Oliver Fisher Winchester was born on November 30, 1810, and died on December 10, 1880. He was an American businessman and politician. He is most famous for starting the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
Samuel Colt ( / k oʊ l t / ; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, business owner, and manufacturer who created Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company. He was the first person to successfully produce revolvers in large numbers for sale. Colt’s first businesses involved making firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and creating underwater mines.
Deere & Company, also known as John Deere, is an American company that makes agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, and parts like axles, transmissions, and gearboxes used in heavy equipment and lawn care machines. It also offers financial services and other related activities. Deere & Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DE.
George Washington Carver (c. 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American scientist and inventor who encouraged growing other crops instead of cotton and taught ways to keep soil healthy. He was one of the most well-known Black scientists in the early 1900s.
Cyrus Hall McCormick was born on February 15, 1809, and died on May 13, 1884. He was an American inventor and businessman who started the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. This company later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902.
Isaac Merritt Singer (October 27, 1811 – July 23, 1875) was an American inventor, actor, and businessman. He made important improvements to the design of the sewing machine and founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company, which became one of the first American multinational businesses. Other inventors, such as Walter Hunt and Elias Howe, had already created sewing machines with patents.
Elisha Graves Otis was born on August 3, 1811, and died on April 8, 1861. He was an American business owner and the founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1853, he created a safety device that stops elevators from falling if the cable that lifts them breaks.
Charles Goodyear (December 29, 1800 – July 1, 1860) was an American chemist and engineer who worked in manufacturing. He invented vulcanized rubber, a process that made rubber more useful. He received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844.
Nicolaus August Otto (pronounced “nee-koh-lows aus-ghts oh-toe”) was a German engineer born on June 10, 1832, and died on January 26, 1891. He invented the compressed charge internal combustion engine, which used petroleum gas and became the basis for modern engines of this type. The Association of German Engineers (VDI) developed a standard called DIN 1940, which defines an “Otto Engine” as an internal combustion engine that uses a timed spark to ignite a compressed fuel-air mixture.
Carl (or Karl) Friedrich Benz was a German engine designer and automotive engineer. He was born Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant on November 25, 1844, and died on April 4, 1929. His car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, made in 1885, is seen as the first practical, modern automobile and the first car to be produced in large numbers.