Inventors & Inventions (Great Lives from History)

1416 Pages·2009·84.15 MB·English

by  Alvin K. Benson

Great Lives from History
Great Lives from History
Volume 1
4Abbas ibn Firnas - Philip Emeagwali
Editor
Alvin K. Benson
Utah Valley University
Salem Press
Pasadena, California Hackensack, New Jersey
Editor in Chief: Dawn P. Dawson Research Supervisor: Jeffry Jensen
Editorial Director: Christina J. Moose Research Assistant: Keli Trousdale
Development Editor: R. Kent Rasmussen Photo Editor: Cynthia Breslin Beres
Manuscript Editor: Timothy M. Tiernan Production Editor: Andrea E. Miller
Acquisitions Editor: Mark Rehn Graphics and Design: James Hutson
Editorial Assistant: Brett Weisberg Layout: Mary Overell
Cover photos (pictured clockwise, from top left): Madam C. J. Walker (The Granger Collection, New York);
Model T (©Margojh/Dreamstime.com); Thomas Alva Edison (The Granger Collection, New York); Chinese pa-
per (©iStockphoto.com); Leonardo da Vinci (The Granger Collection, New York); Vintage typewriter (©Michael
Flippo/Dreamstime.com); Steve Jobs (Getty Images); Cristofori piano (The Granger Collection, New York);
Nikola Tesla (The Granger Collection, New York)
Copyright © 2010, by Salem Press
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Contents
Publisher’s Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Carl Bosch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Editor’s Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Walther Bothe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Herbert Wayne Boyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Key to Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix Otis Boykin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Complete List of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi Willard S. Boyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
List of Inventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvii Louis Braille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Giovanni Branca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
4Abbas ibn Firnas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Jacques Edwin Brandenberger . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Edward Goodrich Acheson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Walter H. Brattain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
George Biddell Airy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Karl Ferdinand Braun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
George Edward Alcorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Wernher von Braun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Ernst Alexanderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 John Moses Browning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Luis W. Álvarez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 William Bullock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Marc Andreessen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Robert Wilhelm Bunsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Archimedes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Luther Burbank. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Aristotle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 William Seward Burroughs . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Sir Richard Arkwright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 David Bushnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Edwin H. Armstrong. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Nolan K. Bushnell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Arthur James Arnot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
John Vincent Atanasoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Cai Lun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Hertha Marks Ayrton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Robert Cailliau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
John Campbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Charles Babbage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Marvin Camras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Roger Bacon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Chester F. Carlson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Leo Hendrik Baekeland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Wallace Hume Carothers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Alexander Bain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Willis Carrier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Benjamin Banneker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 George R. Carruthers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
John Bardeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Edmund Cartwright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Patricia Bath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 George Washington Carver . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Andrew Jackson Beard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 George Cayley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
J. Georg Bednorz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Vinton Gray Cerf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Semi Joseph Begun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Georges Claude. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Georg von Békésy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Josephine Garis Cochran . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Alexander Graham Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Sir Christopher Cockerell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Carl Benz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Stanley Norman Cohen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Friedrich Bergius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Samuel Colt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Emile Berliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 William Fothergill Cooke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Tim Berners-Lee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 William David Coolidge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Clifford Berry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Martin Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Sir Henry Bessemer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Peter Cooper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Edwin Binney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Martha J. Coston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Gerd Binnig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Frederick Gardner Cottrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Clarence Birdseye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Jacques Cousteau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Katharine Burr Blodgett . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Joshua Lionel Cowen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Marie Anne Victoire Boivin . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Seymour Cray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
