10.Here is a list of notable “first men” in various fields in India:
First Men in India
First President of India
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
First Prime Minister of India
Jawaharlal Nehru
First Vice President of India
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
First Indian to win Nobel Prize
Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913)
First Indian to climb Mount Everest
Tenzing Norgay (with Sir Edmund Hillary, 1953)
First Indian in Space
Rakesh Sharma (1984)
First Indian to win an Oscar
Bhanu Athaiya (Best Costume Design for “Gandhi,” 1982)
First Indian to receive Bharat Ratna
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, and C.V. Raman (1954)
First Indian to win a gold medal in the Olympics
Abhinav Bindra (Shooting, 2008)
First Indian Chief of Army Staff
General K.M. Cariappa
First Indian Chief of Air Staff
Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee
First Indian Chief of Naval Staff
Vice Admiral R.D. Katari
First Indian to swim across the English Channel
Mihir Sen
First Indian to win the Booker Prize
Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things, 1997)
First Indian to become Miss World
Reita Faria (1966)
First Indian to become Miss Universe
Sushmita Sen (1994)
First Indian to win a Grammy Award
Pandit Ravi Shankar
First Indian to receive the Jnanpith Award
G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam, 1965)
First Indian to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Devika Rani (1969)
First Indian to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Vinoba Bhave (1958)
First Indian Governor-General of Independent India
C. Rajagopalachari
First Indian to become the President of the UN General Assembly
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Pandit
First Indian to cross the English Channel
Mihir Sen
First Indian to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize
Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi (2018)
First Indian to become the Chief Justice of India
H. J. Kania
First Indian to receive the Param Vir Chakra
Major Somnath Sharma
First Indian to become a Field Marshal
Sam Manekshaw
First Indian Governor-General of Independent India
C. Rajagopalachari
First Indian to become the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
Kamalesh Sharma
First Indian to become a member of the British Parliament
Dadabhai Naoroji
First Indian to win the International Booker Prize
Geetanjali Shree (2022)
First Indian to win the Sahitya Akademi Award
R.K. Narayan (1958)
First Indian to win the World Food Prize
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan (1987)
First Indian to be appointed the Chief Economist of the World Bank
Kaushik Basu (2012)
First Indian to receive the Fields Medal (Mathematics)
Manjul Bhargava (2014)
First Indian to become a Nobel Laureate in Physics
C.V. Raman (1930)
First Indian to win the Jnanpith Award for Hindi Literature
Sumitranandan Pant (1968)
First Indian to receive the Templeton Prize
Baba Amte (1990)
First Indian to win the Miss Earth title
Nicole Faria (2010)
First Indian to receive the UN Human Rights Prize
Baba Amte (1988)
First Indian to be awarded the Lenin Peace Prize
Saifuddin Kitchlew (1952)
First Indian to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1958)
First Indian to receive the Stalin Peace Prize
Saifuddin Kitchlew (1952)
First Indian to be elected to the International Court of Justice
Dr. Nagendra Singh (1973)
First Indian to become the Secretary-General of SAARC
Abul Ahsan (1987)
First Indian to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Oscar
Satyajit Ray (1992)
First Indian to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
Sunil Gavaskar (2009)
First Indian to receive the Moortidevi Award
C. K. Nagaraja Rao (1983)
First Indian to win the Right Livelihood Award
Ela Bhatt (1984)
First Indian to become the Director-General of WHO
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (2017, Chief Scientist)
First Indian to become the President of the International Olympic Committee
No Indian has become the President of the IOC as of now.
First Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo and non-stop
Commander Abhilash Tomy (2013)
First Indian to become the head of Google
Sundar Pichai (CEO, 2015)
First Indian to become the head of Microsoft
Satya Nadella (CEO, 2014)
First Indian to win the Man Booker International Prize
Geetanjali Shree (2022)
First Indian to win the Pulitzer Prize
Gobind Behari Lal (1937)
First Indian to win an Olympic medal
Norman Pritchard (1900, Athletics)
First Indian to win the National Film Award for Best Actor
Uttam Kumar (1967)
First Indian to sail solo around the world
Dilip Donde (2009-2010)
First Indian to win the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering
N. R. Narayana Murthy (2017, as part of Infosys Foundation)
First Indian to become the Chief of Defence Staff
General Bipin Rawat (2019)
First Indian to win the UNESCO Peace Prize
Rajiv Gandhi (1991)
First Indian to win the Turing Award
No Indian has won the Turing Award as of now.
First Indian to become the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Kamalesh Sharma (2008)
First Indian to be appointed as the President of the International Court of Justice
Dr. Nagendra Singh (1985-1988)
First Indian to win a World Amateur Billiards title
Wilson Jones (1958)
First Indian to receive the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album
Pandit Ravi Shankar
First Indian to win a gold medal in the Paralympics
Murlikant Petkar (Swimming, 1972)
First Indian to be appointed as a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Dr. P. Chandrasekhara Rao (1996)
First Indian to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee
No Indian won the Scripps National Spelling Bee until 1985. The first winner of Indian origin was Balu Natarajan (1985).
First Indian to receive the Bharat Ratna posthumously
Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966)
First Indian to win the Abel Prize
No Indian has won the Abel Prize as of now.
First Indian to become the President of the International Astronomical Union
Dr. Jayant Narlikar (1994-1997)
First Indian to win the Padma Vibhushan
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan (1954)
First Indian to receive the Knight Bachelor
Dr. J.C. Bose (1917)
First Indian to fly an aircraft
J.R.D. Tata (1929)
First Indian to receive the Bharat Ratna in the field of Art
M.S. Subbulakshmi (1998)
First Indian to be appointed as the Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC)
Shashank Manohar (2015)
First Indian to receive the Dada Saheb Phalke Award posthumously
Prithviraj Kapoor (1971)
First Indian to be awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction
Arundhati Roy (1997, “The God of Small Things”)
First Indian to receive the World Food Prize
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan (1987)
First Indian to be awarded the Padma Bhushan
Dhondo Keshav Karve (1954)
First Indian to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra
Major Somnath Sharma (1947, posthumously)
First Indian to be awarded the Padma Shri
No specific first recipient as it was awarded to multiple people in 1954.
First Indian to win a medal at the World Athletics Championships
Anju Bobby George (2003)
First Indian to become the President of the UN General Assembly
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1953)
First Indian to win the Miss World title
Reita Faria (1966)
First Indian to win the Miss Universe title
Sushmita Sen (1994)
First Indian to win the Miss Earth title
Nicole Faria (2010)
First Indian to receive the Victoria Cross
Khudadad Khan (1914)
First Indian to receive the Ashoka Chakra
Naik Narbahadur Thapa (1952, posthumously)
First Indian to win the Padma Vibhushan in the field of Literature
S. Radhakrishnan (1954)
First Indian to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal
Milkha Singh (1958, 440 yards)
First Indian to be honored with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service
Vinoba Bhave (1958)
First Indian to receive the Templeton Prize
Baba Amte (1990)
First Indian to win the FIDE World Chess Championship
Viswanathan Anand (2000)
First Indian to win a gold medal in the Youth Olympics
Jeremy Lalrinnunga (Weightlifting, 2018)
First Indian to be elected to the Royal Society of London
Ardaseer Cursetjee (1841)
First Indian to become a professor at the Harvard Business School
Krishna Palepu
First Indian to win a World Championship in any sport – Prakash Padukone (Badminton, 1980 All England Championship)
11.Here is a list of notable “first women” in various fields in India:
