Buzz
Throughout history, inventors have been highly admired. For example, whenever I feel hungry, I’m reminded to appreciate Duane Roberts for his invention of the microwaveable burrito.
However, many renowned geniuses had significant flaws in their personal lives. From supporting fascist ideologies to failing as parents, here are 10 inventors whose personal actions didn’t match the brilliance of their creations.
10. Erwin Schrodinger
Though not a conventional inventor, Erwin Schrodinger is best known for his groundbreaking thought experiment: Schrodinger’s Cat. This concept, developed by the celebrated physicist, illustrates a paradox where a cat in a sealed box can simultaneously be considered both alive and dead.
Schrodinger stands out on this list as one of the few individuals who committed a concrete crime. In 1935, The Irish Times revealed that while tutoring a 14-year-old girl, the 35-year-old physicist groomed her. By the age of 17, she became pregnant, and he coerced her into an abortion that rendered her sterile for life. Perhaps it was he, not the cat, who deserved to be in that box.
9. Max Keith
During World War II, Coca-Cola’s German division faced a major crisis: the supply of Coke ran out. After the U.S. declared war on Germany in 1941, Coca-Cola’s headquarters severed all ties with Coca-Cola Deutschland.
Max Keith, the company’s president, came up with a brilliant solution by inventing a new beverage using only resources available in war-ravaged Germany, such as sugar beet, whey, and apple pomace—what he referred to as “leftovers of leftovers.” The drink gained popularity in the 1940s, not just as a beverage but also as a sweetener for soups and stews during sugar rationing.
While Fanta has since transcended its origins in Nazi Germany, it’s undeniable that Keith was, in fact, a Nazi.
8. Guglielmo Marconi
This Italian engineer is celebrated as the pioneer of modern radio. While his contributions to wireless technology are indisputable, he’s fortunate to be remembered for his 1909 Nobel Prize rather than his political endeavors. For context, his political career unfolded in Italy during the 1930s—a period that might hint at the troubling affiliations he embraced.
Marconi formally became a member of the National Fascist Party in 1923 and was personally appointed to the Fascist Grand Council by Benito Mussolini. Fortunately, Marconi passed away in 1937, before Italy allied with Nazi Germany. However, his support for fascist ideologies casts a shadow over his legacy.
7. Alexander Graham Bell
A leading inventor of the Victorian Era, Alexander Graham Bell made significant strides in aiding the deaf community. While he is best known for inventing the telephone, the concept of the “electrical speech machine” originated from his efforts to communicate with his hearing-impaired mother. He also developed the audiometer, a device still used today to assess hearing. His influence in auditory technology was so profound that the unit “bel” in “decibel,” which measures sound intensity, was named in his honor.
Unfortunately, Bell held regressive views about the very community he aimed to assist. He opposed the idea of deaf individuals procreating with one another, fearing it would lead to a “defective variety of the race.” Today, deaf advocates take pride in their identity and view Bell’s foray into eugenics as both misguided and discriminatory.
6. Louis Pasteur
Not all publicity is favorable, especially when it labels you a “liar who stole rival’s ideas.”
A 1995 New York Times article, “The Doctor’s World,” exposed the renowned scientist and creator of pasteurization as a fraud and plagiarist. This revelation came nearly a century after Pasteur’s death, thanks to his 102 laboratory notebooks, which he had ordered to remain sealed. However, Princeton University professor Gerald Geison accessed these records, uncovering Pasteur’s deceit.
One of the most significant revelations involved Joseph Meister, a nine-year-old boy bitten by a rabid dog. Pasteur claimed to have a rabies vaccine, supposedly tested numerous times, and administered it to the boy. Remarkably, despite the vaccine never having been tested before, Meister survived.
5. Steve Jobs
If you inquire about Steve Jobs with Siri, she’ll likely praise him as a visionary and tech genius. However, his family might offer a starkly different perspective.
In 2018, Jobs’s daughter Lisa released a memoir titled Small Fry. From the outset, Lisa reveals that her father showed little interest in familial bonds. For the first three years of her life, Jobs denied paternity, only acknowledging her days before founding Apple. Even then, he provided only the minimum child support.
