Inventor Collection (#85)

Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist
Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647), Italian physicist, inventing the barometer. Torricelli worked on the dynamics of falling bodies with B. Castelli

Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor
Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838-1917), German inventor of the airship. Von Zeppelin conceived the idea of confining the hot air balloon, first developed in 1783

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, German philosopher
Portrait of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, German philosopher and mathematician, born in 1646 and died in 1716. He has been called the Aristotle of the 17th century due to his interest in all branches

Charles Renard, French engineer
Charles Renard (1847-1905), French military engineer and aviation pioneer. Renard began his work on aircraft after the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)

John Wesley Hyatt, US inventor
John Wesley Hyatt (1837-1920), US inventor. Hyatt is best known for discovering a method to simplify the production of the plastic celluloid

Samuel Plimsoll, British politician
Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), British politician, social reformer and inventor of the Plimsoll line. Plimsoll was a Member of Parliament who was concerned that sailors were being put at risk because

Portrait of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, German philosopher and mathematician, born in 1646 and died in 1716. He has been called the Aristotle of the 17th century due to his interest in all branches

Joseph Whitworth, British engineer
Joseph Whitworth (1803-1887), British engineer and inventor. Whitworth had a major impact on engineering, pioneering the use of precise measurement

Samuel Morse, US telegraph inventor
Samuel Morse (1791-1872), US inventor of the electric telegraph and Morse code. Morse started his career as a painter, but developed an interest in the study of electricity

Robert Pelham, US inventor
Robert Pelham (1859-1943), US inventor. Pelham invented a device to automate clerical tasks such as gluing slips of paper together

Wilbur Wright, US aviation pioneer
Wilbur Wright (1867-1912), American aviation pioneer. Wilbur and his brother Orville ran a small bicycle factory in Dayton, Ohio

Igor Sikorsky, aircraft designer
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (1889-1972), at left, Russian-US aircraft designer, inside an aeroplane cockpit. Sikorsky was born in Kiev, Russia, and educated at St Petersburg and Kiev

Orville Wright, US aviation pioneer
Orville Wright (1871-1948), American aviation pioneer. Orville and his brother Wilbur ran a small bicycle factory in Dayton, Ohio

The Wright brothers, US aviation pioneers
The Wright Brothers, Orville (1871-1948), left, and Wilbur (1867-1912), right, American aviation pioneers. The brothers were interested in flight and were inspired by the German glider

Orville Wright, US aviaton pioneer
Orville Wright (1871-1948), American aviation pioneer. Orville and his brother Wilbur ran a small bicycle factory in Dayton, Ohio

Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), French chemist and microbiologist. He discovered that fermentation is caused by microorganisms and went on to develop the germ theory of disease

Leonardo da Vinci, Italian artist & inventor
Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Italian painter, sculptor, architect and engineer. Leonardos most famous works of art are the Last Supper (1498)

William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist
William Hyde Wollaston (1766-1828), English chemist and discoverer of palladium and rhodium. In 1800, having given up a medical practice

Stephane Tarnier, French obstetrician

Gaston Plante, French physicist
Gaston Plante (1834-1889), French physicist. Plante is famous for inventing the lead-acid battery in 1859. In 1854 he became a lecture assistant at the Paris-based Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers

Bernard Palissy, French geologist
Bernard Palissy (1509-1589), French potter, geologist and naturalist, stoking his furnace with wooden furniture. Originally a glass-painter by trade

Samuel Morse, US inventor
Samuel Finley Breese Morse (1791-1872), US inventor. Morse invented the electric telegraph and the Morse code. He started his career as a painter

Marcello Malpighi, Italian biologist
Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), Italian biologist. Malpighi was a physician by training, graduating at Bologna in 1653. Malpighis observations through his microscope were to revolutionise anatomy

Window where Marconi transmitted radio
Marconis window. The window from which Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) first transmitted radio signals from Villa Griffone at Pontecchio, near Bologna, Italy

Marconi birthplace and tomb
Marconis birthplace and tomb. Villa Griffone at Pontecchio near Bologna, Italy, the birthplace of Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), Italian physicist

Statue of Marconi
Marconi statue. Bust of Guglielmo Marconi (1874- 1937), Italian physicist, located at Villa Griffone near Bologna, Italy. It was at this villa that Marconi was born

Sergei Lebedev, Soviet chemist
Sergei Vasiljevich Lebedev (1874-1934), Soviet chemist. Lebedev is best known as the inventor of a method of making synthetic rubber

Engraving of Charles Babbage, 1792-1871
Engraving of Charles Babbage, an English mathematician, born December 1792, died October 1871. In 1823 Babbage began work on the Difference Engine no.1, an early adding machine

