National Inventors Hall of Fame
The National Inventors Hall of Fame is a U.S. organization
founded in 1973 to honor successful inventors. Members are chosen by the
selection committee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, which is
composed of representatives from national scientific and technical
organizations.
| Date of Selection | Inventor | Notable Innovations |
| 1973 | Thomas Alva Edison | electric lamp |
| 1974 | John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, William Shockley | transistor |
| Alexander Graham Bell | telegraphy and telephone | |
| Eli Whitney | cotton gin | |
| 1975 | William Coolidge | vacuum tube |
| Guglielmo Marconi | transmitting electric signals | |
| Samuel Morse | telegraph signals | |
| Nikola Tesla | electromagnetic motor | |
| Orville Wright, Wilbur Wright | flying machine | |
| 1976 | Rudolf Diesel | internal combustion engine |
| Enrico Fermi | neutronic reactor | |
| Charles Goodyear | improvement in India-rubber fabrics, vulcanization of rubber | |
| Charles Hall | manufacture of aluminum | |
| Cyrus McCormick | mechanical reaper | |
| Charles Townes | maser | |
| 1977 | Lee De Forest | audio amplifier |
| George Eastman | coating plates for use in photography | |
| Edwin Land | instant processing photography | |
| Charles Steinmetz | system of electrical distribution | |
| Vladimir Zworykin | cathode-ray tube | |
| 1978 | Luis Alvarez | radio distance and direction indicator |
| Leo Baekeland | synthetic resin | |
| Carl Djerassi | oral contraceptive | |
| Louis Pasteur | brewing beer and ale | |
| 1979 | Jay Forrester | random access memory (RAM) |
| Robert Goddard | rocket science | |
| Charles Plank, Edward Rosinski | improved gasoline manufacture | |
| 1980 | Edwin Armstrong | frequency modulation (FM) radio broadcasting |
| James Hillier | electron lens correction device | |
| Charles Kettering | engine starting devices and ignition system | |
| Lewis Sarett | synthetic cortisone | |
| 1981 | Harold Black | negative feedback amplifier |
| Chester Carlson | xerography | |
| Charles Draper | gyroscopic apparatus | |
| Nikolaus Otto | gas motor engine | |
| 1982 | Henry Ford | transmission mechanism |
| Jack Kilby | integrated circuit | |
| Ernest Lawrence | cyclotron | |
| Ottmar Mergenthaler | linotype machine | |
| Max Tishler | riboflavin, sulfaquinoxline | |
| 1983 | Ernest Alexanderson | high-frequency alternator |
| Andrew Alford | localizer antenna systems | |
| Herbert Dow | process of extracting bromine | |
| Robert Noyce | semiconductor device and lead structure | |
| George Stibitz | complex computer | |
| 1984 | William Burton | manufacture of gasoline |
| Wallace Carothers | nylon | |
| Philo Farnsworth | television system | |
| Theodore Maiman | laser | |
| 1985 | Marvin Camras | magnetic recording |
| Willis Carrier | air conditioning | |
| René Higonnet, Louis Moyroud | phototypesetter | |
| Willem Kolff | artificial heart | |
| Roy Plunkett | Teflon | |
| 1986 | Luther Burbank | strain of peach |
| Harold Edgerton | stroboscope | |
| Wilson Greatbatch | heart pacemaker | |
| Donalee Tabern, Ernest Volwiler | Pentothal, Nembutal | |
| 1987 | Arnold Beckman | apparatus for testing acidity |
| William Burroughs | calculating machine | |
| Andrew Moyer | method for production of penicillin | |
| Igor Sikorsky | helicopter controls | |
| 1988 | Frank Colton | oral contraceptive |
| Elisha Otis | safety elevator | |
| Louis Parker | television receiver | |
| An Wang | magnetic pulse controlling device | |
| 1989 | Raymond Damadian | magnetic resonance imaging |
| John Deere | steel plow | |
| Irving Langmuir | incandescent electric lamp | |
| George Westinghouse | steam-power brake device | |
| 1990 | George Washington Carver | cosmetics, paint, and stain |
| Graham Durant, John Emmett, C. Robin Ganellin | antiulcer compounds and compositions | |
| Charles Ginsburg | videotape recorder | |
| Herman Hollerith | punched card tabulating system | |
| Eugene Houdry | liquid fuels | |
| Percy Julian | cortisone synthesis | |
| Robert Ledley | diagnostic X-ray system | |
| Kenneth Olsen | magnetic core memory | |
| 1991 | Willard Bennett | radio frequency mass spectrometer |
| Gertrude Elion | antileukemia drug | |
| Gordon Gould | optically pumped laser amplifier | |
| Leonard Greene | airplane stall warning device | |
