help people who are choking.
• Heinrich Hertz (1857–1894), Germany – Proved the existence of electromagnetic radiation, leading to radio.
• Herman Hollerith (1860–1929), U.S. – Invented the tabulating machine using punched cards for data.
• Nick Holonyak (born 1928), U.S. – Invented the LED (Light Emitting Diode).
• Grace Hopper (1906–1992), U.S. – Developed the first compiler for computer programming.
• Elias Howe (1819–1867), U.S. – Invented the modern sewing machine.
• Chuck Hull (born 1939), U.S. – Invented the 3D printer.
• Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695), Netherlands – Invented the pendulum clock.

I

• Gavriil Ilizarov (1921–1992), Russia – Invented the Ilizarov apparatus for bone repair.
• Daisuke Inoue (born 1940), Japan – Invented the Karaoke machine.

J

• Moritz von Jacobi (1801–1874), Germany/Russia – Invented electrotyping and an early electric boat.
• Jang Yeong-sil (c. 1390–after 1442), South Korea – Invented the Jagyeokru (water clock) and Cheugugi (rain gauge).
• Karl Guthe Jansky (1905–1950), U.S. – Invented the radio telescope.
• Al-Jazari (1136–1206), Iraq – Created many mechanical devices, including humanoid robots.
• Ányos Jedlik (1800–1898), Hungary – Invented the Jedlik dynamo.
• Alec Jeffreys (born 1950), UK – Developed DNA profiling for forensics.
• Steve Jobs (1955–2011), U.S. – Co-founded Apple and helped create the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
• Johan Petter Johansson (1853–1943), Sweden – Invented the Pipe wrench and adjustable spanner.
• Whitcomb Judson (1836–1909), U.S. – Invented the zipper.

K

• Mikhail Kalashnikov (1919–2013), Russia – Designed the AK-47 assault rifle.
• Dean Kamen (born 1951), U.S. – Invented the Segway HT scooter.
• Nikolay Kamov (1902–1973), Russia – Designed coaxial rotor helicopters.
• John Harvey Kellogg (1852–1943), U.S. – Invented corn flakes.
• Mary Kenner (1912–2006), U.S. – Invented the sanitary belt.
• Charles F. Kettering (1876–1958), U.S. – Invented the automobile self-starter.
• Jack Kilby (1923–2005), U.S. – Invented the first integrated circuit (microchip).
• Semyon Kirlian (1898–1978), Armenia/USSR – Developed Kirlian photography.
• Margaret E. Knight (1838–1914), U.S. – Invented a machine that makes flat-bottom paper bags.
• Robert Koch (1843–1910), Germany – Developed methods for growing bacteria in labs.
• Willem Johan Kolff (1911–2009), Netherlands – Invented the artificial kidney hemodialysis machine.
• Sergei Korolev (1907–1966), USSR – Led the Soviet space program, including Sputnik 1 and the Vostok program (first human in space).
• Semyon Korsakov (1787–1853), Russian Empire – Used punched cards for information storage.
• Ivan Kulibin (1735–1818), Russia – Invented an egg-shaped clock and an early self-rolling carriage.
• Stephanie Kwolek (1923–2014), U.S. – Invented Kevlar, a super strong material.

L

• René Laennec (1781–1826), France – Invented the stethoscope.
• Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000), Austria and U.S. – Co-invented Spread spectrum radio, a technology used in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
• Edwin H. Land (1909–1991), U.S. – Invented Polaroid cameras that print photos instantly.
• Lewis Latimer (1848–1928), U.S. – Improved the carbon-filament light bulb.
• Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), The Netherlands – Greatly improved the microscope.
• Jean-Joseph Etienne Lenoir (1822–1900), Belgium – Built the first working internal combustion engine.
• Justus von Liebig (1803–1873), Germany – Developed nitrogen-based fertilizer.
• Hon Lik (born 1951), China – Invented the electronic cigarette.
• Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896), Germany – A pioneer in hang gliders.
• Hans Lippershey (1570–1619), The Netherlands – Associated with the invention of the telescope.
• Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765), Russia – Invented a night vision telescope and coaxial rotor.
• Aleksandr Loran (1849 – after 1911), Russia – Invented fire fighting foam.
• Oleg Losev (1903–1942), Russia – Invented the light-emitting diode (LED).
• Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1822–1882), Poland/Armenia – Invented the Kerosene lamp and developed the Oil refinery.
• Auguste and Louis Lumière (1862–1954 and 1864–1948), France – Invented the Cinématographe, an early movie camera and projector.
• Cai Lun (50–121), China – Invented paper.

