Thegreatinventor-ThomasEdison
Edisonwasaprolificinventor,holding1,093USpatentsinhisname,aswellasmanypatentsintheUnitedKingdom,France,andGermany.MoresignificantthanthenumberofEdison'spatents,aretheimpactsofhisinventions,becauseEdisonnotonlyinventedthings,hisinventionsestablishedmajornewindustriesworld-wide,notably,electriclightandpowerutilities,soundrecordingandmotionpictures.Edison'sinventionscontributedtomasscommunicationand,inparticular,telecommunications.Theseincludedastockticker,amechanicalvoterecorder,abatteryforanelectriccar,electricalpower,recordedmusicandmotionpictures.
ThomasAlvaEdison(February11,1847–October18,1931)wasanAmericaninventorandbusinessman.
AlexanderGrahamBell(March3,1847–August2,1922)[3]wasaneminentscientist,inventor,engineerandinnovatorwhoiscreditedwithinventingthefirstpracticaltelephone.[N3]Bell'sfather,grandfather,andbrotherhadallbeenassociatedwithworkonelocutionandspeech,andbothhismotherandwifeweredeaf,profoundlyinfluencingBell'slife'swork.[6]HisresearchonhearingandspeechfurtherledhimtoexperimentwithhearingdeviceswhicheventuallyculminatedinBellbeingawardedthefirstUSpatentforthetelephonein1876.[N4]Inretrospect,Bellconsideredhismostfamousinventionanintrusiononhisrealworkasascientistandrefusedtohaveatelephoneinhisstudy.[8][N5]ManyotherinventionsmarkedBell'slaterlife,includinggroundbreakingworkinopticaltelecommunications,hydrofoilsandaeronautics.In1888,BellbecameoneofthefoundingmembersoftheNationalGeographicSociety.
GeorgeWashingtonCarver(byJanuary1864–January5,1943),wasanAmericanscientist,botanist,educator,andinventor.Carver'sreputationisbasedonhisresearchintoandpromotionofalternativecropstocotton,suchaspeanuts,soybeansandsweetpotatoes,whichalsoaidednutritionforfarmfamilies.Hewantedpoorfarmerstogrowalternativecropsbothasasourceoftheirownfoodandasasourceofotherproductstoimprovetheirqualityoflife.Themostpopularofhis44practicalbulletinsforfarmerscontained105foodrecipesusingpeanuts.Healsodevelopedandpromotedabout100productsmadefrompeanutsthatwereusefulforthehouseandfarm,includingcosmetics,dyes,paints,plastics,gasoline,andnitroglycerin.Hereceivednumeroushonorsforhiswork,includingtheSpingarnMedaloftheNAACP.DuringtheReconstruction-eraSouth,monocultureofcottondepletedthesoilinmanyareas.Intheearly20thcentury,thebollweevildestroyedmuchofthecottoncrop,andplantersandfarmworkerssuffered.Carver'sworkonpeanutswasintendedtoprovideanalternativecrop.