| William 'Butch' Hanford, Donald Holmes | polyurethane | |
| Elmer Sperry | gyroscopic compass | |
| Robert Williams | synthesis of vitamin B1 | |
| 1992 | Lloyd Conover | tetracycline |
| Frederick Cottrell | electrostatic precipitator | |
| William Hewlett | audio oscillator | |
| Benjamin Rubin | bifurcated vaccination needle | |
| 1993 | Baruch Blumberg, Irving Millman | test and vaccine for hepatitis B |
| John Ericsson | propeller | |
| William Lear | automobile radio | |
| Robert Maurer, Donald Keck, Peter Schultz | fiber optics | |
| John Parsons | numerical control of machine tools | |
| 1994 | Emile Berliner | gramophone/microphone |
| Robert Hall | magnetron | |
| Elizabeth Hazen, Rachel Brown | Nystatin | |
| Robert Rines | high-resolution imaging-scanning radar and sonar | |
| Heinrich Rohrer, Gerd Binnig | scanning tunneling microscope | |
| 1995 | Joseph H. Burckhalter, Robert J. Seiwald | dyes for diagnosing infectious disease |
| Stephanie L. Kwolek | Kevlar polymers and fibers | |
| Waldo L. Semon | polyvinyl chloride plastisols | |
| John Sheehan | semisynthetic penicillin | |
| William Stanley | electric transformer | |
| Forrest M. Bird | fluid control device, respirator, pediatric ventilator | |
| 1996 | H. M. Edmund Germer | discharge device, high-pressure vapor lamp |
| Ted Hoff, Stanley Mazor, Federico Faggin | microprocessor concept and architecture | |
| Julius Arthur Nieuwland | vinyl derivatives of acetylene and methods of preparation | |
| Arthur Leonard Schawlow | masers and maser communications system | |
| Leo Szilard | neutronic reactor | |
| 1997 | Edward Goodrich Acheson | carborundum |
| Robert W. Bower | field-effect device with insulated gate (MOSFET) | |
| George H. Babcock, Stephen Wilcox, Jr. | water-tube steam boiler | |
| Seymour Cray | supercomputer | |
| Mark Dean, Dennis Moeller | microcomputer system with bus control means for peripheral processing devices | |
| Robert H. Dennard | dynamic random access memory (DRAM) | |
| 1998 | Henry Timken | tapered roller bearing |
| Alfred Nobel | dynamite | |
| Joseph Begun | magnetic recording | |
| Douglas Engelbart | computer mouse and development of modern computer environment | |
| James Fergason | liquid-crystal display | |
| Kary Mullis | polymerase chain reaction (PCR) | |
| 1999 | Percy LeBaron Spencer | microwave oven |
| Donald L. Campbell, Homer Z. Martin, Eger V. Murphree, Charles W. Tyson | fluid catalytic cracking | |
| George de Mestral | Velcro | |
| Gerhard Sessler, James Edward West | foil electret microphone | |
| Bryan B. Molloy, Klaus K. Schmiegel | Prozac | |
| 2000 | Walt Disney | multiplane camera |
| Reginald Fessenden | radiotelephony | |
| Alfred Free, Helen Free | glucose detection for diabetes | |
| J. Franklin Hyde | method of making a transparent article of silica | |
| William Kroll | method for manufacturing titanium and related alloys | |
| Stephen Wozniak | microcomputer for use with video display | |
| 2001 | Robert Banks, Paul Hogan | polymers |
| Herbert Boyer, Stanley Cohen | genetic engineering | |
| Oliver Evans | high-pressure steam engine | |
| Thomas Fogarty | embolectomy catheter | |
| Elijah McCoy | automatic engine lubricator | |
| Patsy Sherman, Sam Smith | Scotchgard | |
| Christopher Sholes | typewriter | |
| 2002 | Raymond Kurzweil | Kurzweil reading machine |
| Nils Bohlin | 3-point safety belt | |
| Rangaswamy Srinivasan, James Wynne, Samuel Blum | excimer laser surgery | |
| Drs. M. Stephen Heilman, Alois Langer, Morton Mower, Michel Mirowski | implantable defibrillator | |
| Dr. Rodney Bagley, Dr. Irwin Lachman, Ronald Lewis | ceramic substrate for catalytic converters | |
| Felix Hoffmann | aspirin | |
| Dr. John Presper Eckert, Jr., John Mauchly | electronic numerical integrator and computer (ENIAC) data translating device | |
| Henry Bessemer | Bessemer steel process | |
| 2003 | George Carruthers | far electrograph ultraviolet camera |
| Frank Cepollina | satellite servicing techniques | |
| Glenn Curtiss | hydroaeroplane | |
| Maxime Faget | space capsule design | |
| Leroy Grumman | retractable landing gear; folding wing | |
| Charles H. Kaman | rotor control mechanism for rotary aircraft | |
| Paul Kollsman | altimeter | |
| Edwin A. Link | link trainer/simulator | |
| Thomas Midgley, Jr. | ethyl gasoline | |
| John Northrop | flying wing plane; all-metal high-wing monocoque airplane (Vega) | |
