Born: 1921 Birthplace: Piedmont, Mo. Polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)—While working for the Phillips Petroleum Company, Banks and Hogan developed two of the world's most commonly…
Born: 1937 HIV Isolation and Identification. Robert Gallo and Luc Montagnier both discovered HIV, determining that the virus was the cause of AIDS, and making it more possible to control the…
Born: 1926 Photocopying. Gundlach devoted over three decades to transforming photocopiers into small, robust products that revolutionized xerography. As the field advanced, Gundlach invented ways…
Born: 1924Birthplace: St. Louis, Mo. Fused silica optical waveguide—The inventors, Maurer, Keck, and Schultz. designed and produced the first optical fiber with light loss during transmission low…
actorBorn: 8/6/1917Birthplace: Bridgeport, Connecticut Film and television actor often cast as a tough guy, he started out as an extra in the early '40s and became a star in the years following…
director, drama critic, playwrightBorn: 4/21/1927Birthplace: New York City As Dean of the Yale School of Drama (1965–79), he founded the Yale Repertory Theatre. After leaving Yale, he moved to…
actor, director, acting teacherBorn: 3/16/1909Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York A founding member of the Group Theater (1931) and of the Actors Studio (1947), Lewis was a successful Broadway director…