First Women in India
First Woman President of India
Pratibha Patil (2007-2012)
First Woman Prime Minister of India
Indira Gandhi (1966-1977, 1980-1984)
First Woman Governor of an Indian State
Sarojini Naidu (Uttar Pradesh, 1947-1949)
First Woman Chief Minister of an Indian State
Sucheta Kriplani (Uttar Pradesh, 1963-1967)
First Woman Speaker of Lok Sabha
Meira Kumar (2009-2014)
First Woman President of the Indian National Congress
Annie Besant (1917)
First Woman to win Nobel Prize
Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979)
First Woman to climb Mount Everest
Bachendri Pal (1984)
First Woman to swim across the English Channel
Arati Saha (1959)
First Woman to become a Chief Justice of a High Court
Leila Seth (Himachal Pradesh High Court, 1991)
First Woman to receive the Bharat Ratna
Indira Gandhi (1971)
First Woman IPS Officer
Kiran Bedi (1972)
First Woman to win an Olympic medal
Karnam Malleswari (Bronze, Weightlifting, 2000)
First Woman Judge of the Supreme Court
Justice M. Fathima Beevi (1989)
First Woman to receive Ashoka Chakra
Neerja Bhanot (1987, posthumously)
First Woman to become the President of the UN General Assembly
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1953-1954)
First Woman to win the Booker Prize
Arundhati Roy (1997, “The God of Small Things”)
First Woman to receive the Jnanpith Award
Ashapoorna Devi (1976)
First Woman to win the Miss World title
Reita Faria (1966)
First Woman to win the Miss Universe title
Sushmita Sen (1994)
First Woman to win the Miss Earth title
Nicole Faria (2010)
First Woman to become a Lieutenant General in the Indian Army
Punita Arora
First Woman Pilot in Indian Air Force
Harita Kaur Deol (1994)
First Woman to receive the Padma Shri
Dr. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (1955)
First Woman to receive the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Devika Rani (1969)
First Woman to win a medal in the World Athletics Championships
Anju Bobby George (2003)
First Woman to be honored with the Ramon Magsaysay Award
Mother Teresa (1962)
First Woman to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award
Amrita Pritam (1956)
First Woman to become a Chief Election Commissioner
V.S. Ramadevi (1990)
First Woman to become the Governor of Reserve Bank of India
No woman has become the Governor of RBI as of now.
First Woman to win the Padma Vibhushan
Nargis Dutt (1980, posthumously)
First Woman to become a Pilot in the Indian Navy
Shubhangi Swaroop
First Woman to win the National Film Award for Best Actress
Nargis Dutt (1968)
First Woman to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership
Ela Bhatt (1977)
First Woman to become the Secretary-General of SAARC
No woman has become the Secretary-General of SAARC as of now.
First Woman to be appointed as the Attorney General of India
No woman has been appointed as the Attorney General of India as of now.
First Woman to receive the Gandhi Peace Prize
No woman has received the Gandhi Peace Prize as of now.
First Woman to become a Fighter Pilot in Indian Air Force
Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth, and Mohana Singh (2016)
First Woman to become the Chief of the Indian Navy
No woman has become the Chief of the Indian Navy as of now.
First Woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal
P. T. Usha (1986, 400 meters hurdles)
First Woman to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
No woman has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame as of now.
First Woman to win a Grammy Award
Tanvi Shah (2009, for the song “Jai Ho” from the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”)
First Woman to win a Turing Award
No woman of Indian origin has won the Turing Award as of now.
First Woman to win a Fields Medal
No woman of Indian origin has won the Fields Medal as of now.
First Woman to be appointed as the Chairperson of the State Bank of India
Arundhati Bhattacharya (2013)
First Woman to become the President of the Indian Medical Association
Dr. J. A. Jayalal (2020)
First Woman to receive the National Science Award
Asima Chatterjee (1961)
First Woman to become a Union Minister
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (Health Minister, 1947)
First Woman to head the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan
First Woman to become the Director-General of Police (DGP)
Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya (Uttarakhand, 2004)
First Woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics
No woman of Indian origin has won the Nobel Prize in Economics as of now.
