callings of the archive
Inventor Biographies
Every archived life recorded as inventor, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Contemporary era
David Chaum
b. 1955
American computer scientist and cryptographer
Contemporary era
Ralph Merkle
b. February 2, 1952
American cryptographer and cryonicist (born 1952)
Contemporary era
Marc Andreessen
b. July 9, 1971
American entrepreneur, investor, and software engineer
Contemporary era
Richard Heart
b. October 9, 1979
Tech-entrepreneur
Ancient era
Archimedes
287 BCE – 212 BCE
Greatest mathematician of antiquity, pioneer of mechanics and hydrostatics
Ancient era
Zhuge Liang
181 CE – August 23, 234 CE
Chinese statesman and military strategist (181–234)
Modern era
Thomas Edison
February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931
Prolific American inventor of the phonograph and practical electric light
Modern era
Nikola Tesla
July 10, 1856 – January 7, 1943
Inventor and electrical engineer who pioneered alternating current
Modern era
Albert Einstein
March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955
Theoretical physicist who reshaped our understanding of space, time, and energy
Medieval era
Al-Razi
866 CE – 925 CE
Persian polymath, physician, chemist and philosopher (854-925)
Modern era
Claude Shannon
April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001
American mathematician and information theorist (1916–2001)
Early Modern era
Michael Faraday
September 22, 1791 – August 25, 1867
British scientist (1791–1867)
Modern era
James Clerk Maxwell
June 13, 1831 – November 5, 1879
Scottish physicist (1831–1879)
Modern era
Heinrich Hertz
February 22, 1857 – January 1, 1894
German physicist (1857–1894)
Early Modern era
Alessandro Volta
February 18, 1745 – March 5, 1827
Italian chemist and physicist (1745–1827)
Modern era
Richard Feynman
May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988
American theoretical physicist (1918–1988)
Early Modern era
Humphry Davy
December 17, 1778 – May 29, 1829
British chemist
Modern era
George Washington Carver
January 1, 1864 – January 5, 1943
African American botanist and inventor (1864-1943)
Early Modern era
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
May 24, 1686 – September 16, 1736
German-Polish physicist and engineer (1686-1736)
Modern era
Robert Koch
December 11, 1843 – May 27, 1910
German physician, bacteriologist (1843–1910)
Modern era
Jonas Salk
October 28, 1914 – June 23, 1995
Jewish-American inventor of polio vaccine (1914–1995)
Contemporary era
Katalin Kariko
b. January 17, 1955
Hungarian biochemist
Medieval era
Johannes Gutenberg
1400 – February 3, 1468
Inventor of movable-type printing, the engine of the modern mind
Early Modern era
James Watt
January 19, 1736 – August 25, 1819
British engineer (1736–1819)
Early Modern era
George Stephenson
June 9, 1781 – August 12, 1848
English civil and mechanical engineer and the "Father of Railways" (1781-1848)
Early Modern era
Eli Whitney
December 8, 1765 – January 8, 1825
American inventor (1765-1825)
Early Modern era
Samuel Morse
April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872
American inventor and painter (1791–1872)
Modern era
Alexander Graham Bell
March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922
Canadian-American scientist inventor of telephone (1847–1922)
Modern era
Orville Wright
Co-inventor of powered flight with his brother Wilbur
Modern era
Wilbur Wright
April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912
American aviation pioneer (1867-1912)
Modern era
Karl Benz
November 25, 1844 – April 4, 1929
German automotive and engine designer and manufacturer (1844–1929)
Modern era
Rudolf Diesel
March 18, 1858 – September 30, 1913
German inventor and mechanical engineer (1858–1913)
Modern era
George Westinghouse
October 6, 1846 – March 12, 1914
American inventor and businessman (1846–1914)
Early Modern era
Charles Babbage
December 26, 1791 – October 18, 1871
English mathematician, philosopher, and engineer (1791–1871)
Modern era
Hedy Lamarr
November 9, 1914 – January 19, 2000
Austrian-American actress and co-inventor of an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping (1914-2000)
Modern era
Philo Farnsworth
August 19, 1906 – March 11, 1971
American inventor (1906–1971)
Modern era
John Logie Baird
August 13, 1888 – June 14, 1946
Scottish inventor, demonstrating the world's first working television (1888–1946)
Modern era
Louis Braille
January 4, 1809 – January 6, 1852
French organist and teacher (1809-1852), inventor of braille, a system for reading and writing text and music, used by people who are blind or visually impaired
Modern era
Garrett Morgan
March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963
American inventor (1877–1963)
Modern era
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
September 5, 1857 – September 19, 1935
Russian and Soviet rocket scientist and pioneer of the astronautic theory (1857-1935)
Modern era
Wernher von Braun
March 23, 1912 – June 16, 1977
German and later American aerospace engineer and space architect (1912–1977)
Modern era
Arthur C. Clarke
December 16, 1917 – March 19, 2008
British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917–2008)
Medieval era
Jacques Cartier
December 31, 1491 – September 24, 1557
Breton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)
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
Nellie Bly
May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922
American journalist
Modern era
Henry Ford
July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947
American business magnate (1863–1947)
Modern era
Madam C. J. Walker
December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919
American entrepreneur (1867-1919)
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
Sergey Brin
b. August 21, 1973
American billionaire businessman (born 1973)
Medieval era
Jang Yeong-sil
b. c. 1400
Korean mechanical engineer, scientist and inventor
Modern era
Alberto Santos-Dumont
July 20, 1873 – July 23, 1932
Brazilian aviation pioneer (1873-1932)
Modern era
David Unaipon
September 28, 1872 – February 7, 1967
Indigenous Australian inventor and writer (1872–1967)
Medieval era
Abbas ibn Firnas
810 CE – 887 CE
9th century astronomer and physician
Medieval era
Guido of Arezzo
992 CE – 1050
11th century Italian monk, inventor of modern musical notation
Ancient era
Cai Lun
48 CE – 121 CE
Chinese official credited with inventing paper (died 121)
Early Modern era
Evangelista Torricelli
October 15, 1608 – October 25, 1647
Italian physicist and mathematician (1608-1647)
Early Modern era
John Harrison
March 24, 1693 – March 24, 1776
British clockworker
Modern era
Leo Szilard
February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964
Hungarian-American Jewish physicist and inventor (1898–1964)