H. Cecil Booth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Bartolomeo Cristofori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
v
Inventors and Inventions
Sir William Crookes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Walt Disney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Caresse Crosby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Carl Djerassi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Ctesibius of Alexandria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Herbert Henry Dow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Charles Stark Draper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Glenn H. Curtiss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258 Charles Richard Drew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Richard G. Drew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Louis Jacques Daguerre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 John Boyd Dunlop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Gottlieb Daimler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Nils Gustaf Dalén . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 George Eastman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Raymond Damadian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 John Presper Eckert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Abraham Darby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Harold E. Edgerton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Sir Humphry Davy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275 Thomas Alva Edison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
Mark Dean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278 Albert Einstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
John Deere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 Willem Einthoven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Lee De Forest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 Gertrude Belle Elion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Sir James Dewar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Philip Emeagwali. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
Rudolf Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
vi
Publisher’s Note
Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions tronomy (15), automotive technology (16), biology (14),
(4 vols.) joins the Great Lives series, which provides in- business management (12), cartography (1), chemistry
depth critical essays on important men and women in (59), civil engineering (12), communications (31), com-
all areas of achievement, from around the world and puter science (36), electronics and electrical engineering
throughout history. The series was initiated in 2004 with (88), entertainment (3), fire science (1), food processing
The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 C.E. (2 vols.) and (6), genetics (6), geography (2), geology (2), horticulture
followed in 2005 by The Middle Ages, 477-1453 (2 vols.) (1), household products (21), industrial technology (3),
and The Renaissance and Early Modern Era, 1454-1600 manufacturing (40), maritime technology (3), mathe-
(2 vols.); in 2006 by The 17th Century, 1601-1700 (2 matics (25), mechanical engineering (42), medicine and
vols.) and The 18th Century, 1701-1800 (2 vols.); in medical technology (34), military technology and weap-
2007 by The 19th Century, 1801-1900 (4 vols.) and No- onry (33), music (9), naval engineering (9), navigation
torious Lives (3 vols.); and in 2008 by The 20th Century (7), oceanography (1), optics (14), packaging (3), pho-
(10 vols.). With this new installment, the entire series ex- tography (9), physics (104), plumbing (1), printing (7),
tends to 31 volumes, covering 4,885 lives. and railway engineering (8).
The inventors covered in these volumes are also iden-
Scope of Coverage tified with one or more of the following countries or re-
Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions gions: Australia (2), Austria (1), Belgium (4), Canada
features 409 essays covering 413 individual inventors (11), China (3), Croatia (2), Czech Republic (1), Egypt
(including 27 women) from all time, worldwide. All es- (3), England (46), Estonia (1), France (20), Germany
says were written specifically for this new publication. (39), Greece (2), Hungary (3), India (2), Iran (1), Ireland
The editors have included in this set those inventors rec- (3), Israel (1), Italy (9), Japan (4), Netherlands (9), Nige-
ognized for shaping modern technology and the way we ria (1), Northern Ireland (2), Poland (2), Russia (8), Scot-
live today—coverage that is essential in any liberal arts land (15), Sicily (1), Spain (1), Suriname (1), Sweden
curriculum. The editor’s criteria for including these indi- (5), Switzerland (5), Turkey (1), United Kingdom (63),
viduals in this publication took into account their fame United States (246), Uzbekistan (1), and Wales (1).
as inventors, the significance of their inventions, the
amount of time they spent inventing, their representation Essay Length and Format
of world inventors, their relevance to class curricula, and Each essay is from 2,000 to 2,500 words in length
their interest to high school, undergraduate, and general (roughly 3 to 4 pages) and displays standard ready-refer-
readers. ence top matter offering easy access to following bio-
For purposes of this publication, the term “invention” graphical information:
was defined to include not only mechanical and other
physical devices but also processes (e.g., the Bessemer • The essay title is the name of the individual as best
process for making steel), software (such as Grace Hop- known.
per’s invention of COBOL), and systems such as those • The individual’s nationality and occupation follow
applied to business management. Pure scientific theo- on the second line (e.g., Japanese physicist).
ries (such as laws of physics) were excluded, although • A summary paragraph highlighting the individ-
rare exceptions were made for such systems and tools ual’s historical importance in relation to his or
that have had a comprehensive influence on our way her inventions indicates why the person is stud-
of interacting with the world, such as Aristotle’s inven- ied today.
