Great Arab Contributions to Civilization

                                                 Something to Think About

We learn of great literature and poetry the story of 'a thousand and one nights' of a thousand years ago. The contributions to mathematics and physics, a thousand years ago.

We learn that Ibn Muqla, Vizir at Baghdad and the "prince of calligraphers", codified the proportions of letters to be respected in handwriting and calligraphy, a thousand years ago.

We learn of the architectural advances such as The Great Mosque of Cordova where we discover its gabled roofs are Syrian. Byzantium provided the mosaics. The vaults are of Tunisian inspiration and the arches Iranian, while the alternation of stone and brick is a Roman invention. Again, a thousand years ago.

Arab contributions to medical science were legion, encouraged by the construction of hospitals in Baghdad, Cairo, Damascus, Samarkand and elsewhere, over a thousand years ago.

Advances and discoveries in astronomy, chemistry, and philosophy from Bagdad to Cordova, all over a thousand years ago. H/T

   I was commenting elsewhere about this subject and got to thinking. I remembered this from about a year ago. This is not my usual tack. I don't go after a race or culture if I can avoid it. I actually believe that doing so only perpetuates stereotypical generalizations. I find those an intellectual anathema and personally abhorrent. But sometimes speaking the truth is unavoidable, and even necessary, regardless of race, color, creed, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation, handedness, disability or preference for Miracle Whip or mayonnaise. Sometimes, the truth hurts and may well offend.

                    I obey the Equal Opportunity Employment of Insults Act.

             Here's a long list of inventions which have shaped our world.

                                       See any 'Mohammeds'?  'Abduls'?  'Husseins'?

Adrenaline: (isolation of) John Jacob Abel, U.S., 1897.

Aerosol can: Erik Rotheim, Norway, 1926.

Air brake: George Westinghouse, U.S., 1868.

Air conditioning: Willis Carrier, U.S., 1911.

Airship: (non-rigid) Henri Giffard, France, 1852; (rigid) Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Germany, 1900.

Aluminum manufacture: (by electrolytic action) Charles M. Hall, U.S., 1866.

Anatomy, human: (De fabrica corporis humani, an illustrated systematic study of the human body) Andreas Vesalius, Belgium, 1543; (comparative: parts of an organism are correlated to the functioning whole) Georges Cuvier, France, 1799–1805.

Anesthetic: (first use of anesthetic—ether—on humans) Crawford W. Long, U.S., 1842.

Antibiotics: (first demonstration of antibiotic effect) Louis Pasteur, Jules-François Joubert, France, 1887; (discovery of penicillin, first modern antibiotic) Alexander Fleming, England, 1928; (penicillin's infection-fighting properties) Howard Florey, Ernst Chain, England, 1940.

Antiseptic: (surgery) Joseph Lister, England, 1867.

Antitoxin, diphtheria: Emil von Behring, Germany, 1890.

Appliances, electric: (fan) Schuyler Wheeler, U.S., 1882; (flatiron) Henry W. Seely, U.S., 1882; (stove) Hadaway, U.S., 1896; (washing machine) Alva Fisher, U.S., 1906.

Aqualung: Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Emile Gagnan, France, 1943.

Aspirin: Dr. Felix Hoffman, Germany, 1899.

Astronomical calculator: The Antikythera device, first century B.C., Greece. Found off island of Antikythera in 1900.

Atom: (nuclear model of) Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911.

Atomic theory: (ancient) Leucippus, Democritus, Greece, c. 500 B.C.; Lucretius, Rome c.100 B.C.; (modern) John Dalton, England, 1808.

Atomic structure: (formulated nuclear model of atom, Rutherford model) Ernest Rutherford, England, 1911; (proposed current concept of atomic structure, the Bohr model) Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913.

Automobile: (first with internal combustion engine, 250 rpm) Karl Benz, Germany, 1885; (first with practical high-speed internal combustion engine, 900 rpm) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885; (first true automobile, not carriage with motor) René Panhard, Emile Lavassor, France, 1891; (carburetor, spray) Charles E. Duryea, U.S., 1892.

Autopilot: (for aircraft) Elmer A. Sperry, U.S., c.1910, first successful test, 1912, in a Curtiss flying boat.

Avogadro's law: (equal volumes of all gases at the same temperature and pressure contain equal number of molecules) Amedeo Avogadro, Italy, 1811.

Bacteria: Anton van Leeuwenhoek, The Netherlands, 1683.

Balloon, hot-air: Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, France, 1783.

