Making A Difference

“If you think you are too small to be effective,
you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.”
~Author Unknown~

Inventors who made a difference…

Nicolas Appert, (1749-1841), France — canning (airtight food preservation)
Edwin H. Armstrong,(1890-1954), U.S. — FM radio
Alexander Graham Bell, (1847-1922), Canada, Scotland, and U.S. — telephone
Karl Benz, (1844-1929), Germany — the petrol-powered automobile
Emile Berliner, (1851-1929), Germany and U.S. — the disc record gramophone
Tim Berners-Lee, (1955-), UK — with Robert Cailliau, the World Wide Web
Laszlo Biro, (1899-1985), Hungary — modern ballpoint pen
Clarence Birdseye, (1886-1956), U.S. — frozen food process
J. Stuart Blackton, (1875-1941), U.S. — stop-motion film
Katharine B. Blodgett, (1898-1979), UK — nonreflective glass
Nils Bohlin, (1920-2002), Sweden — the three-point seat belt
Louis Braille, (1809-1852), France — the Braille writing system
Chester Carlson, (1906 – 1968), U.S. — Xerography
Wallace Carothers, (1896 – 1937), U.S. — Nylon
Josephine Cochrane, (1839 – 1913), U.S. — dishwasher
Lloyd Groff Copeman, (1865 – 1956), U.S. — Electric stove
Jacques Cousteau, (1910 – 1997), France — co-inventor of the aqualung and the Nikonos underwater camera
Bartolomeo Cristofori, (1655 – 1731), Italy — piano
William Cullen, (1710 – 1790), UK — first artificial refrigerator
Philip Diehl, (1847-1913), U.S. — Ceiling fan, electric sewing machine
George Eastman, (1854-1932), U.S. — roll film
Thomas Edison, (1847-1931), U.S. — phonograph, commercially practical light bulb, motion picture projector, stock ticker, etc
Willem Einthoven, (1860-1927), The Netherlands — the electrocardiogram
Rune Elmqvist, (1857-1924), Sweden — implantable pacemaker
Alexander Fleming, (1881-1955), Scotland — penicillin
Benjamin Franklin, (1706-1790), U.S. — the pointed lightning rod conductor, bifocal glasses, the Franklin stove, the glass harmonica
Bette Nesmith Graham, (1924-1980), U.S. — Liquid Paper
Heinrich Hertz, (1857-1894), Germany — radio telegraphy, electromagnetic radiation
Felix Hoffmann (Bayer), (1868-1949), Germany — Aspirin
Coenraad Johannes van Houten, (1801-1887), Netherlands — cocoa powder, cacao butter, chocolate milk
Elias Howe, (1819-1867), U.S. — sewing machine
Nancy Johnson, U.S. — American version of the hand cranked ice cream machine in (1843)
John Harvey Kellogg, (1852-1943), cornflake breakfasts
Margaret E. Knight, (1838-1914), U.S. — machine that completely constructs box-bottom brown paper bags
Stephanie Kwolek, (1923-), U.S. — Kevlar
René Laënnec, (1781-1826), France — stethoscope
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, (1632-1723), Netherlands — development of the microscope
Hans Lippershey, (1570-1619), Netherlands — telescope
Charles Macintosh, (1766-1843), Scotland — waterproof raincoat, life vest
John Landis Mason, (1826-1902), U.S. — Mason jars
Jules Montenier, (c. 1910), U.S. — modern anti-perspirant deodorant
Samuel Morse, (1791-1872), U.S. — telegraph
James Naismith, (1861-1939), Canadian born, USA — invented basketball and American football helmet
Isaac Newton,(1642-1727), England — reflecting telescope (which reduces chromatic aberration)
Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662), France — barometer
Nicolae Paulescu, (1869 – 1931), Romania — Insulin
John Pemberton, (1831-1888), U.S. — Coca-Cola
Henry Perky, (1843-1906), U.S. — Shredded wheat
Stephen Perry, England — rubber band
Peter Petroff, (1919-2004), Bulgaria — digital wrist watch, heart monitor, weather instruments
Arthur Pitney, (1871-1933), United States — Postage meter
Christopher Polhem, (1661-1751), Sweden — the modern padlock
George Pullman, (1831-1897), U.S. — Pullman sleep wagon
Charles Francis Richter, (1900-1985), U.S. — Richter magnitude scale
Ernst Ruska, (1906-1988), Germany — electron microscope
Isaac Singer, (1811-1875), U.S. — sewing machine
Levi Strauss, (1829-1902), U.S. — blue jeans
Lewis Urry, (1927-2004), Canada — long-lasting alkaline battery
Theophilus Van Kannel, (1841-1919), United States — revolving door (1888)
Alessandro Volta, (1745-1827), Italy — battery
Eli Whitney, (1765-1825), U.S. — the cotton gin
Arthur Wynne, (1862-1945), England — creator of crossword puzzle

Now look in the mirror.

Don’t forget that YOU make a difference every day. You don’t have to be a great inventor, but the things you do each day affect other people and you add value to their lives.