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Elias Howe
Elias Howe was born on July 9, 1819, in Spencer, Massachusetts. Howe was born with a disability that left him weak in one arm, which may have led his inspiration to invent a functioning sewing machine to help ease the manual aspect of producing garments. -
John Deere
John Deere was a blacksmith who developed the first commercially successful, self-scouring steel plow in 1837 and founded the company that still bears his name. Deere was born in 1804 in Rutland, Vermont. After his father was lost at sea when he was four years old, Deere was raised solely by his mother. -
Thomas L. Jenning
Thomas L. Jennings was likely the first Black person in the U.S. to receive a patent. In 1821, he was granted a patent for “dry scouring,” a method for cleaning clothes that preceded modern-day dry cleaning. Jennings is also renowned for being a leader in the civil rights and abolitionist movement in New York City. -
Joseph Gayetty
Joseph Gayetty invents toilet paper. Gayetty first marketed toilet paper on December 8, 1857. Each sheet of pure Manila hemp paper was watermarked "J C Gayetty N Y". The original product contained aloe as a lubricant -
Ezra Warner
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener. The idea of storing food in cans dates back almost 50 years earlier when Peter Durand of England patented a can made of wrought iron with a tin lining. -
Nicholas August
Engineer Nicolaus August Otto invented the first practical alternative to the steam engine. Born in Holzhausen, Germany, Otto built his first gas engine in 1861. Then, in partnership with German industrialist Eugene Langen, they improved the design and won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition of 1867.7 -
Levis Strauss
Levi Strauss & Co., world's largest maker of pants, noted especially for its blue denim jeans called Levi's (registered trademark). Its other products include tailored slacks, jackets, hats, shirts, skirts, and belts, and it licenses the manufacture of novelty items. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. -
Alexander Graham Bell
He also worked in medical research and invented techniques for teaching speech to the deaf. Bell's extensive range of genius included patents for the telephone and telegraph, the photo phone, aerial vehicles, and hydro-planes.7 -
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.He was partially deaf. His first invention was an electric vote recorder. -
_George Eastman
George Eastman left school at age 14 to support his mother, Maria Kilbourn Eastman, and two older sisters, Ellen and Kate. He first worked at a local insurance company and then as a junior clerk by the Rochester Savings Bank. When Eastman was 23, a colleague suggested that he take a camera on an upcoming vacation. -
George Ferris invents the Ferris Wheel.
invents the Ferris Wheel. He married Margaret Ann Beatty from Canton, Ohio. Ferris's career as a civil engineer was rewarding. His success skyrocketed when he created the Ferris wheel, thus solidifying his reputation. Ferris died from typhoid fever on November 21, 1896, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his life. -
Nikola Tesla
Tesla developed the alternating-current power system that provides electricity for homes and buildings. He also pioneered the field of radio communication and was granted more than 100 U.S. patents. -
Orville and Wilbur Wright
On Dec 17, 1903, the Wright brothers achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight. Orville & Wilbur decided who would fly first that day with a coin toss! Wilbur won the toss, but his first attempt failed. Orville went second and managed to fly for 12 seconds. -
John Logie Baird invents
Born in Helensburgh in Scotland, inventor and engineer John Logie Baird (1888-1946) achieved many 'firsts' in television technology. He started experimenting with television in 1922 and took out his first television patent in 1923. He demonstrated the first prototype television in 1925. -
Frank Henry
Frank Sherman Henry (December 15, 1909 – August 25, 1989) was an American equestrian. He competed at the 1948 Summer Olympics and won a gold medal in team eventing and silver medals in individual eventing and team dressage, becoming the only American equestrian to win three medals at one Olympics.