Science, Technology & Medical History

Click on the links below to read about some of the history and people behind science, technology, and medical breakthroughs in the U.S.

SCIENCE & SCIENTISTS
• Father of American Botany: Asa Gray - The "Father of American Botany," Asa Gray is often regarded by scholars as the most important American botanist of the 19th century.... Continue Reading
• Master of Physics: Albert Einstein - Albert Einstein was the most famous physicist of the 20th century, and perhaps of all time. His extraordinary insights into the nature of space and time revolutionized physics.... Continue Reading
THINKERS, TINKERERS & GADGETS
• Horse-drawn Reaper: Cyrus McCormick - Cyrus McCormick's father invented the first horse-drawn crop reaper and was experimenting with a design for a mechanical reaper when he turned the experiment over to his son.... Continue Reading
• Rubber, Not Tires: Charles Goodyear - Born in New Haven, Connecticut, on December 29, 1800, Charles Goodyear began his business life in his father's hardware business. When that venture failed in 1830, Goodyear turned his attention to mak... Continue Reading
• Barbed Wire - Few inventions had more impact on the development of the West than did barbed wire. Patents for barbed wire were granted between 1868 and 1873. Barbed wire allowed for effective and economical fencing... Continue Reading
• The Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell - "There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things." - Alexander Graham Bell.... Continue Reading
• Dynamite & Peace Prize: Alfred Nobel - Alfred Nobel, for whom the Nobel Prizes were named, was born the son of Immanuel Nobel, an engineer and inventor, on October 13, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden.... Continue Reading
• Tinkerer & Politician: Benjamin Franklin - As diplomat, scientist, writer, printer and political philosopher, Benjamin Franklin was one of the truly dominant figures of the 18th century.... Continue Reading
• Ball-bearings & GM: Alfred P. Sloan Jr. - Alfred Pritchard Sloan Jr. was born on May 23, 1875, in New Haven, Connecticut. Alfred grew up to be an intelligent young man. He enrolled in the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, where he attended coll... Continue Reading
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
• Clara Barton - A Christmas gift to humanity, who would one day be called "Angel of the Battlefield," was born December 25 on a farm near Oxford, Massachusetts.... Continue Reading and the American Red Cross - The American Red Cross is an organization founded in 1881 by Clara Barton in Washington DC. The worldwide Red Cross movement began earlier in order to provide neutral aid to the victims of war.... Continue Reading
• Father of American Psychiatry: Benjamin Rush - Benjamin Rush was born on January 4, 1746, in Byberry, Pennsylvania, and was raised by his mother in Philadelphia.... Continue Reading
• Polio Vaccine: Albert Sabin - Few in the history of medicine and science have contributed as much to the world as Dr. Albert B. Sabin.... Continue Reading
SCIENCE CENTERS, MUSEUMS, & HOSPITALS
• Air Mobility Command Museum - The Air Mobility Command Museum is a U.S. Air Force-supported facility, located in a historic hangar on the south side of Dover Air Force Base. Founded in 1986, the museum strives to preserve the hist... Continue Reading
• Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children - Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children, a unit of Nemours, is located just outside of Wilmington, Delaware. This 180-bed hospital, generally recognized as one of the largest subspecialty groups in the... Continue Reading
• Allegheny Observatory - Allegheny Observatory is one of the major astronomical research institutions in the United States and the world. The large Neo-classical structure is located in Riverview Park, four miles north of the... Continue Reading
• Carnegie Science Center - Carnegie Science Center, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is located on the city's North Shore. Established in 1991, the center encourages the residents of Pittsburgh and ... Continue Reading
• C.S. Mott Children`s Hospital - The C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, the first separate children’s hospital of the University of Michigan Health Care System (UMHS), is one of the nation's leading pediatric health care institutions. Lo... Continue Reading
• Don Harrington Discovery Center - ...