Famous Inventions and Inventors for Students [Find PDF]

Can you imagine how different life would be without the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell or the light bulb by Thomas Edison? Famous inventions and inventors have made our lives easier and more exciting. These inventions are present everywhere. From using fans and air conditioners in scorching heat to pencils in everyday school life, scientists and their inventions have made our lives easier and more comfortable. Want to discover more life-changing inventions and the brilliant minds behind them? Here is a comprehensive blog on famous inventions and inventors for students.

List of Greatest Inventors of All Time

Inventions have played an essential role in humanity’s journey, driving significant changes in every aspect of life. From medicine and transportation to communication and technology, inventions are the catalysts behind societal advancements.Inventions and inventors have shaped the world in extraordinary ways, leaving a lasting impact on history and humanity.

From groundbreaking technologies to everyday essentials, these remarkable creations have revolutionized how we live, work, and connect with the world around us. Explore this list of the greatest inventors of all time and their iconic inventions that continue to inspire innovation today.

List of Greatest Inventors of All Time	Greatest Inventions	Year
Thomas Edison	Electric Light Bulb	1879
Alexander Graham Bell	Telephone	1876
Johannes Gutenberg	Printing Press	1440
Benjamin Franklin	Electricity	1752
Karl Benz	Automobile	1885
Wright Brothers	Airplane	1903
Guglielmo Marconi	Radio Communication	1895
Alexander Fleming	Penicillin	1928
Anders Celsius	Celsius Temperature Scale	1742
Evangelista Torricelli	Barometer	1643
Elisha Otis	Elevator Safety Mechanism	1853
Rudolf Diesel	Diesel Engine	1897
Alfred Bernhard Nobel	Dynamite	1867
Jonas Salk	Polio Vaccine	1955
Cornelis Drebbel	Submarine	1620
William Sturgeon	Electromagnet	1824
Theodore Maiman	Laser	1960
J. Robert Oppenheimer	Atomic Bomb	1945
Dmitri Mendeleev	Periodic Table	1869
Charles Goodyear	Vulcanized Rubber	1839
Robert H. Goddard	Rocket Technology	1926
Willis Carrier	Air Conditioning	1902
George Stephenson	Steam Locomotive	1814
Leon Battista Alberti	Architectural Perspective	1435
Alessandro Volta	Electric Battery	1800
Richard Jordan Gatling	Gatling Gun	1862
John Boyd Dunlop	Pneumatic Tire	1888
Kirkpatrick Macmillan	Bicycle	1839
William Friese-Greene	Motion Picture Camera	1889
Felix Hoffmann	Aspirin	1897
Robert Fulton	Steamboat	1807
Gottlieb Daimler	Internal Combustion Engine	1885
Christopher Cockerell	Hovercraft	1955
Bartolomeo Cristofori	Piano	1700
Igor Sikorsky	Helicopter	1939
Thomas Davenport	Electric Motor	1834
Charles Richter	Richter Scale	1935
Hans von Ohain	Jet Engine	1939
J. Stuart Blackton	Animated Film	1906
Wilhelm Schickard	Mechanical Calculator	1623
Schuyler Wheeler	Electric Fan	1882
Charles Algernon Parsons	Steam Turbine	1884
Richard Gurley Drew	Scotch Tape	1930
Louis-Sébastien Lenormand	Parachute	1783
Pierre Janssen	Helium in Sun’s Spectrum	1868
Joseph Glidden	Barbed Wire	1874
Alexander Parkes	Plastic	1862
James Young Simpson	Chloroform	1847
William Gilbert	Magnetism	1600
Rune Elmqvist	Pacemaker	1958
Leonardo Da Vinci	Polymath	–
Georges Claude	Neon Lighting	1910
Thales of Miletus	Static Electricity	–
Archimedes	Center of Gravity	–
Benjamin Franklin	Lightning Rod and Glass Harmonica	1752, 1761
Nikola Tesla	AC Generation and Transmission Technology	1888
Steve Jobs	iPhones	2007
George Washington Carver	300 Uses of Peanuts	–
Tim Berners-Lee	HTML, World Wide Web	1989
Johannes Gutenberg	Printing Press	1440s

Here are a few images of famous inventions and inventors:

10 Famous Inventions and Inventors- Science and Technology

The field of Science and Technology has enhanced and eased our way of living to an unmeasurable extent. From the automobile and flexible electronics to body scanners and penicillin, there have been important discoveries and inventions in the Science stream including, but not limited to, medicine, agribusiness, life sciences, space science, etc. Here is a list of a few important inventions and inventors who looked for a solution in the most unusual ways.