Barbed wire: (most popular) Joseph E. Glidden, U.S., 1873.

Bar codes: (computer-scanned binary signal code):

(retail trade use) Monarch Marking, U.S. 1970; (industrial use) Plessey Telecommunications, England, 1970.

Barometer: Evangelista Torricelli, Italy, 1643.

Bicycle: Karl D. von Sauerbronn, Germany, 1816; (first modern model) James Starley, England, 1884.

Big Bang theory: (the universe originated with a huge explosion) George LeMaitre, Belgium, 1927; (modified LeMaitre theory labeled “Big Bang”) George A. Gamow, U.S., 1948; (cosmic microwave background radiation discovered, confirms theory) Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson, U.S., 1965.

Blood, circulation of: William Harvey, England, 1628.

Boyle's law: (relation between pressure and volume in gases) Robert Boyle, Ireland, 1662.

Braille: Louis Braille, France, 1829.

Bridges: (suspension, iron chains) James Finley, Pa., 1800; (wire suspension) Marc Seguin, Lyons, 1825; (truss) Ithiel Town, U.S., 1820.

Bullet: (conical) Claude Minié, France, 1849.

Calculating machine: (logarithms: made multiplying easier and thus calculators practical) John Napier, Scotland, 1614; (slide rule) William Oughtred, England, 1632; (digital calculator) Blaise Pascal, 1642; (multiplication machine) Gottfried Leibniz, Germany, 1671; (important 19th-century contributors to modern machine) Frank S. Baldwin, Jay R. Monroe, Dorr E. Felt, W. T. Ohdner, William Burroughs, all U.S.; (“analytical engine” design, included concepts of programming, taping) Charles Babbage, England, 1835.

Calculus: Isaac Newton, England, 1669; (differential calculus) Gottfried Leibniz, Germany, 1684.

Camera: (hand-held) George Eastman, U.S., 1888; (Polaroid Land) Edwin Land, U.S., 1948.

“Canals” of Mars: Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italy, 1877.

Carpet sweeper: Melville R. Bissell, U.S., 1876.

Car radio: William Lear, Elmer Wavering, U.S., 1929, manufactured by Galvin Manufacturing Co., “Motorola.”

Cells: (word used to describe microscopic examination of cork) Robert Hooke, England, 1665; (theory: cells are common structural and functional unit of all living organisms) Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, 1838–1839.

Cement, Portland: Joseph Aspdin, England, 1824.

Chewing gum: (spruce-based) John Curtis, U.S., 1848; (chicle-based) Thomas Adams, U.S., 1870.

Cholera bacterium: Robert Koch, Germany, 1883.

Circuit, integrated: (theoretical) G.W.A. Dummer, England, 1952; (phase-shift oscillator) Jack S. Kilby, Texas Instruments, U.S., 1959.

Classification of plants: (first modern, based on comparative study of forms) Andrea Cesalpino, Italy, 1583; (classification of plants and animals by genera and species) Carolus Linnaeus, Sweden, 1737–1753.

Clock, pendulum: Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1656.

Coca-Cola: John Pemberton, U.S., 1886.

Combustion: (nature of) Antoine Lavoisier, France, 1777.

Compact disk: RCA, U.S., 1972.

Computers: (first design of analytical engine) Charles Babbage, 1830s; (ENIAC, Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator, first all-electronic, completed) 1945; (dedicated at University of Pennsylvania) 1946; (UNIVAC, Universal Automatic Computer, handled both numeric and alphabetic data) 1951.

Concrete: (reinforced) Joseph Monier, France, 1877.

Condensed milk: Gail Borden, U.S., 1853.

Conditioned reflex: Ivan Pavlov, Russia, c.1910.

Conservation of electric charge: (the total electric charge of the universe or any closed system is constant) Benjamin Franklin, U.S., 1751–1754.

Contagion theory: (infectious diseases caused by living agent transmitted from person to person) Girolamo Fracastoro, Italy, 1546.

Continental drift theory: (geographer who pieced together continents into a single landmass on maps) Antonio Snider-Pellegrini, France, 1858; (first proposed in lecture) Frank Taylor, U.S.; (first comprehensive detailed theory) Alfred Wegener, Germany, 1912.

Contraceptive, oral: Gregory Pincus, Min Chuch Chang, John Rock, Carl Djerassi, U.S., 1951.

Converter, Bessemer: William Kelly, U.S., 1851.

Cosmetics: Egypt, c. 4000 B.C. 

Cosamic string theory: (first postulated) Thomas Kibble, 1976.

