Buzz
It’s often said that history belongs to the victors. However, in some instances, it’s actually shaped by those who are fortunate and strategic—particularly when it comes to recognizing key advancements in human progress. In numerous cases, groundbreaking work by lesser-known figures cleared the way for others to claim the credit. In other situations, those achievements were simply overlooked.
10. The Lightbulb—Joseph Swan, Credited To Thomas Edison
In recent years, there has been increasing discussion around the possibility that Thomas Edison borrowed some of his ideas from competing inventors. Many people, especially those who have been through primary school, may claim that Edison was the exclusive inventor of the lightbulb, but this is actually false. If anything, he merely enhanced a design originally created by a British inventor named Joseph Swan.
Swan had applied for a patent in Great Britain for a filament bulb a full decade prior to Edison’s 1879 patent. Swan won a patent infringement case against Edison in the British courts, which led to Swan becoming a partner in Edison’s company as per the court’s ruling. Moreover, Edison’s 1879 patent was declared invalid by the US Patent Office in 1883, as it closely resembled the design by US inventor William Sawyer.
9. Animated Feature With Sound—Paul Terry Credited To Walt Disney
The 1928 Walt Disney short Steamboat Willie is often hailed as the first animated film with synchronized sound and the introduction of Mickey Mouse, who had debuted two months earlier in the short Plane Crazy. While Disney’s film was a major success and helped boost the popularity of talking films, it was not the first animated talkie—it was second, by just a month.
At the time, animator Paul Terry was working on Aesop’s Fables-inspired animated shorts for film giant RKO. After the success of 1927’s The Jazz Singer, the first-ever talking film, Terry was pushed to create a talking cartoon. And he did—collaborating with his partner John Foster.
Dinner Time was released just before the more popular Disney film. Despite its innovative soundtrack, Dinner Time is generally not regarded as a successful cartoon.
8. Electric Chair—Alfred Southwick Credited To Thomas Edison
In 1890, the electric chair was used for the first time in the US to execute William Kemmler, a man convicted of murdering his wife. The chair had been constructed by Thomas Edison’s team, who, despite Edison’s opposition to the death penalty, believed the chair to be a more humane method of execution compared to hanging. However, the original idea for the electric chair came from New York dentist Alfred Southwick.
For years, he had been experimenting with the use of electric current to alleviate pain in his dental practice. After witnessing an accidental electrocution at a local dock in 1881, he was inspired to design an apparatus similar to a dentist’s chair that would use electricity as a painless method of execution. Southwick, along with a partner, conducted experiments by electrocuting animals to determine the correct voltage.
When they encountered difficulties with their electric chair design, they reached out to Edison for assistance. Initially, Edison declined to help, but eventually, he came around to the idea.
7. Movable Type—Bi Sheng Credited To Johannes Gutenberg
The first book to be mass-produced through printing was the Gutenberg Bible, named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press that produced it. This event is believed to have taken place in the early to mid-1400s. However, the true innovation of a printing press lies in the concept of movable type, a method that predated Gutenberg’s press and even Gutenberg himself by centuries.
The printing press had been utilized in China and Korea for centuries, with movable type being invented in the 1000s by a “man of unofficial position” named Bi Sheng. A detailed description of his device can be found in the works of a contemporary. In 1313, Wang Zhen’s Book of Agriculture, a comprehensive record of Chinese scientific knowledge of the era, was mass-produced using an improved version of Bi’s design.
Historians acknowledge that Gutenberg played a key role in popularizing the technology and making it widely accessible, but the printing press itself was not his invention.
6. Flush Toilet—Alexander Cumming Credited To Thomas Crapper
It could be argued that the first flush toilet existed long before British inventor Alexander Cumming introduced his model in 1775. As early as 1596, fellow Brit Sir John Harington is credited with creating a functional version, which he installed for Queen Elizabeth.
However, Harington's model had significant shortcomings. It required large amounts of water, and society lacked the necessary infrastructure for proper waste disposal. Cumming’s improved design was the first to include the S-pipe, a crucial feature that prevented waste (and odor) from backing up, and it remains a part of modern toilets.