First Woman to become the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
Madhabi Puri Buch (2022)
First Woman to become the Mayor of an Indian city
Tara Cherian (Mayor of Madras, now Chennai, 1957)
First Woman to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts
P. Sainath (2007)
First Woman to become the President of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA)
Chandrima Shaha (2019)
First Woman to become a Cardiologist in India
Dr. S. I. Padmavati
First Woman to become the Chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
No woman has become the Chairperson of ISRO as of now.
First Woman to win the National Bravery Award
Harshini Kanhekar (1987)
First Woman to be appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of an Indian university
Professor J. Surya Kumari (Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam, Tirupati)
First Woman to be elected as the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
Gagandeep Kang (2019)
First Woman to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company
Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo, 2006)
First Woman to receive the Padma Bhushan in the field of Science
Dr. Asima Chatterjee (1975)
First Woman to win the Femina Miss India
Pramila (Esther Victoria Abraham, 1947)
First Woman to become a licensed pilot
Sarla Thakral (1936)
First Woman to head a public sector bank
Arundhati Bhattacharya (State Bank of India, 2013)
First Woman to win the National Film Award for Best Director
Aparna Sen (1981, “36 Chowringhee Lane”)
First Woman to become the Chief Executive Officer of an Indian IT company
Roshni Nadar Malhotra (HCL Technologies, 2020)
First Woman to be appointed as a Judge of the International Court of Justice
No Indian woman has been appointed as a Judge of the International Court of Justice as of now.
First Woman to win the National Film Award for Best Screenplay
Arundhati Roy (1989, “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones”)
First Woman to become the CEO of an Indian unicorn
Falguni Nayar (Nykaa, 2012)
First Woman to receive the Kirti Chakra
Major Mitali Madhumita (2011)
First Woman to become the Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Gita Gopinath (2019)
First Woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for English Literature
Kamala Das (1985)
First Woman to become a full-time finance minister of India
Nirmala Sitharaman (2019)
First Woman to receive the Padma Bhushan in the field of Sports
Mary Kom (2013)
First Woman to be inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame
Mira Nair (2020)
First Woman to become the Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO)
Soumya Swaminathan (2019)
First Woman to become the Solicitor General of India
No woman has been appointed as the Solicitor General of India as of now.
First Woman to win the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer
Lata Mangeshkar (1969)
First Woman to win a Grand Slam title
Sania Mirza (2009, Australian Open Mixed Doubles)
First Woman to become the Director-General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
No woman has been appointed as the Director-General of CSIR as of now.
First Woman to win a medal at the Paralympic Games
Deepa Malik (Silver, Shot Put, 2016)
First Woman to win the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year
No individual woman has won the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year as of now, though women have been part of winning groups.
First Woman to be appointed as the Dean of Harvard Business School
No Indian woman has been appointed as the Dean of Harvard Business School as of now.
First Woman to receive the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize
Pratibha Patil (1998)
First Woman to win a medal at the World Weightlifting Championships
Karnam Malleswari (1994)
First Woman to become a full-time Defence Minister of India
Nirmala Sitharaman (2017)
First Woman to receive the World Food Prize
No woman of Indian origin has received the World Food Prize as of now.
First Woman to become the Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)
No woman has become the Chairperson of NGT as of now.
First Woman to be appointed as the Chairperson of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR)
No woman has been appointed as the Chairperson of ICHR as of now.
First Woman to win a medal in the Asian Games
Nilima Ghose (1951, Athletics)
First Woman to be appointed as the Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Rose Millian Bathew Kharbuli (1981)
First Woman to be elected as the President of FICCI
Swati Piramal (2009)
First Woman to be appointed as the Dean of IIM Ahmedabad
No woman has been appointed as the Dean of IIM Ahmedabad as of now.