M

• Charles Macintosh (1766–1843), Scotland – Invented waterproof fabric for raincoats.
• Theodore Maiman (1927–2007), U.S. – Built the first working Laser.
• Annie Malone (1869–1957), U.S. – Developed Cosmetics for African American women.
• Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937), Italy – A pioneer in radio telegraphy.
• John Landis Mason (1826–1902), U.S. – Invented Mason jars for food preservation.
• Hiram Maxim (1840–1916), U.S. born, UK – Invented the first self-powered machine gun.
• James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), Scotland – Contributed to the theory of color photography.
• Elijah McCoy (1843–1929), Canada – Invented the Displacement lubricator for steam engines.
• Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (1845–1916), Russia – Discovered probiotics.
• Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès (1817–1880), France – Invented margarine.
• Dmitri Mendeleev (1834–1907), Russia – Created the Periodic table of elements.
• George de Mestral (1907–1990), Switzerland – Invented Velcro.
• Robert Metcalfe (born 1946), U.S. – Co-invented Ethernet for computer networks.
• Antonio Meucci (1808–1889), Italy/U.S. – Developed early telephone devices.
• Édouard Michelin (1859–1940), France – Developed the pneumatic tire for cars.
• Alexander Miles (1838–1918), U.S. – Invented a system for automatically opening and closing elevator doors.
• Montgolfier brothers (1740–1810) and (1745–1799), France – Invented the hot air balloon.
• Robert Moog (1934–2005), U.S. – Invented the Moog synthesizer for electronic music.
• Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963), U.S. – Invented the smoke hood (early gas mask).
• Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), U.S. – Developed early Morse code.
• Kary Mullis (1944–2019), U.S. – Invented PCR, a key method in biology.
• Colin Murdoch (1929–2008), New Zealand – Invented the Tranquillizer gun and disposable hypodermic syringe.
• William Murdoch (1754–1839), Scotland – Pioneered Gas lighting.
• Jozef Murgas (1864–1929), Slovakia – Invented the wireless telegraph (early radio).
• Eadweard Muybridge (1830–1904), UK – Pioneer of motion pictures.

N

• James Naismith (1861–1939), Canadian born, U.S. – Invented basketball.
• Yoshiro Nakamatsu (born 1928), Japan – A prolific inventor with many patents, including "PyonPyon" spring shoes.
• Shuji Nakamura (born 1954), Japan – Invented the Blue laser diode.
• John Napier (1550–1617), Scotland – Invented logarithms.
• Isaac Newton (1642–1727), UK – Invented the reflecting telescope.
• Joseph Nicephore Niépce (1765–1833), France – Created the first permanent photograph.
• Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), Sweden – Invented dynamite.

O

• Elisha Otis (1811–1861), U.S. – Invented a safety system for elevators.
• William Oughtred (1575–1660), UK – Invented the slide rule.

P

• William Painter (1838–1906), UK/U.S. – Invented the Crown cork (bottle cap).
• Alexey Pajitnov (born 1956), Russia/U.S. – Created the video game Tetris.
• Julio Palmaz (born 1945), Argentina – Invented the balloon-expandable stent for medical use.
• Daniel David Palmer (1845–1913), Canada – Founded chiropractic.
• Georgios Papanikolaou (1883–1962), Greece / U.S. – Developed the Pap test for detecting cancer.
• Thomas Parker (1843–1915), England – Built an early electric car.
• Charles Algernon Parsons (1854–1931), British – Invented the steam turbine.
• Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), France – Invented Pascal's calculator, an early mechanical calculator.
• Gustaf Erik Pasch (1788–1862), Sweden – Invented the safety match.
• Les Paul (1915–2009), U.S. – Pioneer of multitrack recording in music.
• John Pemberton (1831–1888), U.S. – Invented Coca-Cola.
• Slavoljub Eduard Penkala (1871–1922), Croatia – Invented the mechanical pencil.
• William Henry Perkin (1838–1907), UK – Created the first synthetic organic dye, Mauveine.
• Stephen Perry (19th century), UK – Invented the rubber band.
• Julius Richard Petri (1852–1921), Germany – Invented the Petri dish for growing cultures.
• Fyodor Pirotsky (1845–1898), Russia – Invented the electric tram.
• Roy Plunkett (1910–1994), U.S. – Invented Teflon.
• Petrache Poenaru (1799–1875), Romania – Invented the fountain pen.
• Christopher Polhem (1661–1751), Sweden – Invented the Padlock.
• Alexander Popov (1859–1906), Russia – Pioneer of radio, created a radio receiver.
• Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), UK – Invented soda water.
• Tivadar Puskás (1844–1893), Hungary – Invented the telephone exchange.

