In your view, what inventions or people changed the course of history?

Martin Luther King Jr. also comes to mind.
He changed the world by advocating for peaceful approaches to society's ongoing problem of racial inequality. His "I have a dream" speech inspired so many to right this grievous wrong, and work towards a better future.
We aren't there yet, but he was a game changer.
 
JustBonee said:
Someone that seems fairly unknown to most … Charles Babbage. …father of the computer

rCharles Babbage - Wikipedia
Click to expand...

The first time I learned about Charles Babbage was while watching the very first episode of Family Fortunes (the UK version of Family Feud). The presenter mentioned that the large screen behind them was named 'Mr Babbage,' after Charles Babbage. It stuck with me ever since.

UPDATE:
Here we go 2:00 into this video of Family Fortunes. Their computer named after Charles Babbage.

Maybe we should start a thread of how and why things stick in our minds, and remain there after decades (44 years ago), waiting to be recalled at the right moment:

 
Last edited:
Tim Berners-Lee. He came up with the concept of The World Wide Web (Internet).
He is a British Computer Scientist who enabled a system to be able to view web pages, known as hypertext documents, through the Internet. It forever changed the world.
 
Sir Sandford Flemming who was the man behind the adoption of Standard Daily Time, around the world. His concept of dividing the globe into 24 time zones allowed the trains to run on time. Fleming was one of the engineers who mapped out the trans Canada railway route to the Pacific coast. He realized that time zones would allow local times to be standardized so that train schedules would be consistent .
 
Magna-Carta said:
RADAR
Click to expand...
The man who is credited with designing/refining RADAR was once caught speeding while driving in Ontario. When he appeared in the traffic court, he asked the Police Constable to explain how the radar speed measuring device worked. The Police officer was not able to clearly explain it's technology. The Magistrate asked the accused how he knew this technical information, to which he replied " I invented it ". Case dismissed. True story. JIM.
 
Banting and Best. The 2 Canadians who developed and purified Insulin, to treat type one Diabetics. For their ground breaking medical research they were both awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. As graduates of the University of Toronto Medical school, they GAVE their Nobel prize money to the U of T to fund further medical research. In 2024 the Banting and Best Institute for Medical Research is a world class medical institution. Millions of people around the world are alive because of those two Canadians and Insulin. JIM.
 
Leonardo da Vinci. One of the greatest minds of all time. In his 67 years on earth, he advanced the knowledge of man kind by leaps and bounds. He was interested in virtually everything, from Civil Engineering, Chemistry, Geology, Hydrodynamics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Optics, Physics, Pyrotechnics, Painting, Sculpture, and Zoology. JIM.
 
Glyndwr Michael. There are books and films about him, and from memory, a few TV documentaries too. A man famed for helping to change the course of history, with a fake I.D. and other fake documents, whilst he was dead.

That's no mean feat.

 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top