Born: 1921Birthplace: Mount Vernon, N.Y Laser—Co-inventor of the laser. Schawlow worked with Charles H. Townes who was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1976. Today the laser is prevalent…
Born: 1898Birthplace: Demopolis, Ala. PVC plastisols—Semon's work turned polyvinyl chloride (PVC), first considered worthless, into the world's second-best selling plastic. He also provided the…
Born: 1819Birthplace: Danville, Pa. Typewriting machine—Publisher and politician Sholes invented the first practical typewriting machine (the name was coined by the Scientific American journal).…
theater producer, fund-raiser for the artsBorn: 3/12/1910Birthplace: Detroit, Michigan Real-estate mogul Stevens became a highly respected Broadway producer, often collaborating with Robert…
(Robert Lawrence Stine)authorBorn: 1/8/1943Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio Previously a junior high school teacher and an editor, Stine published his first book, How to Be Funny: An Extremely Silly…
(Encyclopedia) Tilden, Samuel Jones, 1814–86, American political figure, Democratic presidential candidate in 1876, b. New Lebanon, N.Y. Admitted to the bar in 1841, Tilden was an eminently…
(Encyclopedia) Davy Jones, personification or spirit of the sea. The name is best known in the expression “Davy Jones's locker,” meaning the bottom of the sea, to which drowned sailors go.
(Encyclopedia) Jones, Anson, 1798–1858, last president of the Texas republic (1844–46), b. Seekonk section of Great Barrington, Mass. He studied medicine and after an itinerant business and medical…
(Encyclopedia) Jones, Brian, 1947–, British balloonist, b. Bristol. A former Royal Air Force pilot, he entered the world of ballooning in the 1980s, and in 1997 became an organizer for the attempt of…