When inventors are mentioned, most of us have a picture in our mind of an absent-minded professor, with grey hair sticking up all over the place, and thick spectacles, sliding down their nose. However, there’s no age limit on having great, original ideas, and some of the inventions we take for granted these days are around because of the foresight and knowledge of teenagers barely out of school. Here are some of the most famous teenage inventors.
Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662)
Pascal was born in Clermont, France. He was something of a child prodigy, and at the age of 16 invented a machine to add up long lists of figures. The machine was the Pascaline, and, although Pascal didn’t perfect the machine until he was 30, he is credited with inventing the first calculator. The Pascaline could do as much work as six accountants, so it wasn’t too popular during Pascal’s lifetime. However, his system was not improved on for accuracy until the advent of the electronic calculator.
Louis Braille (1809 – 1852)
Braille became blind at the age of 3, following an accident in his father’s workshop. He was educated at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris. When he was 12, a former soldier called Charles Barbier introduced the students to his invention – night writing – a system of 12 raised dots which allowed soldiers to transmit confidential information without speaking. Braille improved on Barbier’s invention, and by the age of 15 had perfected the Braille system which is still used as a universal reading method for the blind today. He published the first Braille book in 1829.
Henry Bessemer (1813 – 1898)
Bessemer is best known for his inventions connected with the steel industry. His invention of a process for mass producing steel was essential to the development of skyscrapers. However, at the age of 17, Bessemer invented the first embossed stamps for title deeds. This may not seem much of an invention, but prior to that, the British government was losing a fortune in taxes through the fraudulent re-use of title stamps. Bessemer’s invention wiped out that particular crime.
Chester Greenwood (1858 – 1937)
At the age of 15, Greenwood invented earmuffs while he was skating. He registered his first patent two years later, and developed ear defenders from his original invention. So not only do you have Greenwood to thank for keeping your ears cosy in cold weather, he’s probably saved the hearing of millions of people with his invention of ear defenders.
These teenagers came up with brilliant inventions that are still in use today – albeit in modified versions. Let’s hear it for the young ones!