Famous Inventions	Inventors	Year
Telephone	Alexander Graham Bell	1876
Bulb	Thomas Edison	1879
Mobile Phone	Martin Cooper	1973
Ceiling Fan	Philip Diehl	1882
3D Printing	Chuck Hill	1980s
Printing Machine	Johannes Gutenberg	1440s
Television	John Logie Baird	1925
Three-Wheeled Motor Car	Karl Benz	1885
Virtual Reality Headset	Ivan Sutherland	1968
Carbon Nanotubes	Sumio Iijima	1991

Famous Inventions and Inventors- Computer Science

Since the conceptualization of the “Difference Engine” by Charles Babbage, vast research has been conducted throughout the world in the field of Computer Science Engineering, and Technology. So, when we talk about popular inventions, it becomes essential to mention notable discoveries which have made the usage of the computer system easy. Tabulated below are a few inventions and inventors related to the field of Computer Science.

Famous Inventions	Inventors	Year
Computer	Charles Babbage	1837
First Microchip	Federico Faggin	1971
World Wide Web (WWW)	Tim Berners-Lee	1989
GPS (Global Positioning System)	Roger L. Easton	1973
BarCode	Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver	1952
Magnetic Resonance Imaging	Raymond Damadian	1977
Liquid Crystal Display	George H. Heilmeier	1968
First Touchscreen	E.A Johnson	1965
Linux Operating System	Linus Torvalds	1991

Famous Inventions and Inventors- Biology

Biology is one of the most complicated subjects to study and humans are every second close to discovering something new. Inventions that will benefit everyone. From the simple microscope to the structure of DNA, everything was invented. Here are some of the important inventors and their inventions in Biology:

Famous Inventions	Inventors
Circulation of Blood	William Harvey
Microscope	Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Vaccination	Edward Jenner
DNA	Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins
Genetic Drift	Sewall Wright
First Heart Transplant	Norman Shumway
Hormone	William Bayliss
Polio Vaccine	Jonas Salk
Aspirin	Felix Hoffmann
Cell	Robert Hooke

Famous Inventions and Investors- Mathematics

One of the most dreaded yet interesting domains, Mathematics improves our analytical reasoning, shapes creative thinking, and enhances numeracy skills. And when it comes to the list of various inventions, this domain cannot be missed out. Here are the famous mathematicians and their inventions.

Famous Inventions	Inventors
Father of Geometry. Famous for his theorem on Prime numbers – Euclid’s Theorem	Euclid
Calculator	Blaise Pascal
Venn Diagram	John Venn
Cartesian Coordinates	René Descartes
Usage of the number “zero”	Brahmagupta
Father of Geometry. Famous for his theorem on Prime numbers – Euclid’s Theorem	P.C Mahalanobis

Famous Women Inventors and their Inventions

Around the globe and across history, women have envisioned, created, and perfected their inventions which have benefited a large section of the masses. From Medical Science and Chemistry to Electronics and Telecommunications, scores of women, who disregarded the gender stereotypes and prejudicial hindrances, have etched their names in the list of famous inventors. Shown below are some of the greatest female inventors and their unique inventions. 