Cotton gin: Eli Whitney, U.S., 1793.

Crossbow: China, c. 300 B.C. 

Cyclotron: Ernest O. Lawrence, U.S., 1931.

Deuterium: (heavy hydrogen) Harold Urey, U.S., 1931.

Disease: (chemicals in treatment of) crusaded by Philippus Paracelsus, 1527–1541; (germ theory) Louis Pasteur, France, 1862–1877.

DNA: (deoxyribonucleic acid) Friedrich Meischer, Germany, 1869; (determination of double-helical structure) Rosalind Elsie Franklin, F. H. Crick, England, James D. Watson, U.S., 1953.

Dye: (aniline, start of synthetic dye industry) William H. Perkin, England, 1856.

Dynamite: Alfred Nobel, Sweden, 1867.

Electric cooking utensil: (first) patented by St. George Lane-Fox, England, 1874.

Electric generator (dynamo): (laboratory model) Michael Faraday, England, 1832; Joseph Henry, U.S., c.1832; (hand-driven model) Hippolyte Pixii, France, 1833; (alternating-current generator) Nikola Tesla, U.S., 1892.

Electric lamp: (arc lamp) Sir Humphrey Davy, England, 1801; (fluorescent lamp) A.E. Becquerel, France, 1867; (incandescent lamp) Sir Joseph Swann, England, Thomas A. Edison, U.S., contemporaneously, 1870s; (carbon arc street lamp) Charles F. Brush, U.S., 1879; (first widely marketed incandescent lamp) Thomas A. Edison, U.S., 1879; (mercury vapor lamp) Peter Cooper Hewitt, U.S., 1903; (neon lamp) Georges Claude, France, 1911; (tungsten filament) Irving Langmuir, U.S., 1915.

Electrocardiography: Demonstrated by Augustus Waller, 1887; (first practical device for recording activity of heart) Willem Einthoven, 1903, Dutch physiologist.

Electromagnet: William Sturgeon, England, 1823.

Electron: Sir Joseph J. Thompson, England, 1897.

Elevator, passenger: (safety device permitting use by passengers) Elisha G. Otis, U.S., 1852; (elevator utilizing safety device) 1857.

E = mc²: (equivalence of mass and energy) Albert Einstein, Switzerland, 1907.

Engine, internal combustion: No single inventor. Fundamental theory established by Sadi Carnot, France, 1824; (two-stroke) Etienne Lenoir, France, 1860; (ideal operating cycle for four-stroke) Alphonse Beau de Roche, France, 1862; (operating four-stroke) Nikolaus Otto, Germany, 1876; (diesel) Rudolf Diesel, Germany, 1892; (rotary) Felix Wankel, Germany, 1956.

Evolution: (organic) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, France, 1809; (by natural selection) Charles Darwin, England, 1859.

Exclusion principle: (no two electrons in an atom can occupy the same energy level) Wolfgang Pauli, Germany, 1925.

Expanding universe theory: (first proposed) George LeMaitre, Belgium, 1927; (discovered first direct evidence that the universe is expanding) Edwin P. Hubble, U.S., 1929; (Hubble constant: a measure of the rate at which the universe is expanding) Edwin P. Hubble, U.S., 1929.

Falling bodies, law of: Galileo Galilei, Italy, 1590.

Fermentation: (microorganisms as cause of) Louis Pasteur, France, c.1860.

Fiber optics: Narinder Kapany, England, 1955.

Fibers, man-made: (nitrocellulose fibers treated to change flammable nitrocellulose to harmless cellulose, precursor of rayon) Sir Joseph Swann, England, 1883; (rayon) Count Hilaire de Chardonnet, France, 1889; (Celanese) Henry and Camille Dreyfuss, U.S., England, 1921; (research on polyesters and polyamides, basis for modern man-made fibers) U.S., England, Germany, 1930s; (nylon) Wallace H. Carothers, U.S., 1935.

Frozen food: Clarence Birdseye, U.S., 1924.

Gene transfer: (human) Steven Rosenberg, R. Michael Blaese, W. French Anderson, U.S., 1989.

Geometry, elements of: Euclid, Alexandria, Egypt, c. 300 B.C.; (analytic) René Descartes, France; and Pierre de Fermat, Switzerland, 1637.

Gravitation, law of: Sir Isaac Newton, England, c.1665 (published 1687).

Gunpowder: China, c.700.

Gyrocompass: Elmer A. Sperry, U.S., 1905.

