Top 10 Most Famous Inventions of all Time and their Inventors

The world is full of inventions, innovations, re-development, and new ideas, scientists have never fallen asleep or lose their guard in inventing and discovering new ways to do a thing or to make life better, well most times unlike the past when discoveries are the other of the day and engineers, physicist, mathematicians are just not satisfied the redundancy, it paved way for the innovative creations the world now enjoys leaving us with some of these most famous inventions of all time and their inventors.

According to Wikipedia, there are far earlier inventions that pre-date the earliest form of humans that can only pre-human species could have created and have been stored in museums all over the world. This era is believed to be the ice age with some of their inventions being a modification and sources of ideas for modern inventions, some of these famous inventions of all time and their inventors records include Glue dated back to the middle paleolithic era or glass in the bronze age and many more.

Meanwhile, there are over a million inventions in the history of mankind and it may be difficult to list them in other important but we have compiled a list of some of the most famous inventions of all time and their inventors, bearing in mind that there far more “important” innovations and inventions than the ten that is on this list.

Below is the table of the Top 10 most Famous Inventions of all Time and their Inventors, along with the year of the invention;

1. Martin Cooper – Mobile Phone

Martin Cooper is an American engineer, he is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry, particularly in radio spectrum management, holding eleven patents in the field. He was born on December 26, 1928, Martin is among the famous investors who are still living as of October 20 2022 he is over 93 years of age.

Motorola engineer Marty Cooper made the first public call from a real handheld portable cell phone at Motorola on April 3, 1973, using the patented technology he and his team revived. Cooper led the team that redeveloped the first handheld cell phone in 1983 and brought it to market. This was different from the car telephone, which Bell Labs popularly known as Nokia invented in 1946.

He is known as the “father of the cell phone” his invention is the first of these famous inventions of all time and their inventors and is credited with making the first-ever public handheld cell phone call in 1973.

Read More: 10 Great Female Inventors You Should Know

2. Alexander Graham Bell – Telephone

Coming next in this list of famous inventions of all time and their inventors are Alexander Graham Bell the father and inventor of the Telephone.

Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish-born inventor, scientist, and engineer who lived from March 3, 1847, to August 2, 1922, is credited with patenting the first usable telephone. Bell made his telephone work on March 10, 1876, three days after receiving his patent, by utilizing a liquid transmitter concept that was based on one of his rivals that raced him to get the patent for the Telephone named Gray. Bell said into the liquid transmitter, “Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you,” and Watson, who was listening in the opposite room, heard the words clearly.

Gray’s liquid transmitter was never used by Bell for public demonstrations or for commercial purposes after March 1876. Instead, Graham Bell concentrated on developing the electromagnetic telephone which we have today.

Meanwhile, On October 9, 1876, Cambridge and Boston had the first two-way conversation back and forth over a line, spanning a distance of 2.5 miles. Watson an associate of Bell was at the Walworth Manufacturing Company’s offices while Bell was in Boston’s Kilby Street, this led to new discoveries and the redevelopment of the Telephone as the world has it today.

3. John Logie Baird –  Television

The television is one of the many inventions we have today that is famous and widely known, almost every home on the planet has a television, and those who can’t afford it have a way of seeing it and is one of the many inventions that have passed through a series of stages of reinvention, one of the amazing thing is that the inventor John Logie Baird He transmitted the first long-distance television picture, which traveled over 400 miles and he also invented the 3D television.

On January 26, 1926, he created the first color television system that was publicly demonstrated as well as the first practical color television picture tube. The first international air television transmission was made possible by the Baird Television Development Company in 1928. Baird has a significant place in television history thanks to his early technological achievements and his contribution to the practical introduction of broadcast television for home entertainment.

The BBC began using Baird’s technology in 1929 to broadcast the first television programs. Despite being the first form of television, Baird’s technology had some inherent limitations. Baird’s television was mechanical, and other people were working on developing electronic television, so his visual images were fuzzy and flickering.

When compared to Marconi-electronic EMI’s television in 1935, Baird’s technology was deemed inferior by a BBC committee. In 1937, the BBC abandoned it but John Logie Baird is regarded as the father of television and he pioneer the re-development of the television that others have built on

4. Karl Benz – Motor Car

Coming up next on this list of famous inventions of all time and their inventors is this amazing invention Automobile, which has really changed the world, affected lives greatly, and has become one of the most famous creations of man, basically, 6 out of every 10 people uses one of sees one in everyday life. The automobile industry is one that is among the fasted growing and largest industries in the world.

Karl Benz was a German engineer and engine designer who is widely regarded as “the father of the motor car” as well as “the father of the automobile industry.” His 1885 Benz Patent Motorcar is regarded as the first practical automobile and the first car to be mass-produced. In 1886, he received a patent for the motorcar.

He used similar technology to create an automobile based on his experience with and love of bicycles. It had wire wheels (rather than wooden carriage wheels) and a four-stroke engine of his own design between the rear wheels, with very advanced coil ignition and evaporative cooling rather than a radiator. Two roller chains transmitted power to the rear axle. Karl Benz completed his design in 1885 and dubbed it the “Benz Patent-Motorwagen.” This became the first ever produced car in the history of man and the car was first driven on a long distance drive by Karl Benz’s wife Bertha Benz who made the model popular.

5. Tim Berners-Lee – World Wide Web

Tim Berners-Lee with the first www system

Sir Timothy Berners-Lee is a computer scientist from England who is best known as the creator of the World Wide Web. He is a Computer Science Professorial Fellow at the University of Oxford and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He was born on June 8, 1955, in London, England.

On March 12, 1989, Berners-Lee proposed an information management system, and in mid-November, he implemented the first successful communication between a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) client and server via the Internet.