R

• Jacob Rabinow (1910–1999), U.S. – Invented the Magnetic particle clutch.
• John Goffe Rand (1801–1873), U.S. – Invented the collapsible Tube (container) for paint.
• Josef Ressel (1793–1857), Czechoslovakia – Invented the ship propeller.
• Adolph Rickenbacker (1886–1976), Switzerland – Pioneer of the Electric guitar.
• Dennis Ritchie (1941–2011), U.S. – Created the C (programming language).
• Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845–1923), Germany – Discovered X-rays.
• Ida Rosenthal (1886–1973), Belarus/Russia/U.S. – Co-invented the modern Bra and cup sizes.
• Boris Rosing (1869–1933), Russia – Developed an early CRT television system.
• Guido van Rossum (born 1956), The Netherlands – Created the Python (programming language).
• Ernő Rubik (born 1944), Hungary – Invented the Rubik's Cube.
• Ernst Ruska (1906–1988), Germany – Invented the electron microscope.

S

• Albert Sabin (1906–1993), U.S. – Developed the oral Polio vaccine.
• Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989), Russia – Co-developed the tokamak for fusion energy.
• Jonas Salk (1914–1995), U.S. – Developed the injection Polio vaccine.
• Franz San Galli (1824–1908), Poland/Russia – Invented the radiator for central heating.
• Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873–1932), Brazil – Pioneer of non-rigid airships and airplanes.
• Thomas Savery (1650–1715), UK – Invented an early steam engine.
• Adolphe Sax (1814–1894), Belgium – Invented the saxophone.
• Vincent Schaefer (1906–1993), U.S. – Discovered Cloud seeding using dry ice.
• Wilhelm Schickard (1592–1635), Germany – Built a mechanical calculator.
• Pavel Schilling (1786–1837), Estonia/Russia – Invented the first electromagnetic telegraph.
• David Schwarz (1852–1897), Croatia – Designed a rigid airship, a precursor to the Zeppelin.
• Iwan Serrurier (1878–1953), Netherlands/U.S. – Invented the Moviola for film editing.
• Bi Sheng (c. 990–1051), China – Invented clay movable type printing.
• William Shockley (1910–1989), U.S. – Co-invented the transistor.
• Vladimir Shukhov (1853–1939), Russia – Invented thermal cracking for oil and various thin-shell structures.
• Augustus Siebe (1788–1872), Germany/UK – Invented the standard diving dress.
• Werner von Siemens (1816–1892), Germany – Invented the electric elevator and an early dynamo.
• Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972), Russia/U.S. – Invented the first successful helicopter.
• Bernard Silver (1924–1963), U.S. – Co-invented the Barcode.
• Kia Silverbrook (born 1958), Australia – A very prolific inventor, known for the Memjet printer.
• Luther Simjian (1905–1997), Armenia/U.S. – Invented the Automated teller machine (ATM).
• Isaac Singer (1811–1875), U.S. – Improved the sewing machine.
• Nikolay Slavyanov (1854–1897), Russia – Developed shielded metal arc welding.
• Percy Spencer (1894–1970), U.S. – Invented the microwave oven.
• Frank J. Sprague (1857–1934), U.S. – Known as the father of electric traction, improved electric elevators.
• John Kemp Starley (1855–1901), U.K. – Invented the safety bicycle.
• George Stephenson (1781–1848), UK – Pioneer of the steam railway.
• Robert Stirling (1790–1878), Scotland – Invented the Stirling engine.
• Aleksandr Stoletov (1839–1896), Russia – Created the first solar cell.
• Levi Strauss (1829–1902), U.S. – Invented blue jeans.
• Bjarne Stroustrup (born 1950), Denmark – Created C++ (programming language).
• Almon Strowger (1839–1902), U.S. – Invented the automatic telephone exchange.
• Joseph Swan (1828–1914), UK – Developed an early Incandescent light bulb.
• Leó Szilárd (1898–1964), Hungary/U.S. – Patented the nuclear reactor.