| John Pierce | communications satellite | |
| Harold Rosen | spin stabilized synchronous communications satellite | |
| Theodore von Kármán | turbo jet | |
| Hans J. P. von Ohain | jet engine | |
| Richard Whitcomb | supercritical wing | |
| Sir Frank Whittle | jet engine | |
| Sam Williams | small fan-jet engine | |
| 2004 | Frederick Banting, Charles Best, James Collip | Insulin for diabetics |
| Vannevar Bush | Differential Analyzer | |
| Harry Coover | superglue | |
| Wallace Coulter | blood counter | |
| Ray Dolby | noise reduction systems | |
| Edith Flanigen | molecular filters for petroleum processing | |
| Robert Gallo, Luc Montagnier | HIV isolation and diagnosis | |
| Ivan Getting, Bradford Parkinson | Global Positioning System (GPS) | |
| John Gibbon | heart-lung machine | |
| Lloyd Hall | food preservation techniques | |
| Elias Howe | sewing machine | |
| Charles Kelman | cataract eye surgery | |
| Bernard Oliver, Claude Shannon | Pulse Code Modulation | |
| Norbert Rillieux | modern sugar refining | |
| John Roebling | modern suspension bridge | |
| 2005 | Matthias Baldwin | various steam locomotive components |
| C. Donald Bateman | Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) | |
| Clarence Birdseye | innovative food preservation processes | |
| Leopold Godowsky, Jr., Leopold Mannes | color photographic film process | |
| Robert Gundlach | innovations in photocopying technology | |
| Dr. Alec Jeffreys | genetic fingerprinting | |
| Dean Kamen | various medical devices, including the AutoSyringe | |
| Garrett Augustus Morgan | three-color traffic signal | |
| Les Paul | solid-body electric guitar | |
| Jacob Rabinow | various innovations in Optical Character Recognition (OCR) | |
| Glenn T. Seaborg | synthesis and isolation of the radioactive element plutonium | |
| Dr. Leo Henryk Sternbach | benzodiazepines, a class of tranquilizers | |
| Selman Waksman | Streptomycin, a powerful antibiotic | |
| 2006 | Herman A. Affel, Lloyd Espenschied | coaxial cable |
| Karl Bosch, Fritz Haber | ammonia production process | |
| Willard S. Boyle, George E. Smith | charge-coupled device | |
| Vinton Cerf, Robert Kahn | Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) | |
| Robert W. Gore | GORE-TEX | |
| Richard M. Hoe | rotary printing press | |
| Benjamin Holt | caterpillar tracks | |
| Ali Javan | helium-neon laser | |
| Dale Kleist, Games Slaytor, John Thomas | fiberglass | |
| Robert S. Langer, Jr. | controlled drug delivery system | |
| Julio C. Palmaz | Palmaz Stent | |
| Gregory G. Pincus | birth control pill | |
| Elihu Thomson | contributor to the development of electricity | |
| William Erastus Upjohn | dissolvable pills | |
| Granville T. Woods | railroad telegraph | |
| 2007 | Paul Baran | digital packet switching |
| Emmett Chappelle | bioluminescence techniques | |
| David Cushman, Miguel Ondetti | Captopril | |
| Donald Davies | digital packet switching | |
| John Franz | Roundup® herbicide | |
| William Goddard, John Lynott | magnetic disk storage | |
| Peter Goldmark | long playing record | |
| Maurice Hilleman | vaccines | |
| Leroy Hood | DNA sequencer | |
| Godfrey Hounsfield | CAT scanner | |
| Paul Lauterbur, Peter Mansfield | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | |
| Robert Metcalfe | Ethernet | |
| Arthur Nobile | Prednisone | |
| Otto Wichterle | soft contact lens | |
| 2008 | Robert Adler | television remote control |
| Ruth Benerito | wrinkle-free cotton | |
| Amar Bose | audio technology | |
| John Charnley | hip replacement surgery | |
| William Einthoven | electrocardiograph | |
| Calvin Fuller, Gerald Pearson, Daryl Chapin | silicon solar cell | |
| Nick Holonyak, Jr. | first light-emitting diode (LED) in the visible spectrum | |
| Erna Hoover | computerized telephone switching | |
| Amos Joel, Jr. | switching concept for cellular phones | |
| Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson | aircraft | |
| Ray McIntire | Styrofoam brand foam | |
| Malcom McLean | containerized shipping | |
| Harold McMaster | tempered glass | |
| William Murphy, Jr. | medical devices, including blood bag, disposable medical trays | |
| David Pall | filtration technology | |
| Kenneth Richardson | Fluconazole (anti-fungal drug) | |
| Source: National Inventors Hall of
Fame. | ||
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