First Woman to become the President of NASSCOM
Debjani Ghosh (2018)
First Woman to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership
Anshu Gupta (2015)
First Woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry
Kamala Das (1985)
First Woman to be appointed as the President of the Indian Academy of Sciences
No woman has been appointed as the President of the Indian Academy of Sciences as of now.
First Woman to become the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW)
Jayanti Patnaik (1992)
First Woman to win the National Film Award for Best Child Artist – Baby Naaz (1954)
12.Here’s a list of notable inventions and discoveries, along with their inventors or discoverers, many of which have had a significant impact on science, technology, and daily life:
Notable Inventions and Discoveries
Inventions
Telephone
Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell (1876)
Light Bulb
Inventor: Thomas Edison (1879)
Electricity Transmission
Inventor: Nikola Tesla (1891)
Penicillin (Antibiotic)
Discoverer: Alexander Fleming (1928)
Internal Combustion Engine
Inventor: Nikolaus Otto (1876)
Airplane
Inventors: Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright (1903)
Computer
Inventor: Charles Babbage (Conceptualized in the 1830s, with Alan Turing’s developments later influencing modern computers)
Printing Press
Inventor: Johannes Gutenberg (1440)
Television
Inventor: John Logie Baird (1926)
Photograph
Inventor: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1826)
Radio
Inventor: Guglielmo Marconi (1895)
Microwave Oven
Inventor: Percy Spencer (1945)
Automobile
Inventor: Karl Benz (1885)
X-ray Machine
Inventor: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (1895)
Laser
Inventor: Theodore Maiman (1960)
First Successful Vaccine (Smallpox)
Inventor: Edward Jenner (1796)
Vacuum Cleaner
Inventor: Hubert Cecil Booth (1901)
Refrigerator
Inventor: Carl von Linde (1876)
Satellite
Inventor: Sputnik 1 (USSR, 1957)
Electric Battery
Inventor: Alessandro Volta (1800)
Stethoscope
Inventor: René Laënnec (1816)
Typewriter
Inventor: Christopher Latham Sholes (1868)
Sewing Machine
Inventor: Elias Howe (1846)
Internet
Inventors: Vint Cerf and Robert Kahn (1974)
Smartphone
Inventor: IBM Simon (1994)
Discoveries
Theory of Relativity
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1905)
Law of Universal Gravitation
Discoverer: Isaac Newton (1687)
Theory of Evolution
Discoverer: Charles Darwin (1859)
DNA Structure
Discoverers: James Watson and Francis Crick (1953)
Radioactivity
Discoverers: Marie and Pierre Curie (1898)
Insulin
Discoverers: Frederick Banting and Charles Best (1921)
Periodic Table
Inventor: Dmitri Mendeleev (1869)
Electromagnetism
Discoverer: Hans Christian Ørsted and Michael Faraday (1820s)
Laws of Motion
Discoverer: Isaac Newton (1687)
Higgs Boson
Discoverer: Peter Higgs and others (2012)
Heliocentric Theory
Discoverer: Nicolaus Copernicus (1543)
Theory of Plate Tectonics
Discoverers: Alfred Wegener (1912, Continental Drift Theory), further developed in the 1960s
Antibiotics (Penicillin)
Discoverer: Alexander Fleming (1928)
Quantum Mechanics
Developers: Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, and others (Early 20th Century)
Germ Theory of Disease
Discoverer: Louis Pasteur (1860s)
Radio Waves
Discoverer: Heinrich Hertz (1887)
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Discoverers: Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson (1965)
Mendelian Inheritance
Discoverer: Gregor Mendel (1865)
Structure of Atoms
Discoverer: Ernest Rutherford (1911)
Electrolysis of Water
