Engineers and Inventors

An inventor is a person who creates new inventions, typically technical devices such as mechanical, electrical or software devices or methods. Although some inventors may also be scientists, most base their work on the discoveries of other scientists, experimenting with practical applications and combinations of those discoveries, and with improvements and combinations of existing devices, to create new useful devices. The system of patents was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term monopoly on inventions that are judged sufficiently novel. This system is nowadays frequently considered as being abused, especially in the United States, and some have called for reform or even abolition of the patent system. In the U.S., however, the patent right originates from the Constitution, so inventors will likely continue to protect their inventions that way for many years to come.

List of Engineers and Inventors

Rudolf Diesel -(March 18, 1858 - September 30, 1913) was a German inventor, famous for the invention of the Diesel engine. He was born in Paris and died on the English Channel.

Lee De Forest - (August 26, 1873 - June 30, 1961), was an American inventor with over 300 patents to his name. De Forest invented the audion, a vacuum tube that takes weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age," as the audion helped to usher in the widespread use of electronics.

Edwin Laurentine "Colonel" Drake (1819-1880), an American oil driller, is popularly credited with having "discovered" oil. He was born in Greenville, NY on March 11, 1819. On August 27, 1859, a well that Drake built near Titusville, Pennsylvania struck oil.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin - (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) was an American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat, and inventor. One of the leaders of the American Revolution, he was well known also for his many quotations and his experiments with electricity.

 
 
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