Inventor

A person who creates new inventions, typically mechanical or electrical machines or other devices of practical use. Though some inventors may also be scientists, most base their work on the discoveries of other scientists, experimenting with practical applications and combinations of those discoveries, and with improvements and combinations of existing devices, to create new useful devices.

System of patents was established to encourage inventors by granting limited-term monopoly on inventions that are judged sufficiently novel. This system is nowadays frequently abused, especially in United States, and many people call for reform or abolishment of patent system.

Some famous inventors are (in alphabetic order by surname):

• Alexander Graham Bell,
• Thomas Edison,
• Douglas Engelbart,
• Henry Ford,
• Johann Gutenberg,
• Guglielmo Marconi,
• Audrey Morales,
• Alfred Nobel

See also the History of Science and Technology. See also scientists.