Other
History of Recording Technology: Edison's Invention of the Phonograph
Click through the pages on this site to read about Edison's development of the phonograph as well as a discussion of Edison's rivals who were seeking to develop a similar product. Read about the changes in the ways to record sound as the...
Other
Time Toast: Famous Inventions
An interactive timeline featuring inventions discovered between the late nineteenth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Zoom Inventors and Inventions
This site has an alphabetized list of inventions and inventors throughout history. You can also explore by era, topic or nationality.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans
Checklist of inventors, politicians, performers, activists and ordinary people who made America. Meet Harry Houdini, Langston Hughes, Buffalo Bill Cody and dozens of other famous and interesting American adventurers, presidents,...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Amazing Americans
Checklist of inventors, politicians, performers, activists, and ordinary people who made America. Meet Harry Houdini, Langston Hughes, Buffalo Bill Cody and dozens of other famous and interesting American adventurers, presidents,...
Curated OER
National Park Service: American Visionaries: George Washington Carver
Despite being born a slave, read how Dr. Carver persevered so that he could become successful.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Comparing & Contrasting Inventors
What do inventors have that are alike? How are they different? Why do they invent? Learning about them may inspire you to invent new technology! In this instructional activity, students will compare and contrast key details in two texts...
Other
Explain That Stuff: Inventors and Inventions
Inventing isn't just about coming up with a great idea; that's the easy part! There's also the matter of turning an idea into a product that sells enough to recoup the cost of putting it on the market. And there's the ever-present...
A&E Television
History.com: Inventions & Science
Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The Industrial Revolution
Explores the development of the textile industry in Great Britain, focusing on the invention of various machines. Also,discusses the social effects of the Industrial Revolution and the connections between the Industrial Revolution and...
Scholastic
Scholastic History Mystery: Inventors: Lewis Latimer
Students try to guess the mystery subject Carlotta Facts, the History Mystery Museum's professor, is studying. They read the clues, do some online and offline research, and then attempt to identify the game's mystery person, Lewis Latimer.
Great Idea Finder
Great Idea Finder: Lewis Howard Latimer
An extensive biography of the life of African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. Find out about his primary claim to fame in the development of an incandescent light bulb, but be sure to read about his many patents, and his importance to...
Great Idea Finder
Great Idea Finder: Invention of the First Typewriter
A review of the history of the typewriter and a description of the first practical one invented by Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel Soule.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Refrigerator
This site provides a brief overview of the invention of the refrigerator.
PBS
Pbs: Technology at Home
Travel back in time to find out when everyday items such as a computer, radio, or telephone first appeared in homes. You can also connect to links about the people who invented these items.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Telephone and Light Patent Drawings
A lesson plan about Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone and Thomas Edison's patent for the electric lamp. Contains good background information and historically pertinent documents. It also discusses the role corporations...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: People and Events: Alexander Graham Bell
This PBS American Experience page provides a biographical survey of Alexander Graham Bell's life and inventions.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Telephone
The home page to the PBS feature film on the invention of the telephone. The People and Events section has biographies and commentary on the invention of the telephone and its subsequent success. Be sure to click on Gallery for pictures...
PBS
Who Made America? Alexander Graham Bell
From a PBS series, They Made America, comes this biography of Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone. Read about his development of the telephone and research into the sound.
PBS
Outline of the History of the Transistor: Lee De Forest
Part of a larger site about the history of the transistor, this brief biography of Lee de Forest, the inventor of the audion, includes a QuickTime movie that shows how it worked.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Guillermo Marconi
This site chronicles the father of wireless communication. Examines his life and how his accomplishments affected both society and warfare.
Other
American Artifacts: The Imaginative Inventor
Just for fun. A website with a list of strange inventions by would-be entrepreneurs. Click on any to see a picture and description of the device.
Other
Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...