Their relationship didn’t improve over time. Lisa’s memoir recounts the emotional abuse she endured, including being told from age nine that she would amount to nothing and being referred to as his “mistake.” Beyond the mandated child support, Jobs offered no financial assistance, leaving neighbors to help fund her college education.
Some defend Jobs’s “tough love” approach, arguing it taught Lisa self-reliance. While this may hold some truth, there’s no justification for his inappropriate behavior, such as forcing her to witness his inappropriate interactions with women and explicit discussions.
4. Nikola Tesla
The feud between Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison is widely known. Edison is often cast as the villain for his habit of appropriating others’ ideas without acknowledgment, including those of Tesla, his former employee. In contrast, Tesla is celebrated as an eccentric genius.
However, not all of Tesla’s eccentricities were charming. During the 1930s, the Serbian inventor openly advocated for the forced sterilization of criminals and individuals with mental illnesses—a practice rooted in eugenics. He even predicted that by 2100, eugenics would become universally accepted as the most effective method to eliminate “undesirable” traits.
Eugenics gained traction in Europe, particularly under the Nazi Party, which not only shared Tesla’s views but also extended them to target non-Aryan populations.
3. Henry Ford
Henry Ford revolutionized American society by making automobiles affordable for the middle class. His Model T and the innovative assembly line drastically reduced production costs, enabling everyday Americans to own cars. Widely regarded as a visionary, Ford not only excelled in engineering but also in business, introducing the 40-hour workweek and building an automotive empire.
However, Ford harbored deeply troubling beliefs, most notably his anti-semitism. He published numerous articles promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories in his newspaper, “The Dearborn Independent,” later compiling them into a book titled The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem.
Ford’s wealth and influence allowed his ideas to spread widely. For instance, he funded square dancing lessons in American schools to counter the popularity of jazz music, which he linked to Jewish culture.
His ideologies even reached Nazi Germany. Heinrich Himmler, a prominent Nazi leader, praised Ford as “one of our most valuable, important, and witty fighters.” Adolf Hitler admired Ford so much that he kept a life-sized portrait of him in his office and, in 1931, cited the inventor as a source of inspiration.
While compliments are usually flattering, this one is undoubtedly unsettling.
2. Thomas Edison
In a 2013 episode of the American sitcom Bob’s Burgers, nine-year-old Louise Belcher tries to tarnish Thomas Edison’s reputation to embarrass her teacher, who idolizes the inventor. She uncovers that Edison Studios filmed the electrocution of an elephant in 1903 for entertainment and turns the story into a musical, with her brother portraying the villainous Edison.
The result is a humorous and memorable musical titled “Topsy,” named after the elephant. The episode gained widespread popularity and shed light on Topsy’s tragic fate. However, it takes some creative liberties. While Edison Studios was behind the elephant’s electrocution, Edison himself had no involvement in the event and wasn’t present.
That said, Edison was far from a saint. He was notorious for borrowing others’ ideas and refining them, which many would call outright theft. Although credited with inventing the lightbulb, incandescent bulbs had already been developed by numerous inventors. Historian Ernest Freeberg notes that Edison needed to claim sole invention to secure crucial patents and dominate the market.
Edison “was, by no means, an inventive genius,” despite holding over 100 patents, including the phonograph. Nearly all his ideas were borrowed, yet he claimed ownership and profited from them.
1. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein’s brilliance is undeniable, and his name is often equated with intellectual greatness.
However, intellectual genius doesn’t always translate to emotional intelligence or kindness. Einstein met his first wife, Meliva Marie, at ETH Zurich, where she was the sole female student in their class. Despite her academic achievements, Einstein treated her, in his own words, “like an employee I cannot dismiss.” Meliva was subjected to a series of strict rules outlined in letters Einstein wrote in the late 19th century.
These demands included tasks like cooking and cleaning for him, refraining from speaking unless he initiated conversation, tolerating his affairs with other women, and “abandoning all personal relations with me unless absolutely necessary.”
Despite her efforts to comply, Einstein eventually divorced her to marry his cousin, with whom he had been unfaithful. Later, he also cheated on his cousin during their marriage.
What a monumental misstep.
