swap_horiz Cai Lun Alternatives

1

Fred Sanger

Frederick Sanger was a British biochemist renowned for his groundbreaking work in molecular biology. He developed pionee...

20TH Century British Biochemistry Genetics

9.8 Brilliant

2

Johannes Gutenberg

Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press utilizing movable type in the mid-15th century. This innovation dramatical...

German Press Printing 15TH Century

9.7 Brilliant

3

Katalin Karikó

Katalin Karikó is a biochemist whose pioneering research on modified messenger RNA (mRNA) revolutionized biotechnology....

Medicine 21ST Century Biotech Hungarian American

9.7 Brilliant

4

Maurice Hilleman

Maurice Hilleman was a prominent American microbiologist whose groundbreaking work significantly advanced vaccine develo...

American Medicine 20TH Century Vaccines

9.7 Brilliant

5

Wright brothers

Orville and Wilbur Wright were American inventors credited with inventing, building, and flying the world’s first succes...

American 20TH Century Aviation Airplane

9.6 Brilliant

6

Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger was an Austrian theoretical physicist instrumental in developing quantum mechanics. His most significa...

Austrian Physics 20TH Century Quantum Mechanics

9.6 Brilliant

7

James L. Fergason

James L. Fergason was an American inventor instrumental in the development of practical twisted nematic liquid crystal d...

American 20TH Century LCD Display Materials

9.2 Excellent

8

Mária Telkes

Hungarian-American scientist Mária Telkes pioneered solar energy technology, co-designing the first modern solar-heated...

20TH Century Solar Energy Materials Hungarian American

8.7 Great

9

Bi Sheng

Bi Sheng was a Song-dynasty Chinese artisan who invented movable type around 1040, using fired clay characters for print...

Chinese Printing Song Dynasty Movable Type

8.7 Great

10

Charles Macintosh

Scottish chemist who invented waterproof rubberized fabric in 1823 by dissolving rubber between cloth layers, giving his...

Chemistry 19TH Century Scottish Materials

8.6 Great

11

Leo Baekeland

Leo Baekeland was a Belgian-American chemist who invented Bakelite in 1907, often regarded as the first fully synthetic...

20TH Century Plastic Materials Bakelite

8.5 Great

12

George de Mestral

Swiss engineer who invented Velcro in 1955, inspired by noticing how burdock burrs clung to his clothing and his dog's f...

Swiss 20TH Century Fastener Materials

8.4 Great

13

Patsy Sherman

American chemist Patsy Sherman co-invented Scotchgard, a fluorochemical stain- and water-repellent fabric protector, at...

American 20TH Century 3M Materials

8.4 Great

14

Su Song

Su Song was a Song-dynasty Chinese polymath who built a water-powered astronomical clock tower at Kaifeng, completed in...

Astronomy Chinese Clockwork Song Dynasty

8.3 Great

15

Harry Brearley

Harry Brearley was an English metallurgist credited with developing stainless steel in Sheffield in 1913 while seeking e...

20TH Century Stainless Steel British Materials

7.9 Good

16

Roy Plunkett

Roy Plunkett was an American chemist who accidentally discovered polytetrafluoroethylene, later branded Teflon, at DuPon...

American 20TH Century Polymer Materials

7.9 Good

17

Joseph Monier

Joseph Monier was a French gardener and inventor who patented reinforced concrete tubs and tanks in 1867, helping popula...

French 19TH Century Construction Materials

7.8 Good

18

John Wesley Hyatt

John Wesley Hyatt was an American inventor who patented celluloid in 1869, creating a commercially important early plast...

American 19TH Century Plastic Materials

7.7 Good

19

Alexander Parkes

Alexander Parkes was an English metallurgist who created Parkesine, an early man-made plastic exhibited at the 1862 Inte...

19TH Century Plastic British Materials

7.6 Good

20

Spencer Silver

Spencer Silver was an American chemist at 3M who developed a low-tack reusable adhesive in 1968, later used in Post-it N...

American 20TH Century Adhesive Materials

7.2 Good