Science

Famous Patent Inventions

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Updated:3/7/2026
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Invention
Inventor
Patent Year
Patent #
Known For
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell1876US 174,465Most valuable patent in history, beat Elisha Gray by hours, 'Mr. Watson, come here', spawned AT&T and telecom
Light Bulb (Practical)
Thomas Edison1880US 223,898Not the first but the practical one — carbonized bamboo filament, 1,200 hours, created the electric utility industry
Radio
Guglielmo Marconi1897UK 12,039Wireless telegraphy, first transatlantic signal, Nobel Prize 1909, disputed with Tesla, created broadcasting
Zipper
Gideon Sundback1917US 1,219,881Hookless Fastener No. 2, took decades to catch on, B.F. Goodrich named it 'zipper', now on everything
Velcro
George de Mestral1955Swiss PatentInspired by burrs stuck to his dog's fur, hooks and loops, NASA adopted it for space, the satisfying rip sound
Ballpoint Pen
László Bíró1938Argentine patentReplaced fountain pens, ball rotates to deposit ink, 'biro' is generic term in UK, Bic made it disposable
Post-it Note
Spencer Silver / Art Fry1977US 5,194,299 (later)Accidental weak adhesive turned into office essential, 3M nearly killed it, canary yellow is iconic
Dynamite
Alfred Nobel1867US 78,317Stabilized nitroglycerin, made mining and construction possible, Nobel's guilt funded the Nobel Prize
Sewing Machine
Elias Howe / Isaac Singer1846US 4,750Howe invented it, Singer marketed it, first consumer installment plan, industrialized clothing production
Air Conditioning
Willis Carrier1906US 808,897Originally to control humidity in a printing plant, made the Sun Belt habitable, changed architecture and cities
Barbed Wire
Joseph Glidden1874US 157,124Tamed the American West, ended open range, cheapest fencing ever, caused range wars, 'the devil's rope'
Microwave Oven
Percy Spencer1945US 2,495,429Discovered when radar melted a chocolate bar in his pocket, Raytheon's accidental kitchen revolution
WD-40
Norm LarsenNever patented (trade secret)Trade secretWater Displacement formula 40, kept as trade secret instead of patent, 2,000+ uses, squeaky hinge savior
Kevlar
Stephanie Kwolek1966US 3,819,587Five times stronger than steel by weight, bulletproof vests, invented by a woman at DuPont, saved countless lives
CRISPR Gene Editing
Doudna / Charpentier2012 (filed)US 8,697,359Cut and paste DNA, Nobel Prize 2020, Broad Institute vs Berkeley patent war, could cure genetic diseases

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