I was given a book “The 50 Greatest Engineers – The people whose innovations have shaped the world” by Paul Virr and William Potter. As engineers, we sometimes do not realize the impact we have on our world. Engineers are a tremendous group that have a life changing effect on everyone. The technologies that engineers have invented help to change and guide the course of human events.
The authors listed many well-known engineers in their list of the 50 greatest engineers. These great engineers are responsible for many of the items that we count on every day.
Thomas Edison: Incandescent Light Bulb, Stock Ticker, First Voice Recording
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Alexander Graham Bell: Telephone
“I then shouted … The following sentence: ‘Mr. Watson come here. I want to see you.’ To my delight, he came and declared that he has heard and understood what I said.”
Wilbur and Orville Wright: First Powered Airplane
“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.”
Other lesser known of the great engineers are listed whose work also had a great influence on humanity.
Michael Faraday: Electric Motors, Carbon Arc Lighthouse Lamps, Faraday Cage
“Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature and in such things as these experiments is the best test of such consistency.”
Guglielmo Marconi: Wireless Telegraph (First Radios)
“Every day sees humanity more victorious in the struggle with space and time”
Granville Woods: Automatic Air brake for trains, “Telegraphony” (combined the principles of telegraphy and telephones, allowing a single wire to carry either voice or telegraph-style Morse code messages).
“His many inventions have shown an amount of skill and dexterity in dealing with the most potent and mysterious of all forces, which places him in the front rank of inventors also.”
Lillian Moller Gilbreth: America’s First Lady of Engineering, The Psychology of Management
“The mental health of the worker not only controls … his physical health but also his desire to work.”
Frank Whittle: Jet Engine
“I’d come to the conclusion that if you wanted to go both fast and far, you’d need to go very high, to heights where the piston engine wouldn’t work and at speeds where the propeller would be very inefficient.”
The authors’ list is limited to 50 but there are countless engineers who fit the category and define what is takes to “Be Great”. Their innovations and contributions have helped mankind by providing practical solutions to real world problems. Behind each of them was an expert team dedicated to a common goal.
At Elite, we strive to “Be Great”. It is not acceptable to be just “OK” or “good enough”. We work hard to provide our customer service at the highest possible level. We pride ourselves on our expert engineering skills and teamwork to provide a testing experience second to none. And we continuously invest in our people and facilities to be our customers’ most trusted and capable partner.
Happy Holidays from the entire Elite team – and we look forward to serving you in 2026.
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