Guillaume Amontons, French physicist
Guillaume Amontons (1663-1705). Historical artwork of the French physicist and inventor Guillaume Amontons demonstrating his optical telegraphy system to the Dauphin of France

Mob attacking Jacquard in Lyon, France. The French weaver Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834, lower left) invented an improved mechanical loom in 1804

Joseph Marie Jacquard, French inventor
Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834), French inventor of weaving looms. Jacquard spent his inheritance whilst living as an (initially unsuccessful) inventor

Thomas Hancock, British inventor
Thomas Hancock (1786-1865), British inventor. Hancock invented several methods of manufacturing for rubber. In 1820 he patented the use of rubber springs in clothing

Dom Gauthey, French monk and inventor
Dom Gauthey, historical artwork. Dom Gauthey was a French Benedictine monk who invented a method of transmitting messages by sound in 1782

David Edwin Hughes, inventor

Galileo, Italian astronomer
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Italian astronomer and physicist. In 1610, Galileo was the first person to use a telescope for astronomical studies

Johann Gutenberg, German inventor
Johann Gutenberg (1398-1468), German inventor of the printing press. This statue of Gutenberg, carved by Bertel Thorwaldsen (1770-1844), is in Mainz, Germany, Gutenburgs birthplace

Clement Ader, French engineer
Clement Ader (1841-1926), French engineer and aviation pioneer. Aders early career was spent inventing numerous electrical and mechanical devices

1584 engraving of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press. He was born in Mainz (Germany) in 1398 and died in 1468. Before Gutenberg, books were laboriously produced by hand

Franklin designing lightning rods. Historical artwork of Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American scientist, inventor and statesman, working on the design of lightning rods

Robert Cocking, first parachute death
Robert Cocking (1776-1837), amateur artist and parachute inventor. He was the first person to be killed using a parachute. In 1802, he saw the first parachute jump in England

Sir George Cayley, British engineer
Sir George Cayley (1773-1857), British engineer, aviation pioneer, and 6th Baronet of Brompton (from 1792). Cayley spent most of his life on the study of flight, carrying out his own experiments

Thomas Edison, American inventor
Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), American inventor, aged 24. Despite receiving little formal education, Edison filed over 1000 patents during his life, more than any other inventor

Louis Daguerre, photography inventor
Louis Daguerre. Illustration of the French inventor of practical photography, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre (1789-1851), at work

Alexander Graham Bell, telephone pioneer
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), Scottish-US telephone pioneer. Bell is most famous for his work that helped make telephones into practical working devices

Baird demonstrating his television, 1920s
Baird demonstrating his television. Coloured photograph of the Scottish engineer John Logie Baird (1888-1946) operating one of his early television systems

Claude Chappe, French engineer
Claude Chappe (1763-1805), inventor of mechanical- optical telegraphy. Chappe was a French engineer and cleric. His rise to fame came during the French Revolution when he looked at ways to improve

John Logie Baird, British inventor
John Logie Baird (1888-1946), British electrical engineer, inventor and television pioneer. Baird was educated in Glasgow, Scotland

Louis Bleriot, French engineer
Louis Bleriot (1872-1936), French engineer, aviation pioneer and the first person to make a powered flight across the English Channel

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"Inventors: Masters of Innovation and Vision" Step into the realm of inventors, where brilliance meets imagination. From the enigmatic Nikola Tesla, with bolts of electricity discharging in his lab, to the young Sir Isaac Newton captured in a timeless portrait from 1689, these visionaries have shaped our world. Isambard Kingdom Brunel stands proudly before the launching chains of the Great Eastern, a testament to his engineering prowess. R. J. Mitchell's genius shines through as he designs iconic aircraft like the Spitfire and flying boats that revolutionize aviation. John Moses Browning's innovative mind brings forth groundbreaking firearms technology while Dmitri Mendeleev's caricature showcases his pioneering work on the periodic table. In 1899, Nikola Tesla himself radiates an aura of ingenuity that would forever change how we harness electricity. The Count of St Germain, a French alchemist known for his mysterious abilities, adds an air of intrigue to this collection. Dr William Gilbert demonstrates his experiment on electricity to Queen Elizabeth I – a momentous occasion that paved the way for future discoveries. Lastly, Leonardo da Vinci graces us with a vibrant color portrait from 1490; an artist whose inventive spirit transcended disciplines. These inventors embody curiosity and determination; their contributions continue to shape our present and inspire generations yet unborn. They remind us that innovation knows no bounds – it is born out of passion and nurtured by relentless pursuit, and are dreamers who dare to challenge convention and redefine what is possible. Their legacy lives on in every invention we encounter today - they are beacons guiding humanity towards progress.