Discoverer: Sir Humphry Davy (1800)
X-ray Crystallography
Discoverers: Max von Laue and the Braggs (1912)
Antiseptic Surgery
Discoverer: Joseph Lister (1860s)
Photosynthesis Process
Discoverer: Jan Ingenhousz (1779)
Blood Circulation
Discoverer: William Harvey (1628)
Discovery of Neptune
Discoverers: Johann Galle and Heinrich d’Arrest (1846)
Inventions
Toothbrush
Inventor: William Addis (1780)
Elevator
Inventor: Elisha Otis (1852)
Photocopier
Inventor: Chester Carlson (1938)
Computing Machine (First Mechanical Computer)
Inventor: Charles Babbage (1820s)
Microprocessor
Inventor: Intel Corporation (1971)
Fax Machine
Inventor: Alexander Bain (1843)
Synthetic Rubber
Inventor: Fritz Hofmann (1909)
Electronic Television
Inventor: Philo Farnsworth (1927)
Thermometer
Inventor: Galileo Galilei (1593)
First Electric Fan
Inventor: Philip Diehl (1882)
Cell Phone
Inventor: Martin Cooper (1973)
Piano
Inventor: Bartolomeo Cristofori (1700)
Dynamite
Inventor: Alfred Nobel (1867)
Contact Lens
Inventor: Adolf Gaston Eugen Fick (1887)
Safety Pin
Inventor: Walter Hunt (1849)
Jukebox
Inventor: Louis T. Glass (1889)
Ballpoint Pen
Inventors: Laszlo Biro (1938)
Concrete
Inventor: Joseph Aspdin (1824)
Cinematograph
Inventors: Lumière Brothers (1895)
Electric Kettle
Inventor: The first electric kettle was developed by George Schneider and his colleagues in the 1950s.
Dishwasher
Inventor: Josephine Cochrane (1886)
Plastic
Inventor: Leo Baekeland (1907)
Solar Cell
Inventor: Albert Einstein and the work of William Shockley and others (1954)
MRI Scanner
Inventors: Raymond Damadian and colleagues (1970s)
Pacemaker
Inventor: John Hopps (1950s)
Discoveries
Laws of Inheritance (Genetics)
Discoverer: Gregor Mendel (1865)
Theory of General Relativity
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1915)
Helium
Discoverers: Pierre Janssen and Norman Lockyer (1868)
Radioactive Elements
Discoverers: Marie and Pierre Curie (1898)
Structure of DNA (Double Helix)
Discoverers: James Watson and Francis Crick (1953)
Nuclear Fission
Discoverers: Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann (1938)
Antimicrobial Resistance
Discoverer: Alexander Fleming (discovered penicillin resistance, 1928)
Penicillin
Discoverer: Alexander Fleming (1928)
Insulin for Diabetes
Discoverers: Frederick Banting and Charles Best (1921)
Lunar Surface Composition
Discoverers: Apollo 11 Astronauts (1969)
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Discoverers: Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson (1965)
Neurons and Nerve Cells
Discoverer: Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1906)
X-ray Diffraction
Discoverers: Max von Laue and the Braggs (1912)
Inertia and Momentum
Discoverer: Isaac Newton (1687)
Gravitational Lensing
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1915)
Poliomyelitis Vaccine
Inventor: Jonas Salk (1955)
Periodic Table of Elements
Inventor: Dmitri Mendeleev (1869)
Human Chromosomes
Discoverer: Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri (1902)
Nobel Gases
Discoverer: Sir William Ramsay (1894)
HIV Virus
Discoverers: Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier (1983)
Photosynthesis in Plants
Discoverer: Jan Ingenhousz (1779)
Discovery of Electrons
Discoverer: J.J. Thomson (1897)
Chemical Bonding
Discoverer: Gilbert N. Lewis and Linus Pauling (20th century)
Law of Conservation of Mass
Discoverer: Antoine Lavoisier (1789)
Bacteriology
Discoverer: Louis Pasteur (1857)
Inventions
Syringe
Inventor: Christopher Wren (1650s, modern version by Alexander Wood, 1853)
Cardiac Pacemaker
Inventor: John Hopps (1950s)