Gyroscope: Léon Foucault, France, 1852.

Halley's Comet: Edmund Halley, England, 1705.

Heart implanted in human, permanent artificial:Dr. Robert Jarvik, U.S., 1982.

Heart, temporary artificial: Willem Kolft, 1957.

Helicopter: (double rotor) Heinrich Focke, Germany, 1936; (single rotor) Igor Sikorsky, U.S., 1939.

Helium first observed on sun: Sir Joseph Lockyer, England, 1868.

Heredity, laws of: Gregor Mendel, Austria, 1865.

Holograph: Dennis Gabor, England, 1947.

Home videotape systems (VCR): (Betamax) Sony, Japan, 1975; (VHS) Matsushita, Japan, 1975.

Ice age theory: Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American, 1840.

Induction, electric: Joseph Henry, U.S., 1828.

Insulin: (first isolated) Sir Frederick G. Banting and Charles H. Best, Canada, 1921; (discovery first published) Banting and Best, 1922; (Nobel Prize awarded for purification for use in humans) John Macleod and Banting, 1923; (first synthesized), China, 1966.

Intelligence testing: Alfred Binet, Theodore Simon, France, 1905.

Interferon: Alick Isaacs, Jean Lindemann, England, Switzerland, 1957.

Isotopes: (concept of) Frederick Soddy, England, 1912; (stable isotopes) J. J. Thompson, England, 1913; (existence demonstrated by mass spectrography) Francis W. Ashton, 1919.

Jet propulsion: (engine) Sir Frank Whittle, England, Hans von Ohain, Germany, 1936; (aircraft) Heinkel He 178, 1939.

Kinetic theory of gases: (molecules of a gas are in a state of rapid motion) Daniel Bernoulli, Switzerland, 1738.

Laser: (theoretical work on) Charles H. Townes, Arthur L. Schawlow, U.S., N. Basov, A. Prokhorov, U.S.S.R., 1958; (first working model) T. H. Maiman, U.S., 1960.

Lawn mower: Edwin Budding, John Ferrabee, England, 1830–1831.

LCD (liquid crystal display): Hoffmann-La Roche, Switzerland, 1970.

Lens, bifocal: Benjamin Franklin, U.S., c.1760.

Leyden jar: (prototype electrical condenser) Canon E. G. von Kleist of Kamin, Pomerania, 1745; independently evolved by Cunaeus and P. van Musschenbroek, University of Leyden, Holland, 1746, from where name originated.

Light, nature of: (wave theory) Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1678; (electromagnetic theory) James Clerk Maxwell, England, 1873.

Light, speed of: (theory that light has finite velocity) Olaus Roemer, Denmark, 1675.

Lightning rod: Benjamin Franklin, U.S., 1752.

Locomotive: (steam powered) Richard Trevithick, England, 1804; (first practical, due to multiple-fire-tube boiler) George Stephenson, England, 1829; (largest steam-powered) Union Pacific's “Big Boy,” U.S., 1941.

Lock, cylinder: Linus Yale, U.S., 1851.

Loom: (horizontal, two-beamed) Egypt, c. 4400 B.C.; (Jacquard drawloom, pattern controlled by punch cards) Jacques de Vaucanson, France, 1745, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, 1801; (flying shuttle) John Kay, England, 1733; (power-driven loom) Edmund Cartwright, England, 1785.

Machine gun: (hand-cranked multibarrel) Richard J. Gatling, U.S., 1862; (practical single barrel, belt-fed) Hiram S. Maxim, Anglo-American, 1884.

Magnet, Earth is: William Gilbert, England, 1600.

Match: (phosphorus) François Derosne, France, 1816; (friction) Charles Sauria, France, 1831; (safety) J. E. Lundstrom, Sweden, 1855.

Measles vaccine: John F. Enders, Thomas Peebles, U.S., 1953.

Metric system: revolutionary government of France, 1790–1801.

Microphone: Charles Wheatstone, England, 1827.

Microscope: (compound) Zacharias Janssen, The Netherlands, 1590; (electron) Vladimir Zworykin et al., U.S., Canada, Germany, 1932–1939.

Microwave oven: Percy Spencer, U.S., 1947.

Motion, laws of: Isaac Newton, England, 1687.

Motion pictures: Thomas A. Edison, U.S., 1893.

Motion pictures, sound: Product of various inventions. First picture with synchronized musical score: Don Juan, 1926; with spoken dialogue: The Jazz Singer, 1927; both Warner Bros.

