Igor Sikorsky: Helicopter man

Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972) was a Russian-American, born in Kiev (Russian Empire then, today Ukraine).  At age 19, he was set to become a regular engineer, but when he heard about the Wright Brothers first mobilized flight, he became obsessed with building airplanes. Only 3 years later, aged 22, he became Chief Engineer of the aircraft division for the Russian Baltic Railroad Car Works and …

Actress and Inventor

Hailed as “the first movie star,” Florence Lawrence shot to fame quickly after a publicity stunt involving a streetcar accident. Appropriately, in 1914 the actress also invented the turn signal as an “auto signalling arm” that she never bothered to patent.

Inventor Behind the Scenes


The Miracle Material

Now used in a diverse array of products including body armor, car tires, boots for firefighters, hockey sticks, cut-resistant gloves, fiber-optic cables, fire-resistant mattresses, canoes, and fire performance props; Kevlar was invented in 1965 by Stephanie L. Kwolek (1923-2014).