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. Governments frequently encourage inventors by granting patents on inventions that are judged sufficiently novel.

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

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

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