DVR (Digital Video Recorder)
Inventor: Replay TV (1999)
ATM (Automated Teller Machine)
Inventor: John Shepherd-Barron (1967)
Laser Printer
Inventor: Gary Starkweather (1969)
Fluorescent Light
Inventor: George Inman and Richard Thayer (1934)
Portable Flashlight
Inventor: David Misell (1899)
GPS (Global Positioning System)
Inventors: U.S. Department of Defense (1973)
Snowmobile
Inventor: Joseph-Armand Bombardier (1937)
Lawn Mower
Inventor: Edwin Beard Budding (1830)
Barbed Wire
Inventor: Joseph Glidden (1874)
Kinetoscope
Inventor: Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (1891)
Electric Toothbrush
Inventor: Dr. Philippe-Guy Woog (1954)
Smoke Detector
Inventor: Duane Pearsall (1965)
Pills (Tablet Medication)
Inventor: Joseph Lister (1880s)
Hearing Aid
Inventor: Heinrich Rudolph (1890s)
Telescope
Inventor: Hans Lippershey (1608)
Fountain Pen
Inventor: Lewis Waterman (1884)
Electric Alarm Clock
Inventor: Seth Thomas (1876)
Augmented Reality Glasses
Inventor: Vuzix Corporation (1990s)
Digital Camera
Inventor: Steven Sasson (1975)
Bicycle
Inventors: Karl von Drais (1817, “Draisine”) and others
Wind Turbine
Inventor: Charles Brush (1888)
Thermostat
Inventor: Albert E. Tuttle (1883)
Multimeter (Electrical Testing Device)
Inventor: Roger K. McMillan (1920s)
Discoveries
Formation of Stars
Discoverers: Edwin Hubble (1920s)
Quantum Entanglement
Discoverer: Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky, and Nathan Rosen (1935)
Gravitational Waves
Discoverers: LIGO Scientific Collaboration (2015)
CRISPR-Cas9 (Genetic Editing)
Discoverers: Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier (2012)
Ozone Layer Depletion
Discoverers: Rowland and Molina (1980s)
Human Genome Sequencing
Discoverers: Human Genome Project (2003)
Expansion of the Universe
Discoverer: Edwin Hubble (1929)
Antimatter
Discoverer: Paul Dirac (1930)
Nerve Cells (Neurons)
Discoverer: Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1906)
Evolution of Stars
Discoverer: Sir Arthur Eddington (1920s)
Retroviruses
Discoverer: Howard Temin and David Baltimore (1970s)
Metabolism of Plants
Discoverer: Melvin Calvin (1961 Nobel Prize)
Archaeopteryx (Link Between Dinosaurs and Birds)
Discoverer: Hermann von Meyer (1861)
Mitochondrial DNA
Discoverer: Margit Nass and Sylvan Nass (1963)
Superconductivity
Discoverer: Heike Kamerlingh Onnes (1911)
Nobel Prize in Medicine (Cell Communication)
Discoverers: Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro, and Ferid Murad (1998)
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Discoverers: Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell (1946 Nobel Prize)
Inert Gases
Discoverers: Sir William Ramsay (1894)
Discovery of Neptune
Discoverers: Johann Galle and Heinrich d’Arrest (1846)
Discovery of the Electron
Discoverer: J.J. Thomson (1897)
Hematopoiesis (Blood Cell Formation)
Discoverer: James Till and Ernest McCulloch (1960s)
Synthesis of Urea
Discoverer: Friedrich Wöhler (1828)
Photoelectric Effect
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1905 Nobel Prize)
Behavior of Electrons in Atoms
Discoverer: Niels Bohr (1913)
Quantum Tunneling
Discoverer: George Gamow (1928)
Inventions
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Inventors: Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur, and Peter Mansfield (1970s)
Electric Guitar
Inventor: Les Paul and others (1930s)
Portable Radio
Inventor: John F. Mitchell (1954)
Smartwatch
Inventor: IBM and various tech companies (1980s onwards)
Rebreather (Diving Equipment)
Inventor: Benjamin Franklin (1810s)
