The Most Important Inventors in History
Every age is defined by its inventions. These inventors gave us the tools, machines and ideas that built the modern world.
- 1 97
Leonardo da Vinci
Artist · 1452 – 1519
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath — painter, inventor, anatomist and engineer — whose curiosity and genius made him the archetype of the 'Renaissance man'.
- 2 94
Archimedes
Mathematician · 287 BC – 212 BC
Archimedes was an ancient Greek mathematician, physicist and inventor, widely regarded as the greatest mathematician of antiquity and a founder of mathematical physics and engineering.
- 3 93
Johannes Gutenberg
Inventor · 1400 – 1468
Johannes Gutenberg was a German inventor and printer who introduced movable-type printing to Europe around 1440, an innovation that transformed the spread of knowledge and helped launch the modern world.
- 4 90
Benjamin Franklin
Inventor · 1706 – 1790
Benjamin Franklin was an American polymath — a founding father, scientist, inventor, writer and diplomat — whose work on electricity and statesmanship made him one of the most admired figures of the 18th century.
- 5 90
Nikola Tesla
Inventor · 1856 – 1943
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor and electrical engineer whose pioneering work on alternating current and electromagnetism helped electrify the modern world.