Pocket folding umbrella DE606015A Great little brolly The umbrella is a practical invention. But a canopy to take along is even more practical when it can be folded up so small that it fits in every pocket. We owe this idea to Hans Haupt, who applied for a patent for…
Beethoven Beethoven portrait of Joseph Karl Stiehler (1820) in the Beethoven-Haus at Bonn The grumpy, deaf genius Joy, beautiful spark of divinity: He was one of the greatest composers of all time - Ludwig van Beethoven. But the loss of his hearing was overshadowing…
When the pictures started moving Patent for the Lumière brothers' cinematograph With this patent the success story of cinema began: on 13 February 1895, the brothers August and Louis Lumière applied for a patent in France for an "Appareil servant à l'obtention et à…
Laser One of Maiman´s first lasers is on display at the Deutsches Museum in Munich Shine a light And there was light - like never before: When Theodore H. Maiman switched on a flash discharge lamp wrapped around a rod-shaped ruby in Malibu on 16 May 1960, a laser…
The world´s first subway Illustration from "The Engineer", July 26, 1895 The tube under the Thames It was the world's first underground transport tunnel: the Tower Subway. A rail car shuttled back and forth under the river between the banks of the Thames - a much…
Mobile phone Martin Cooper with his historic prototype and a modern phone in 2009, recieving the Prince of Asturias price Communication revolution with a slow start There are only a few inventions that have really changed people's lives forever. Apart from the…
When music became preservable DE45048 Emil Berliner´s Gramophone patent Birth of the sound box: In 1887, Emil Berliner was granted a patent for his „ Verfahren und Apparat für das Registriren und Wiederhervorbringen von Tönen “ ("Method and Apparatus for the…
Penicillin Blunting wonder weapon Sir Alexander Fleming Looking back, September 28, 1928 might have been one of the most important dates in the history of medicine. On this day, the Scottish doctor Alexander Fleming observed that a mould can kill bacteria. The method…
Stapler McGill´s "Device for Inserting Metallic Staples in Paper, & c.", 1879 (US 212316A) The rise and demise of a formerly indispensable office helper Today we dedicate ourselves to a species threatened with extinction: the stapler. While this device could be found…
László Bíró DE912309B The man with the pen László Bíró, 1978 He invented one of the most produced devices in history, but hardly profited from it: László Bíró is the father of the modern ballpoint pen, which still bears his name in many countries today. The creative…