Motor, electric: Michael Faraday, England, 1822; (alternating-current) Nikola Tesla, U.S., 1892.

Motorcycle: (motor tricycle) Edward Butler, England, 1884; (gasoline-engine motorcycle) Gottlieb Daimler, Germany, 1885.

Moving assembly line: Henry Ford, U.S., 1913.

Neptune: (discovery of) Johann Galle, Germany, 1846.

Neptunium: (first transuranic element, synthesis of) Edward M. McMillan, Philip H. Abelson, U.S., 1940.

Neutron: James Chadwick, England, 1932.

Neutron-induced radiation: Enrico Fermi et al., Italy, 1934.

Nitroglycerin: Ascanio Sobrero, Italy, 1846.

Nuclear fission: Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassmann, Germany, 1938.

Nuclear reactor: Enrico Fermi, Italy, et al., 1942.

Ohm's law: (relationship between strength of electric current, electromotive force, and circuit resistance) Georg S. Ohm, Germany, 1827.

Oil well: Edwin L. Drake, U.S., 1859.

Oxygen: (isolation of) Joseph Priestley, 1774; Carl Scheele, 1773.

Ozone: Christian Schönbein, Germany, 1839.

Pacemaker: (internal) Clarence W. Lillehie, Earl Bakk, U.S., 1957.

Paper China, c.100 A.D. 

Parachute: Louis S. Lenormand, France, 1783.

Pen: (fountain) Lewis E. Waterman, U.S., 1884; (ball-point, for marking on rough surfaces) John H. Loud, U.S., 1888; (ball-point, for handwriting) Lazlo Biro, Argentina, 1944.

Periodic law: (that properties of elements are functions of their atomic weights) Dmitri Mendeleev, Russia, 1869.

Periodic table: (arrangement of chemical elements based on periodic law) Dmitri Mendeleev, Russia, 1869.

Phonograph: Thomas A. Edison, U.S., 1877.

Photography: (first paper negative, first photograph, on metal) Joseph Nicéphore Niepce, France, 1816–1827; (discovery of fixative powers of hyposulfite of soda) Sir John Herschel, England, 1819; (first direct positive image on silver plate, the daguerreotype) Louis Daguerre, based on work with Niepce, France, 1839; (first paper negative from which a number of positive prints could be made) William Talbot, England, 1841. Work of these four men, taken together, forms basis for all modern photography. (First color images) Alexandre Becquerel, Claude Niepce de Saint-Victor, France, 1848–1860; (commercial color film with three emulsion layers, Kodachrome) U.S., 1935.

Photovoltaic effect: (light falling on certain materials can produce electricity) Edmund Becquerel, France, 1839.

Piano: (Hammerklavier) Bartolommeo Cristofori, Italy, 1709; (pianoforte with sustaining and damper pedals) John Broadwood, England, 1873.

Planetary motion, laws of: Johannes Kepler, Germany, 1609, 1619.

Plant respiration and photosynthesis: Jan Ingenhousz, Holland, 1779.

Plastics: (first material, nitrocellulose softened by vegetable oil, camphor, precursor to Celluloid) Alexander Parkes, England, 1855; (Celluloid, involving recognition of vital effect of camphor) John W. Hyatt, U.S., 1869; (Bakelite, first completely synthetic plastic) Leo H. Baekeland, U.S., 1910; (theoretical background of macromolecules and process of polymerization on which modern plastics industry rests) Hermann Staudinger, Germany, 1922.

Plate tectonics: Alfred Wegener, Germany, 1912–1915.

Plow, forked: Mesopotamia, before 3000 B.C. 

Plutonium, synthesis of: Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin M. McMillan, Arthur C. Wahl, Joseph W. Kennedy, U.S., 1941.

Polio, vaccine: (experimentally safe dead-virus vaccine) Jonas E. Salk, U.S., 1952; (effective large-scale field trials) 1954; (officially approved) 1955; (safe oral live-virus vaccine developed) Albert B. Sabin, U.S., 1954; (available in the U.S.) 1960.

Positron: Carl D. Anderson, U.S., 1932.

Pressure cooker: (early version) Denis Papin, France, 1679.

Printing: (block) Japan, c.700; (movable type) Korea, c.1400; Johann Gutenberg, Germany, c.1450 (lithography, offset) Aloys Senefelder, Germany, 1796; (rotary press) Richard Hoe, U.S., 1844; (linotype) Ottmar Mergenthaler, U.S., 1884.