tion of the first system of biological taxonomy, Newton’s • The Born and Died lines list the most complete
creation of the calculus, and Einstein’s theories of rela- dates of birth and death available, followed by
tivity. the most precise locations available, as well as
By category, the contents include persons whose in- an indication of when these are unknown, only
ventions fall into one or more of the following areas: probable, or only approximate; both contempo-
acoustical engineering (2), aeronautics and aerospace rary and modern place-names (where different)
technology (32), agriculture (13), architecture (6), as- are listed. A question mark (?) is appended to a
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Inventors and Inventions
date or place if the information is considered • Key to Pronunciation: A key to in-text pronuncia-
likely to be the precise date or place but remains tion of unfamiliar names appears in all vol-
in question. A “c.” denotes circa and indicates umes. Pronunciation guidelines for difficult-
that historians have only enough information to to-pronounce names are provided in the first
place the date of birth or death near the year paragraph of the essay’s “Early Life” section.
listed. When a range of dates is provided for • Complete List of Contents: This alphabetical list of
birth or death, historians are relatively certain contents appears in all four volumes.
that the birth or death year could not have oc- • List of Inventions: This is an index of all the major
curred outside the date range. inventions covered, showing the inventor in pa-
• Also known as lists other versions of the individ- rentheses.
ual’s name, including full names, given names, • Sidebars: A key feature of every essay in this pub-
alternative spellings, pseudonyms, and nick- lication is a sidebar on one of the inventor’s
names. most important inventions, which appears in a
• Primary fields lists all categories of invention, shaded box beside the biography.
from Acoustical Engineering through Railway
Engineering. The back matter to Volume 4 includes several appen-
• Primary inventions lists the inventions for which dixes and indexes:
the inventor is best known.
• History of U.S. Patent Law: an essay discussing
The body of each essay, which also includes a byline patent law in the United States
for the contributing writer-scholar, is divided into the • Chronological List of Entries: inventors covered,
following three parts: arranged by birth year
• Time Line
• Early Life provides facts about the individual’s up- • Biographical Directory of Inventors: an annotated
bringing and the environment in which he or listing of inventors that goes beyond the cover-
she was reared, as well as the pronunciation of age in the essays
his or her name (if unfamiliar to English speak- • Electronic Resources
ers). Where little is known about the person’s • Bibliography
early life, historical context is provided.
• Life’s Work, the heart of the essay, consists of a Finally, volume 4 ends with three useful indexes:
straightforward, generally chronological, ac-
count of the period during which the individ- • Category Index: entries by area of achievement,
ual’s most significant achievements were ac- from Acoustical Engineering through Railway
complished. Engineering
• Impact is an overview of the individual’s place in • Geographical Index: entries by country or region
history, particularly as his or her inventions • Subject Index: a comprehensive index including
changed the way we live. personages, inventions, concepts, technologies,
terms, principles, and other topics of discus-
The end matter of each essay includes the following sion, with full cross-references from alternative
resources: spellings and to the category and geographical
indexes
• Further Reading—annotated bibliography, a start-
ing point for further research. Contributors
• See also—lists cross-references to essays in the set Salem Press would like to extend its appreciation to
covering other inventors of interest. all involved in the development and production of this
work. The essays have been written and signed by schol-
Special Features ars of history, the sciences, and other disciplines related
Several features distinguish this series as a whole to the essays’ topics.
from other biographical reference works. The front mat- Special thanks go to Alvin K. Benson, Professor of
ter includes the following aids: Physics at Utah Valley University, who developed the
viii
Publisher’s Note
contents list and coverage notes for contributing writers Man of America Award, Alcuin Teaching and Research
to ensure the set’s relevance to high school and under- Award, Distinguished Leadership Award, a Citation of
graduate curricula. Professor Benson served as a Profes- Meritorious Achievement in geophysical research, Pro-
sor of Physics in the Indiana University system from fessor of the Year in the BYU College of Physical and
1972 to 1978; from 1978 to 1986 he worked in re- Mathematical Sciences, Best Paper Award in the Physi-
search and development for Conoco, Inc. and DuPont; cal Sciences from The Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts,
and from 1986 to 2001 he was a Professor of Geophysics and Letters (2005), and the Faculty Excellence Award in
at Brigham Young University, retiring in September, the UVSC School of Science and Health (2006).
