10 Renowned Discoveries Wrongly Attributed To Other People

A significant part of the satisfaction that comes with achieving something extraordinary is the recognition from peers and society. However, many remarkable accomplishments have either been forgotten over time or did not receive the full acknowledgment they deserved from those around them.

10. Heliocentrism

The Overlooked Pioneer: Aristarchus of Samos The idea wasn’t exactly new. The Greek philosopher Aristarchus of Samos had proposed the same concept over 1,500 years before Copernicus. Unfortunately for him, his revolutionary theory that the planets revolved around the Sun directly challenged Aristotle’s view that all things were drawn to the center of the Earth.

Aristarchus caught the attention of Archimedes, who acknowledged his theories in The Sand Reckoner with the respect they deserved. However, his ideas were dismissed by other prominent thinkers of the era and ultimately forgotten by most of his contemporaries.

9. Evolution

The Overlooked Theorist: Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace was an explorer and renowned geographer. While his work was respected by many of his peers, he independently developed the theory of evolution through natural selection, entirely separate from Charles Darwin.

At the time, Wallace and Darwin collaborated closely, with Wallace supplying specimens from his expeditions for Darwin’s forthcoming book. This collaboration led Wallace to formulate his own evolutionary theory, which closely mirrored Darwin’s. Although this was recognized during their time, history has not been as kind to Wallace. His contributions are often overlooked, in part due to the rise of the Darwin Industry in the 1960s.

8. Relativity

In 1905, Einstein transformed the field of physics with his special theory of relativity. A decade later, in 1915, he introduced his general theory of relativity. Both theories challenged Newton’s principles regarding motion and gravity, revealing that Newton's concepts did not apply in the presence of particularly strong gravitational fields. Since then, the theory has had a wide array of practical applications, from the development of the atomic bomb to modern-day GPS systems. Einstein became a household name.

The Unacknowledged Mathematician: James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell was a leading mathematician of the 19th century. His work on electromagnetism laid the groundwork for Einstein’s theories, a fact Einstein himself was quick to acknowledge. It is believed that, had Maxwell lived beyond the age of 48, he might have developed his own theories leading to the same conclusions that Einstein would later reach after Maxwell’s death. Unfortunately, despite his immense contributions, Maxwell’s name is largely unknown outside the scientific world.

7. Video Games

The Overlooked Inventors: Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann What often goes unnoticed in the discussion is the cathode ray tube amusement device. This machine allowed players to control a light beam from a cathode ray tube with a knob. The player’s goal was to align the beam with an object on the screen, often augmented with an overlay sheet, similar to how the Magnavox Odyssey worked.

Goldsmith and Mann’s device was patented in 1948, a full decade before the creation of Tennis for Two and nearly 24 years before Pong made its debut. Despite this, the device is rarely recognized as the first video game, except by the most ardent gaming enthusiasts.

6. Digital Music Players

The uncredited inventor: Kane Kramer In truth, neither company can be credited with coming up with the concept behind digital music devices. Much of that credit belongs to Kane Kramer, who created the theory relating to downloading and storing music files in 1979. He has since been rewarded by Apple with a position as a consultant in recognition of his work. But to the millions who use the devices that were created using his concepts, his name remains totally unknown.

5. Flamethrowers

The uncredited inventor: Kallinikos of Heliopolis The idea of the flamethrower traces its roots back to ancient Greece. Apollodorus of Damascus documented early flamethrowers, which were coal-powered and used with acid to breach stone walls. However, it was Kallinikos of Heliopolis who created the first truly effective flamethrower.

Known as “Greek fire,” this weapon was employed by the Byzantine Empire to disable enemy ships. A tube-like contraption combined both the fuel and the flame, creating the flamethrower effect that became iconic.

4. Shopping Malls

Victor Gruen is generally recognized as the father of the shopping mall, having designed and built the first one in 1954. However, Gruen grew to despise his creation. The mall concept shifted away from his initial vision of an urban community space and evolved into a sprawling monument to consumerism.

The uncredited inventor: Apollodorus of Damascus Apart from his work on flamethrowers, Apollodorus of Damascus is believed to have conceived an idea strikingly similar to what Victor Gruen would later create. As the architect of Rome’s renowned Trajan’s Market, Apollodorus designed a complex that included market stalls, covered shops, and even apartment buildings, effectively making it the first genuine urban hub. The ruins of this market and the Trajan Forum are still visible today, though Apollodorus is seldom acknowledged in modern discussions of the shopping mall.

3. Cracking The Enigma Code

The Enigma machines were a series of mechanical cipher devices employed by Germany after World War I. During World War II, the Allies covertly created their own electromechanical devices to decode the messages encrypted by the Enigma. By intercepting these transmissions, they gained crucial intelligence that helped predict the movements of German U-boats, giving the Allies a significant edge.

The uncredited code breaker: Alan Turing In contrast to many of the unsung innovators, Turing is widely recognized today for his pivotal role in cracking the Enigma code as well as his broad contributions to mathematics. His work laid the foundation for the entire field of computer science, and his theories on artificial intelligence and programming shaped the modern computer age. His Turing Test remains a key method for evaluating a machine’s capacity for intelligent behavior.

Yet, his story ended in tragedy. Despite his groundbreaking achievements, Turing never received recognition for his work on the Enigma, as its success had to be kept secret to maintain the Allies' strategic advantage. Tragically, his life after the war was marked by hardship and injustice.

Turing, who was gay, lived in Britain during the early 1950s, a time when homosexuality was still criminalized. After reporting a break-in at his home, he disclosed his past relationship with the suspected intruder. As a result, he was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 and barred from continuing his cryptographic work. On June 7, 1954, he took his own life using cyanide. It was not until December 2013 that Turing was granted an official royal pardon for the injustice he faced.

2. Tetris

The uncredited designer: Alexey Pajitnov Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov while working at the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Initially intended as a simple game to pass the time for himself and his colleagues, it soon became an overwhelming sensation. So much so that it disrupted work at the Moscow Computer Center, and staff had to be restricted from playing. Recognizing the game's potential, the Soviet government officially released it in 1984, capitalizing on its addictive nature.

Because he developed the game during the time of the communist Soviet Union, Pajitnov was unable to claim the rights to Tetris. Instead, from 1986 to 1996, the game was controlled by an organization known as ELORG. During this period, Pajitnov received no royalties from the game's sales.

However, Pajitnov eventually regained the rights to his creation. Despite missing out on the early success, he surprisingly holds no grudges over the millions he lost.

1. Karaoke

The uncredited inventor: Daisuke Inoue There is no patent for the invention, as the man behind the concept and the first machines never applied for one.

Daisuke Inoue, a drummer in a band that made a living in the 1960s by providing backing music for intoxicated Japanese businessmen, had a fateful encounter. When one of the customers asked Inoue to perform while traveling, he couldn’t leave his job, but instead offered him a tape of the band’s performance. After hearing a rendition of a Japanese ballad, the idea for karaoke was born.

Sadly, Inoue’s bank account wasn’t as fortunate. Despite creating 11 more karaoke machines and renting them out to bars and clubs, he didn’t secure a patent, allowing other companies to step in and create their own versions. Inoue eventually distanced himself from the industry.