Inventors & Engineers
Builders of the tools that changed everything.
records written
Medieval era
Filippo Brunelleschi
1377 – April 15, 1446
Italian architect, sculptor and engineer
Medieval era
Jacques Cartier
December 31, 1491 – September 24, 1557
Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)
Early Modern era
Francis Drake
July 13, 1540 – January 28, 1596
English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)
Modern era
John Muir
April 21, 1838 – December 24, 1914
Scottish-American naturalist (1838–1914)
Modern era
Charles Lindbergh
February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974
American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist (1902–1974)
Modern era
Valentina Tereshkova
b. March 6, 1937
Russian cosmonaut and pilot, first woman to have flown in space (born 1937)
Modern era
Alan Shepard
November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998
American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923–1998)
Modern era
Marcus Garvey
August 17, 1887 – June 10, 1940
Jamaica-born British political activist, Pan-Africanist, orator, and entrepreneur (1887-1940)
Modern era
Raoul Wallenberg
August 4, 1912 – January 1, 1947
Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat and humanitarian (1912-1947)
Modern era
Oskar Schindler
April 28, 1908 – October 9, 1974
German industrialist and Holocaust rescuer (1908–1974)
Modern era
Nellie Bly
May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922
American journalist
Contemporary era
A. R. Rahman
b. January 6, 1966
Indian composer and musician
Contemporary era
Dr. Dre
b. February 18, 1965
American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor
Contemporary era
Rihanna
b. February 20, 1988
Barbadian singer (born 1988)
Modern era
Jesse Owens
September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980
American track and field athlete (1913–1980)
Contemporary era
Michael Jordan
b. February 17, 1963
Six-time NBA champion who globalized basketball
Contemporary era
Magic Johnson
b. August 14, 1959
American basketball player and entrepreneur (born 1959)
Contemporary era
Cristiano Ronaldo
b. February 5, 1985
Portuguese forward, all-time top scorer in men's international football
Contemporary era
Serena Williams
b. September 26, 1981
Winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a tennis era unto herself
Contemporary era
Venus Williams
b. June 17, 1980
American tennis player (born 1980)
Contemporary era
Ayrton Senna
March 21, 1960 – May 1, 1994
Brazilian racing driver (1960–1994)
Modern era
John D. Rockefeller
July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937
American industrialist and philanthropist (1839–1937)
Modern era
Andrew Carnegie
November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919
Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist (1835–1919)
Early Modern era
Cornelius Vanderbilt
May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877
American businessman and tycoon (1794–1877)
Modern era
J. P. Morgan
April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913
American financier, banker, and art collector (1837–1913)
Modern era
Henry Ford
July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947
American business magnate (1863–1947)
Modern era
Milton Hershey
September 13, 1857 – October 13, 1945
American businessman (1857-1945)
Modern era
Madam C. J. Walker
December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919
American entrepreneur (1867-1919)
Modern era
Estee Lauder
July 1, 1906 – April 24, 2004
American businesswoman (1906–2004)
Modern era
Enzo Ferrari
February 18, 1898 – August 14, 1988
Italian racing driver and entrepreneur (1898–1988)
Modern era
Soichiro Honda
November 17, 1906 – August 5, 1991
Japanese engineer and industrialist
Modern era
Akio Morita
January 26, 1921 – October 3, 1999
Japanese businessman (1921-1999)
Modern era
Howard Hughes
December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976
American aviator, engineer, industrialist, and film producer (1905–1976)
Modern era
Sam Walton
March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992
American businessman (1918–1992)
Modern era
Ray Kroc
October 5, 1902 – January 14, 1984
American businessman
Modern era
Warren Buffett
b. August 30, 1930
American investor, entrepreneur and businessman
Contemporary era
Steve Jobs
February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011
Co-founder of Apple who fused technology with design
Contemporary era
Steve Wozniak
b. August 11, 1950
American computer pioneer, inventor, computer engineer and programmer; co-founder of Apple Inc.
Contemporary era
Bill Gates
b. October 28, 1955
Co-founder of Microsoft turned global health philanthropist
Contemporary era
Richard Branson
b. July 18, 1950
British business magnate
Contemporary era
Elon Musk
b. June 28, 1971
American businessman (born 1971)
Contemporary era
Jeff Bezos
b. January 12, 1964
American business magnate (born 1964)
Contemporary era
Mark Zuckerberg
b. May 14, 1984
American Internet entrepreneur
Contemporary era
Larry Page
b. March 26, 1973
American computer scientist and Internet entrepreneur (born 1973)
Contemporary era
Sergey Brin
b. August 21, 1973
American billionaire businessman (born 1973)
Contemporary era
Jack Ma
b. September 10, 1964
Chinese businessman
Modern era
Ratan Tata
December 28, 1937 – October 9, 2024
Indian industrialist (1937–2024)
Modern era
Ingvar Kamprad
March 30, 1926 – January 27, 2018
Swedish business magnate (1926-2018)
Contemporary era
Jensen Huang
b. February 17, 1963
American entrepreneur and businessman; founder and CEO of Nvidia
Contemporary era
Nawaz Sharif
b. December 25, 1949
Former prime minister of Pakistan
Contemporary era
Asif Ali Zardari
b. July 26, 1955
President of Pakistan (2008–2013; since 2024)
Contemporary era
Junaid Jamshed
September 3, 1964 – December 7, 2016
Pakistani recording artist
Contemporary era
Waqar Zaka
Pakistani television host and internet personality
Contemporary era
Mian Muhammad Mansha
b. December 1, 1947
Pakistani businessman
Modern era
Sadruddin Hashwani
b. February 19, 1940
Pakistani businessman
Contemporary era
Arif Habib
b. 1952
Pakistani businessman
Modern era
Syed Babar Ali
b. June 30, 1926
Pakistani businessman, philanthropist and former Finance Minister of Pakistan
Modern era
Hussain Dawood
b. September 20, 1943
Pakistani industrialist, educationist and philanthropist
Modern era
Aga Khan IV
December 13, 1936 – February 4, 2025
49th Imam of Nizari Isma'ilism Muslims
Modern era
Saif Ali Janjua
April 25, 1922 – October 10, 1948
Pakistani engineer