2001. He has authored or coauthored more than four hun- Without all these expert contributions, a project of
dred research articles, three books on geophysics, and a this nature would not be possible. A full list of the contri-
CD-ROM on geophysics, and he is the recipient of the butors’ names and affiliations appears in the front matter
Honorary Bausch and Lomb Award, Outstanding Young of this volume.
ix
Editor’s Introduction
Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions Inventors and their inventions provide a window on
concentrates on inventors who centered much of their history that parallels the story of human progress and
lives on the inventive process and whose inventions have corresponds to the cultural revolutions that have im-
raised the human standard of living. Emphasis is placed pacted the world. Although inventions are not distributed
not only on the inventors’ biographies but also on the sto- evenly over time, they have for the most part developed
ries behind their inventions: the forces and circum- systematically as dictated by human need or desire for
stances motivating them and the impact that their in- improvement. Early inventions centered around the ne-
ventive genius and resulting inventions have had on cessities of life, particularly farming, housing, and cloth-
humankind. Inventors were chosen based on whether ing. After the Middle Ages, the emphasis shifted to liter-
their inventions have had an impact on the world in one acy and numerical skills. Johann Gutenberg’s invention
or more of the following ways: of the metal movable-type printing press was the founda-
tion for the “learning revolution,” as books became
• by changing the way people work and play, con- cheap and were made available to the general public.
tributing to the improvement of life During the 1700’s, the focus on inventions moved to de-
• by altering culture and society for the better vices and processes that increased the ease and effi-
• by saving lives and extending longevity ciency with which human tasks could be accomplished.
• by helping to eliminate boring, hard work The invention of the steam engine fueled the Indus-
• by teaching important principles and creativity trial Revolution. During the latter part of the nineteenth
• by advancing science and technology century, electricity was harnessed for practical usage.
• by standing the test of time, being used by many Invention of devices that could use electricity in the ev-
people over generations. eryday world sparked the “communication revolution.”
In the twentieth century, more and more inventions
Inventions range from tangible mechanical or other were made using a systematic scientific approach in
physical devices to mechanical and chemical processes. industrial research laboratories, research universities,
Each essay sheds light on the inventive process, the hard and government laboratories. Inventions that include
work, the numerous dead ends, and the successes that the microelectronics, computers, telecommunications, ro-
inventors encountered. botics, and synthetic materials unleashed the “digital
Inventors and Inventions focuses on the lives of inven- revolution” that led to the emergence of the World
tors who fostered an idea for something that did not exist Wide Web, as inventors and their inventions concen-
until they made it happen, as contrasted to discoverers trated increasingly on global connectedness. Included in
who found something inherent in nature that was always Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions are
there just waiting to be brought to light, such as Alexan- the important inventors whose inventions span a diverse
der Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928. Nylon in- range of disciplines and who helped to spearhead and de-
volved both a discovery and an invention. Using the dis- velop the learning, industrial, communication, and digi-
covery of the chemical structure of silk fibroin and tal revolutions that dramatically changed and shaped the
cellulose, Wallace Hume Carothers invented synthetic ny- world.
lon. Except for rare and very important instances, pure sci- Great Lives from History: Inventors and Inventions
entific theories and mathematical formulations are not in- includes inventors from all time periods of human his-
cluded, and except for a few cases, innovators—those who tory, ancient to modern, and from all parts of the world,
moved an invention into a commercial mode—are likewise including many from thinly represented areas of the
not included in this work. Most innovators have not been world. During ancient times, inventive prominence was
inventors. Some inventors have also been innovators, but centered in China, Egypt, and the Euphrates River Val-
most have not. For example, Theodore Harold Maiman not ley, then moved to Greece and Rome, then to the Islamic
only invented the first operable laser but also established world, then to Europe, and finally to America. The oldest
the scientific environment and business structure that led known wheel can be traced to Mesopotamia and is be-
to its numerous applications and commercial success. lieved to date back more than 5,000 years ago. The in-
xi