Thomas Crapper only enhanced this design with a modified tank mechanism. Despite the fact that he didn’t market his products—leading to the widespread use of the term “the crapper” to describe toilets—his work did not gain significant attention until the late 1800s.
5. Calculating Machine—Wilhelm Schickard Credited To Blaise Pascal
In 1644, French mathematician Blaise Pascal created the Pascaline, which is widely regarded as the first true calculator. While Pascal's remarkable invention became the first mass-produced calculator, it was not the first of its kind. That distinction belongs to the more versatile device known as the calculating clock, which was developed two decades earlier by German astronomer Wilhelm Schickard.
The device’s ability to compute astronomical tables was outlined in letters sent to the renowned astronomer Johannes Kepler, a close friend of Schickard. It could add and subtract six-digit numbers and perform even more complicated calculations with the help of an attachment. Although the original device was lost in a fire, researchers managed to recreate it in 1960.
4. Ballpoint Pen—John J. Loud Credited To Laszlo Biro
Before Laszlo Biro patented his functional design for a ballpoint pen in 1945, numerous inventors had attempted to refine the ink-and-quill pen. However, none were as reliable as Biro’s ballpoint mechanism, which had never been seen before—except for its earlier creation by US leather tanner John J. Loud in 1888.
Though Loud’s invention was intended specifically for marking leather, his patented design closely resembled the ballpoint pen we use today. It remains unclear whether Biro was aware of or influenced by Loud's design.
Biro's version of the pen was a refinement, featuring a compact design with an air intake to regulate ink flow. This innovation was later adapted and enhanced in future versions. While Biro’s name is often associated with groundbreaking innovation, he did not profit substantially from his most famous invention.
3. Anesthesia—Crawford Williamson Long Credited To William T.G. Morton
On October 16, 1846, the world witnessed the first surgical operation performed under anesthesia—a painless tooth extraction conducted by Boston dentist William T.G. Morton. Morton had been searching for a superior alternative to the commonly used nitrous oxide in dental treatments, discovering that ether, when administered in the right dose, could work effectively.
However, Crawford Williamson Long, a general surgeon from Georgia, had previously considered using ether for this purpose after observing its effects on recreational users who experienced complete pain relief. In March 1842, Dr. Long actually carried out the first surgery with anesthesia, removing a cyst from the neck of patient James Venable, though only three witnesses were present during the procedure.
Perhaps the reason Dr. Morton is often remembered for the discovery is due to the public nature of his procedure.
2. Outboard Motor—Cameron Waterman Credited To Ole Evinrude
For boating enthusiasts, the name Evinrude is almost synonymous with outboard motors. Since 1909, Ole Evinrude’s company has been producing them, beginning with his first prototypes tested on Milwaukee’s Kinnickinnic River, which drew a crowd of amazed spectators. However, Evinrude is not actually the true inventor of the outboard motor.
Cameron Waterman, a former member of the Yale rowing team, was granted a patent for his outboard motor in 1907. Waterman initially experimented with motorcycle engines and developed both air-cooled and water-cooled designs for outboard motors. His company began selling the motors that same year, although sales were sluggish. However, after Evinrude’s demonstration, which sparked immediate sales, Waterman’s motors also benefited from the newfound interest in this technology.
1. Zipper—Whitcomb Judson Credited To Otto Sundback
The zipper, originally known as the 'Hookless No. 2,' was patented in 1914 by Otto Sundback, an employee of the Universal Fastener Company. However, Sundback’s invention would not have been possible without the earlier work of one of his company’s founders, who had created a prototype over 20 years before.
Whitcomb Judson introduced his invention, initially called a 'clasp locker,' at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. Unfortunately, the design wasn’t well received due to its tendency to frequently pop open. However, Judson believed in its potential and soon after launched the Universal Fastener Company with two partners to continue developing the idea.
At the Pennsylvania plant of his company, Sundback addressed the design flaw by increasing the number of teeth per inch to 10. By the 1920s, B.F. Goodrich adopted the improved fastener for their rubber boots and coined the term 'zipper' because of the distinctive sound it made when used.
