Inventions have always been a driving force behind human progress.

 Inventions have always been a driving force behind human progress.

From the invention of the wheel to the latest technological advancements, inventions have shaped our world in countless ways. 

One of the most impactful inventions of all time is the printing press, invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the 15th century. This invention revolutionized the way information was disseminated, making it possible for books to be mass-produced and distributed to the masses. This led to an explosion of knowledge and education, and is considered one of the key factors in the development of the modern world.

 Another important invention is the steam engine, invented by James Watt in the 18th century. This invention powered the Industrial Revolution and led to the development of new forms of transportation, such as trains and steamboats, as well as the creation of new manufacturing processes. 

The invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 was another game-changer. It revolutionized communication and made it possible for people to talk to each other over long distances. In recent years, the invention of the internet has had an enormous impact on the way we live and work. It has made it possible for people to communicate and access information from anywhere in the world, and has greatly facilitated the growth of e-commerce and online business. 

All of these inventions have had a profound impact on society and have changed the way we live. From the printing press to the internet, they have all played a crucial role in shaping the world we live in today.

Videocassette recorder

The invention:

 A device for recording and playing back movies
and television programs, the videocassette recorder (VCR) revolutionized
the home entertainment industry in the late 1970’s.


The company behind the invention:

Philips Corporation, a Dutch Company

Vending machine slug rejector

The invention: 

A device that separates real coins from counterfeits,
the slug rejector made it possible for coin-operated vending
machines to become an important marketing tool for many
products .

Velcro

The invention: 

A material comprising millions of tiny hooks and
loops that work together to create powerful and easy-to-use fasteners
for a wide range of applications.

The person behind the invention:

Georges de Mestral (1904-1990), a Swiss engineer and inventor

Vat dye

The invention:

The culmination of centuries of efforts to mimic the
brilliant colors displayed in nature in dyes that can be used in
many products.

The people behind the invention:

Sir William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), an English student in
Hofmann’s laboratory
René Bohn (1862-1922), a synthetic organic chemist
Karl Heumann (1850-1894), a German chemist who taught Bohn
Roland Scholl (1865-1945), a Swiss chemist who established the
correct structure of Bohn’s dye
August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818-1892), an organic chemist

Vacuum tube

The invention:

 A sealed glass tube from which air and gas have
been removed to permit electrons to move more freely, the vacuum
tube was the heart of electronic systems until it was displaced
by transistors.


The people behind the invention:

Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945), an English physicist
and professor of electrical engineering
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), an American inventor
Lee de Forest (1873-1961), an American scientist and inventor
Arthur Wehnelt (1871-1944), a German inventor

Vacuum cleaner

The invention:

The first portable domestic vacuum cleaner successfully
adapted to electricity, the original machine helped begin
the electrification of domestic appliances in the early twentieth
century.


The people behind the invention:

H. Cecil Booth (1871-1955), a British civil engineer
Melville R. Bissell (1843-1889), the inventor and marketer of the
Bissell carpet sweeper in 1876
William Henry Hoover (1849-1932), an American industrialist
James Murray Spangler (1848-1915), an American inventor

UNIVAC Computer

The invention: 

The first commercially successful computer system.

The people behind the invention:

John Presper Eckert (1919-1995), an American electrical engineer
John W. Mauchly (1907-1980), an American physicist
John von Neumann (1903-1957), a Hungarian American
mathematician
Howard Aiken (1900-1973), an American physicist
George Stibitz (1904-1995), a scientist at Bell Labs

Ultrasound

The invention: 

A medically safe alternative to X-ray examination,
ultrasound uses sound waves to detect fetal problems in pregnant
women.

The people behind the invention:

Ian T. Donald (1910-1987), a British obstetrician

Paul Langévin (1872-1946), a French physicist

Marie Curie (1867-1946) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906), the French husband-and-wife team that researched and developed the field of radioactivity

Alice Stewart, a British researcher

Ultramicroscope

The invention: 

A microscope characterized by high-intensity illumination
for the study of exceptionally small objects, such as colloidal
substances.


The people behind the invention:

Richard Zsigmondy (1865-1929), an Austrian-born German
organic chemist who won the 1925 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
H. F. W. Siedentopf (1872-1940), a German physicist-optician
Max von Smouluchowski (1879-1961), a German organic
chemist.

Ultracentrifuge

The invention: 

Asuper-high-velocity centrifuge designed to separate
colloidal or submicroscopic substances, the ultracentrifuge
was used to measure the molecular weight of proteins and
proved that proteins are large molecules.

Typhus vaccine

The invention: 

The first effective vaccine against the virulent typhus
disease.

The person behind the invention:

Hans Zinsser (1878-1940), an American bacteriologist and
immunologist

Turbojet

The invention:

 A jet engine with a turbine-driven compressor that
uses its hot-gas exhaust to develop thrust.

 The people behind the invention:

Henry Harley Arnold (1886-1950), a chief of staff of the U.S.
Army Air Corps
Gerry Sayer, a chief test pilot for Gloster Aircraft Limited
Hans Pabst von Ohain (1911- ), a German engineer
Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996), an English Royal Air Force
officer and engineer

Tupperware

The invention:

Trademarked food-storage products that changed
the way Americans viewed plastic products and created a model
for selling products in consumers homes.

The people behind the invention:

Earl S. Tupper (1907-1983), founder of Tupperware
Brownie Wise, the creator of the vast home sales network for
Tupperware
Morison Cousins (1934-2001), a designer hired by Tupperware
to modernize its products in the early 1990’s

Tungsten filament

The invention: 

Metal filament used in the incandescent light bulbs
that have long provided most of the world’s electrical lighting.


The people behind the invention:

William David Coolidge (1873-1975), an American electrical
engineer
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), an American inventor

Tuberculosis vaccine

The invention: 

Vaccine that uses an avirulent (nondisease) strain
of bovine tuberculosis bacilli that is safer than earlier vaccines.


The people behind the invention:

Albert Calmette (1863-1933), a French microbiologist
Camille Guérin (1872-1961), a French veterinarian and
microbiologist
Robert Koch (1843-1910), a German physician and
microbiologist

Transistor radio

The invention:

 Miniature portable radio that used transistors and
created a new mass market for electronic products.

Transistor

The invention: 

A miniature electronic device, comprising a tiny
semiconductor and multiple electrical contacts, used in circuits
as an amplifier, detector, or switch, that revolutionized electronics
in the mid-twentieth century.

The people behind the invention:

William B. Shockley (1910-1989), an American physicist who led
the Bell Laboratories team that produced the first transistors
Akio Morita (1921-1999), a Japanese physicist and engineer who
was the cofounder of the Sony electronics company
Masaru Ibuka (1908-1997), a Japanese electrical engineer and
businessman who cofounded Sony with Morita

Touch-tone telephone

The invention: 

A push-button dialing system for telephones that
replaced the earlier rotary-dial phone.

The person behind the invention:

Bell Labs, the research and development arm of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company

Tidal power plant

The invention:

Plant that converts the natural ocean tidal forces
into electrical power.

The people behind the invention:

Mariano di Jacopo detto Taccola (Mariano of Siena, 1381-1453),
an Italian notary, artist, and engineer
Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1697 or 1698-1761), a French engineer
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), president of the United States