Berners-Lee developed the first web browser, he wrote his proposal in March 1989 and redistributed it in 1990. His software also served as a WorldWideWeb editor for the NeXTSTEP operating system.

On December 20, 1990, Berners-Lee published the first website, it was accessible via the Internet via the CERN network. The site explained what the World Wide Web was, how to use a browser and set up a web server, and how to get started with your own website.

6. Wilbur and Orville Wright – Airplane

Wilbur and Orville Wright in a flight test

This invention is one most consider to be impossible, the word has ever been used vividly against any innovation or invention it is in this regard as many deem it impossible for man to take to flight like birds, that is why this is one of the most famous inventions of man and yes! it has affected living greatly, especially in the aspect of transportation which has been revolutionized since the start of time.

Well, nowadays it is one of the most intriguing things to be on a plane or to own one and we can all thank the wonderful Wilbur and Orville the Wright brothers for inventing one against the odds that were against them but still went on to success and gave the means to travel in the air.

With the Wright Flyer II, the Wright brothers developed their flying machine to make longer-running and more aerodynamic flights in 1903-1905, followed by the Wright Flyer III, the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft. The brothers’ breakthrough was the development of a three-axis control system, which allowed the pilot to effectively steer the aircraft while maintaining its equilibrium.

7. Bartolomeo Cristofori – Piano

Bartolomeo Cristofori one out of the three remaining Piano from 1700

Having a spot on this list is Bartolomeo Cristofori who is the famous Italian maker of musical instruments. Meanwhile, Cristofori has made many instruments thought-out his career as an inventor but the most popular is the piano.

Bartolomeo Cristofori being a Mastercraft, musician, and inventor made so many instruments like the keyboard and redeveloped many other instruments used in ancient times but the most famous of them all is the piano which was constructed in the 1700s which is over 350 years ago.

Cristofori’s piano from the 1720s had almost all of the features of the modern instrument. It was unique in that it was made of very light materials and lacked a metal frame, limiting its ability to produce a particularly loud tone. According to records, only three survived till today dating back over 300 years.

8. Julius Robert Oppenheimer – Atomic Bomb

The invention of this destructive element really does changes the world and decided a lot in the history of mankind, well no matter what it may be called the advent of the Atomic Bomb by Julius Robert Oppenheimer was a turning point in the history of man which the world is not going to recover from.

The atomic bomb which was created by Julius Robert Oppenheimer is the eighth on this list of famous inventions of all time and their inventors. He was a theoretical physicist from America and also a physics professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Julius was the wartime director of the Los Alamos Laboratory during world war and is widely regarded as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II.

Oppenheimer was present at the Trinity test in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, when the first atomic bomb was successfully detonated. Meanwhile, in his words stated that the world would never be the same again while he could remember a line from Sanskrit (Hindu scripture): “now I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

9. Rudolf Diesel – Diesel Engine

Karl Diesel engine in a museum

This brings us to the ninth most famous inventions of all time and their inventors on this list which is the invention of the diesel engine, and the inventor Rudolf Diesel.

He was a German inventor and mechanical engineer best known for developing the diesel engine, which uses diesel fuel; both of which are named after him. The first successful diesel engine, Motor 250/400, was officially tested in 1897 and is now on display at the German Technical Museum in Munich. Meanwhile, this came after many years of testing and building the engine because of its ruggedness.

The diesel engine, however, is widely used in a variety of applications, including stationary engines, agricultural equipment, general off-highway machinery, submarines, ships, locomotives, trucks, and contemporary automobiles. More heat can be converted to mechanical work by diesel engines than by any other internal combustion engines suitable for motor vehicles due to their superior fuel efficiency.

10. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen – X-ray

X-ray is the last famous invention of all time on this list of famous inventions of all time and their inventors.

In 1895, Wilhelm Roentgen, a physics professor in Wurzburg, Bavaria, accidentally made the discovery of X-rays while attempting to determine whether cathode rays could pass through glass. He was surprised to see an extremely bright green light escape from his cathode tube despite it being covered in thick black paper and projected onto a nearby fluorescent screen.

Through testing, he discovered that the intriguing light would pass through the majority of materials while casting shadows on solid objects. He referred to the rays as “X” rays, which means “unknown” rays because he had no idea what they were. Roentgen discovered quickly that X-rays would also penetrate human tissue, making the bones and tissue below visible.

BONUS

1. Thomas Edison – Light Bulb, Sound recording, and Motion pictures.

After numerous unsuccessful attempts by other scientists, Edison created a lightbulb with a platinum filament in October 1878 that lasted for 40 minutes before going out. Although Edison is regarded with inventing the lightbulb Joseph Swan and many other scientists had earlier experimented with the ideal and the record has it that Joseph Swan’s house was the first to be listed by electric light.

2. Robert H. Goddard – Liquid-fueled Rocket (Space Rocket)

Robert Goddard is regarded as the father of modern rocket repulsion which he launched on 16 March 1926. Meanwhile, the earlier form of rocket repulsion was not discarded like in 400BC but they were mainly ideas or dabbling in the idea.

Famous Inventions of all Time and their Inventors

Below in this list are the top ten famous inventions of all time and their inventors;

1. Martin Cooper – Mobile Phone
2. Alexander Graham Bell – Telephone
3. John Logie Baird –  Television
4. Karl Benz – Motor Car
5. Tim Berners-Lee – World Wide Web
6. Wilbur and Orville Wright – Airplane
7. Bartolomeo Cristofori – Piano
8. Julius Robert Oppenheimer – Atomic Bomb
9. Rudolf Diesel – Diesel Engine
10. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen – X-ray
11. Thomas Edison – Light Bulb, Sound recording, and Motion pictures.
12. Robert H. Goddard – Liquid-fueled Rocket