Odometer (Distance Measurement)
Inventor: Hippalus (circa 1st century AD)
Chlorination of Water
Inventor: John Snow and others (1850s)
Soda Fountain
Inventor: John Matthews (1860s)
Psychoanalysis
Inventor: Sigmund Freud (1890s)
Electric Scooter
Inventor: Various inventors and companies (1990s)
3D Printer
Inventor: Chuck Hull (1983)
Electronic Voting Machine
Inventor: Invented by various technologists and governments (1990s onwards)
Personal Computer
Inventor: Various inventors, including Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (1970s onwards)
Folding Knife
Inventor: Various cultures, with significant contributions from the 19th-century smiths
Can Opener
Inventor: Ezra Warner (1858)
Nuclear Reactor
Inventor: Enrico Fermi and others (1942)
Electric Car
Inventor: Various inventors, including Robert Anderson (1830s)
Windshield Wiper
Inventor: Mary Anderson (1903)
Laparoscope (Medical Instrument)
Inventor: Dr. Georg Kelling (1910)
Polygraph (Lie Detector)
Inventor: John Larson (1920s)
Corkscrew
Inventor: Various inventors, with notable contributions from the 18th century
Vending Machine
Inventor: Hero of Alexandria (circa 1st century AD)
Bionic Prosthetics
Inventor: Various inventors, including the work of MIT researchers (2000s)
Fire Extinguisher
Inventor: George William Manby (1818)
Synthetic Fabric (Nylon) – Inventor: Wallace Carothers (1935)
Discoveries
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
Discoverers: Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson (1965)
Discovery of the Double Helix Structure of DNA
Discoverers: James Watson and Francis Crick (1953)
Discovery of the Neutron
Discoverer: James Chadwick (1932)
Discovery of the Structure of Proteins
Discoverers: Max Perutz and John Kendrew (1962 Nobel Prize)
Photoelectric Effect
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1905)
Discovery of Vitamins
Discoverer: Frederick Hopkins and Casimir Funk (early 20th century)
Discovery of the Electron’s Spin
Discoverer: George Uhlenbeck and Samuel Goudsmit (1925)
Discovery of the Doppler Effect
Discoverer: Christian Doppler (1842)
Discovery of the Photon
Discoverer: Albert Einstein (1905)
Discovery of the Higgs Boson
Discoverers: CERN and the Large Hadron Collider team (2012)
Discovery of Antibiotic Resistance
Discoverer: Alexander Fleming (1928, later work by others)
Discovery of the Periodic Table of Elements
Discoverer: Dmitri Mendeleev (1869)
Discovery of the First Exoplanet
Discoverers: Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz (1995)
Discovery of the Structure of Insulin
Discoverer: Frederick Sanger (1950s)
Discovery of Cosmic Rays
Discoverer: Victor Hess (1912)
Discovery of the Role of Enzymes in Digestion
Discoverer: Edward Buchner (1897)
Discovery of the Effect of Nitrous Oxide as Anesthetic
Discoverer: Horace Wells (1844)
Discovery of the Principles of Quantum Mechanics
Discoverers: Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, and others (1920s)
Discovery of Radioactive Isotopes
Discoverer: Marie Curie (early 20th century)
Discovery of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Discoverer: Heinrich Hertz (1887)
Discovery of the Human Genome
Discoverers: Human Genome Project team (2003)
Discovery of the Role of DNA in Heredity
Discoverer: Gregor Mendel (1860s)
Discovery of the Mechanism of Cellular Respiration
Discoverer: Otto Warburg (1931 Nobel Prize)
Discovery of the Role of Oxygen in Respiration
Discoverer: Antoine Lavoisier (18th century)
Discovery of the Role of Radon in Lung Cancer – Discoverers: Various scientists including Robert R. Taylor (20th century)