Famous Inventions	Inventors	Year
Theory of Radioactivity, the discovery of Polonium and Radium	Marie Curie	1898
The first 100 percent solar-powered house	Maria Telkes	1948
Anti-reflective Glass	Katharine Burr Blodgett	1938
Windshield Wiper Blades	Mary Anderson	1903
First Computer Programmer	Ada Lovelace	1843
Paper Bag	Margaret E. Knight	1871
Kevlar Material	Stephanie Kwolek	1965
DNA Double Helix	Rosalind Franklin	1953
LuminAID Solar Light	Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta	2011

Indian Scientists and Inventions

Over the years India has produced many scholars and scientists that have made the country proud. From CV Raman to APJ Abdul Kalam. Check out the these top Indian scientist name and invention:

Famous Inventions	Inventors
Raman Effect	CV Raman
Crescograph	Jagadish Chandra Bose
Cascade	Homi J. Bhabha
Theory of Numbers	Shrinivasa Ramanujan
Block System	M Visvesvaraya
Agni and Prithvi	APJ Abdul Kalam
Aryabhatta	Vikram Sarabhai
Mercurous Nitrite	Prafulla Chandra Ray
Bone and Photon Gas	Satyendra Nath Bose
Chandrasekhar limit, number, and Friction	Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar
Zero and the number system	Aryabhatta
Buttons	Indus Valley Civilisation
Wool and cotton	Indus Valley Civilisation
Radio/wireless communication	Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose
Cataract Surgery	Sushruta
Rockets	Tipu Sultan
Yoga	Adi Yogi Shiva

5 Famous Scientists and their Inventions

Here are more details about 5 famous scientists and their inventions that continue to impact society today.

2. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose was an Indian plant physiologist and physicist. He is known for his groundbreaking work in the field of biology and physics. Bose invented highly sensitive instruments that could detect the slightest responses in living organisms to external stimuli, showing a parallel between plant and animal tissues. His experiments with radio waves and improvements to the coherer, an early radio detector, contributed to the development of solid-state physics.

4. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, known as the “Missile Man” and “People’s President,” was a renowned Indian scientist and the 11th President of India. He played a key role in India’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. Kalam was the project director of India’s first satellite launch vehicle, SLV-III, and later led the successful development of missiles like Agni and Prithvi. He also coordinated the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. After serving as president, he continued to inspire students and work towards India’s technological growth.

Famous Inventions and Inventors PDF!

Top Books on Famous Inventions and Inventors

The following are some of the top books on famous inventions and inventors:

Books	Author
Inventions: A Visual Encyclopedia	John Farndon et al
The greatest invention of all time	Jillian Powell
50 things you should know about inventions	Clive Gifford
1000 inventions and discoveries	Roger Francis Bridgman
Great inventors from A to Z	Valter Fogato

Famous Inventions and Inventors Quiz with Answers and PDF

Now that you have read all about the famous inventions and inventors, how about participating in a quiz to test your knowledge? Here are some easy quiz questions on inventions and discoveries with answers. Make sure to read each question and option carefully and then select the right answer. Once you are done with all the questions, use the Answer Key at the end to see how many questions you got right.  

Question 1: Who invented the telephone?

A) Alexander Graham Bell

B) Nikola Tesla

C) Thomas Edison

Question 2: Who invented the light bulb?

A) Thomas Edison

B) Nikola Tesla

C) Benjamin Franklin

Question 3: Who invented the airplane?

A) Leonardo da Vinci

B) The Wright brothers

C) Charles Lindbergh

Question 4: Who invented the printing press?

A) Martin Luther

B) Isaac Newton

C) Johannes Gutenberg

Question 5: Who invented the theory of relativity?

A) Marie Curie

B) Albert Einstein

C) Isaac Newton

Question 6: Who invented the first successful steam engine?

A) Richard Trevithick

B) James Watt

C) Thomas Newcomen

Question 7: Who invented the first modern computer?

A) John von Neumann

B) Alan Turing

C) Charles Babbage

Question 8: Who invented the radio?

A) Guglielmo Marconi

B) Nikola Tesla

C) Thomas Edison

Question 9: Who invented the first successful vaccine for smallpox?

A) Edward Jenner

B) Louis Pasteur

C) Jonas Salk

Question 10: Who invented the first successful sewing machine?

A) Elias Howe

B) Thomas Edison

C) Elias Howe

Answer Key

1. A	6. B
2. A	7. C
3. B	8. A
4. C	9. A
5. B	10. C

FAQs

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This was all about the famous inventions and investors. If you want to know more about other Famous Personalities then visit our General Knowledge page!