People That Changed the World Inventors Wright brothers (flight) George Washington Carver (science) Alexander Graham Bell (communication) Thomas Edison (electricity)

The Wright Brothers Orville Wilbur

Airplane Orville and Wilber Wright build Flyer, the world’s first successful airplane.

Wright Brothers In Dayton, Ohio, Wilber and Orville Wright were working on another invention that would change the world. They built and repaired bicycles for a living and knew nothing about flying. In their free time they decide to build a flying machine.

The Wright Brothers In 1899 they built a glider to test. They went to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina because of the strong winds and it was not near any big towns. They had many failures but kept trying. Finally, on December 17, 1903 the Flyer took flight for 12 seconds and flying 120 feet.

Wright Brothers Space Industry Air travel Microwave Cell phone Satellite TV and radio Flat screen TV Air travel Airline industry Air transport Federal Express Air mail Airplanes used in war

Science and Education George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver Carver started studying diseases which were attacking the farmers' crops. He also did a lot of experimenting to find new ways to use different plants. He made more than 300 products from peanuts. He even made soap and ink from peanuts. From sweet potatoes, he made 118 products, including flour and candy. He made 75 products from pecans and even made a building material for walls from cotton stalks. He had many good ideas!

George Washington Carver In April of l896, George Washington Carver accepted a position at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. When Carver arrived at Tuskegee, he was amazed at the state of the land. He began to experiment with three ways to improve the soil: using organic fertilizers to enrich the soil, rotating crops to prevent the soil from becoming worn out, and planting crops that return nutrients to the soil. Cotton was planted almost exclusively by Southern farmers and each year the yield was less. Carver encouraged farmers to rotate their cotton crops with peanuts and sweet potatoes. Cotton did not replace the nitrogen it used back to the soil, while peanuts and sweet potatoes did.

Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell Between 1873 and 1874, Alexander Graham Bell spent long days and nights trying to perfect the harmonic telegraph. But his attention became sidetracked with another idea: transmitting the human voice over wires. The diversion frustrated Gardiner Hubbard. He knew another inventor, Elisha Gray, was working on a multiple-signal telegraph. To help Bell refocus his efforts, Hubbard hired Thomas Watson, a skilled electrician. Watson understood how to develop the tools and instruments Bell needed to continue the project. But Watson soon took interest in Bell's idea of voice transmission. Like many inventors before and since, the two men formed a great partnership, with Bell as the ideas man and Watson having the expertise to bring Bell's ideas to reality. On March 10, 1876, Bell and Watson were experimenting in their laboratory. Legend has it that Bell knocked over a container of transmitting fluid and shouted, "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you!" The more likely explanation was that Bell heard a noise over the wire and called to his assistant. In any case, Watson heard Bell's voice through the wire and thus received the first telephone call

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory

Describe the impact on American life of the Wright brothers (flight), George Washington Carver (science), Alexander Graham Bell (communication), and Thomas Edison (electricity). Write a sentence or two to describe the impact of each invention on the world as we know it today. Brainstorm first to see just how many modern day conveniences the invention helped to make commonplace in your world.