T

• Ching W. Tang (born 1947), Hong Kong/U.S. – Co-invented OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode).
• Nikola Tesla (1856–1943), Serbia – Known for his work on induction motors and electrical power transmission.
• Léon Theremin (1896–1993), Russia – Invented the theremin, an electronic musical instrument.
• William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824–1907), UK – Developed the Kelvin absolute temperature scale.
• Kálmán Tihanyi (1897–1947), Hungary – Co-invented the cathode ray tube and iconoscope.
• Ray Tomlinson (1941–2016), U.S. – Sent the first inter-computer email.
• Evangelista Torricelli (1608–1647), Italy – Invented the barometer.
• Linus Torvalds (born 1969), Finland/U.S. – Created the Linux kernel, a popular operating system.
• Richard Trevithick (1771–1833), UK – Built the first full-scale steam locomotive.
• Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857–1935), Russia – A pioneer of spaceflight theory.
• Mikhail Tsvet (1872–1919), Russia – Invented chromatography, a separation technique.
• Andrei Tupolev (1888–1972), Russia – Designed many famous aircraft, including the Tupolev Tu-114 airliner.
• Alan Turing (1912–1954), UK – Developed the concept of the Turing machine, a theoretical computer model.

U

• Lewis Urry (1927–2004), Canada – Invented the long-lasting alkaline battery.

V

• Theophilus Van Kannel (1841–1919), U.S. – Invented the revolving door.
• Alessandro Volta (1745–1827), Italy – Invented the battery.
• Ivan Vučetić (1858–1925), Croatia – Developed a method of fingerprint classification.

W

• Ruth Graves Wakefield (1903–1977), U.S. – Invented the chocolate chip cookie.
• Madam C.J. Walker (1867–1919), U.S. – Developed beauty and hair products for African American women.
• Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), UK – Invented the bouncing bomb.
• David Warren (1925–2010), Australia – Invented the Flight data recorder (black box).
• Robert Watson-Watt (1892–1973), Scotland – Developed microwave radar.
• James Watt (1736–1819), Scotland – Greatly improved the Steam engine.
• Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858–1929), Austria – Invented the Gas mantle for brighter gas lights.
• George Westinghouse (1846–1914), U.S. – Invented the Air brake (rail) for trains.
• Charles Wheatstone (1802–1875), UK – Invented the concertina and stereoscope.
• Eli Whitney (1765–1825), U.S. – Invented the cotton gin.
• Frank Whittle (1907–1996), UK – Co-invented the jet engine.
• Otto Wichterle (1913–1989), Czechoslovakia – Invented the soft contact lens.
• Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869–1959), UK – Invented the Cloud chamber for observing particles.
• Niklaus Wirth (1934–2024), Switzerland – Created Pascal (programming language).
• Norman Joseph Woodland (1921–2012), U.S. – Co-invented the Barcode.
• Steve Wozniak (born 1950), U.S. – Co-founded Apple and designed the Apple I and Apple II computers.
• Wright brothers, Orville (1871–1948) and Wilbur (1867–1912), U.S. – Invented the first successful powered airplane.
• Arthur Wynne (1871–1945), UK – Created the crossword puzzle.

Y

• Pavel Yablochkov (1847–1894), Russia – Invented the Yablochkov candle, an early electric arc lamp.
• Hidetsugu Yagi (1886–1976), Japan – Co-invented the Yagi–Uda antenna.
• Linus Yale Jr. (1821–1868), U.S. – Invented the cylinder lock.
• Tu Youyou (born 1930), China – Discovered Artemisinin, a treatment for malaria.
• Muhammad Yunus (born 1940), Bangladesh – Pioneer of microcredit and microfinance.

Z

• Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (936–1013), Islamic Spain – Developed surgical instruments and catgut surgical suture.
• Frank Zamboni (1901–1988), U.S. – Invented the Ice resurfacer.
• Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof (1859–1917), Russia/Poland – Created the Esperanto language.
• Walter Zapp (1905–2003), Latvia/Estonia/Germany – Invented the Minox subminiature camera.
• Nikolay Zelinsky (1861–1953), Russia – Invented the first effective filtering coal gas mask.
• Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838–1917), Germany – Invented the Zeppelin airship.
• Frits Zernike (1888–1966), The Netherlands – Invented the phase contrast microscope.
• Konrad Zuse (1910–1995), Germany – Invented the first programmable general-purpose computer (Z1).
• Vladimir Zworykin (1889–1982), Russia/U.S. – Invented the Iconoscope and kinescope, important for early television.

See also

• List of emerging technologies
• List of prolific inventors
• Timeline of historic inventions
• List of African-American inventors and scientists