Probability theory: René Descartes, France; and Pierre de Fermat, Switzerland, 1654.

Proton: Ernest Rutherford, England, 1919.

Prozac: (antidepressant fluoxetine) Bryan B. Malloy, Scotland, and Klaus K. Schmiegel, U.S., 1972; (released for use in U.S.) Eli Lilly & Company, 1987.

Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud, Austria, c.1904.

Pulsars: Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell Burnel, England, 1967.

Quantum theory: (general) Max Planck, Germany, 1900; (sub-atomic) Niels Bohr, Denmark, 1913; (quantum mechanics) Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Germany, 1925.

Quarks: Jerome Friedman, Henry Kendall, Richard Taylor, U.S., 1967.

Quasars: Marten Schmidt, U.S., 1963.

Rabies immunization: Louis Pasteur, France, 1885.

Radar: (limited to one-mile range) Christian Hulsmeyer, Germany, 1904; (pulse modulation, used for measuring height of ionosphere) Gregory Breit, Merle Tuve, U.S., 1925; (first practical radar—radio detection and ranging) Sir Robert Watson-Watt, England, 1934–1935.

Radio: (electromagnetism, theory of) James Clerk Maxwell, England, 1873; (spark coil, generator of electromagnetic waves) Heinrich Hertz, Germany, 1886; (first practical system of wireless telegraphy) Guglielmo Marconi, Italy, 1895; (first long-distance telegraphic radio signal sent across the Atlantic) Marconi, 1901; (vacuum electron tube, basis for radio telephony) Sir John Fleming, England, 1904; (triode amplifying tube) Lee de Forest, U.S., 1906; (regenerative circuit, allowing long-distance sound reception) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S., 1912; (frequency modulation—FM) Edwin H. Armstrong, U.S., 1933.

Radioactivity: (X-rays) Wilhelm K. Roentgen, Germany, 1895; (radioactivity of uranium) Henri Becquerel, France, 1896; (radioactive elements, radium and polonium in uranium ore) Marie Sklodowska-Curie, Pierre Curie, France, 1898; (classification of alpha and beta particle radiation) Pierre Curie, France, 1900; (gamma radiation) Paul-Ulrich Villard, France, 1900.

Radiocarbon dating, carbon-14 method: (discovered) 1947, Willard F. Libby, U.S.; (first demonstrated) U.S., 1950.

Radio signals, extraterrestrial: first known radio noise signals were received by U.S. engineer, Karl Jansky, originating from the Galactic Center, 1931.

Radio waves: (cosmic sources, led to radio astronomy) Karl Jansky, U.S., 1932.

Razor: (safety, successfully marketed) King Gillette, U.S., 1901; (electric) Jacob Schick, U.S., 1928, 1931.

Reaper: Cyrus McCormick, U.S., 1834.

Refrigerator: Alexander Twining, U.S., James Harrison, Australia, 1850; (first with a compressor device) the Domelse, Chicago, U.S., 1913.

Refrigerator ship: (first) the Frigorifique, cooling unit designed by Charles Teller, France, 1877.

Relativity: (special and general theories of) Albert Einstein, Switzerland, Germany, U.S., 1905–1953.

Revolver: Samuel Colt, U.S., 1835.

Richter scale: Charles F. Richter, U.S., 1935.

Rifle: (muzzle-loaded) Italy, Germany, c.1475; (breech-loaded) England, France, Germany, U.S., c.1866; (bolt-action) Paul von Mauser, Germany, 1889; (automatic) John Browning, U.S., 1918.

Rocket: (liquid-fueled) Robert Goddard, U.S., 1926.

Roller bearing: (wooden for cartwheel) Germany or France, c.100 B.C. 

Rotation of Earth: Jean Bernard Foucault, France, 1851.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich: established in 1675 by Charles II of England; John Flamsteed first Astronomer Royal.

Rubber: (vulcanization process) Charles Goodyear, U.S., 1839.

Saccharin: Constantine Fuhlberg, Ira Remsen, U.S., 1879.

Safety pin: Walter Hunt, U.S., 1849.

Saturn, ring around: Christian Huygens, The Netherlands, 1659.

“Scotch” tape: Richard Drew, U.S., 1929.

Screw propeller: Sir Francis P. Smith, England, 1836; John Ericsson, England, worked independently of and simultaneously with Smith, 1837.

Seismograph: (first accurate) John Milne, England, 1880.

Sewing machine: Elias Howe, U.S., 1846; (continuous stitch) Isaac Singer, U.S., 1851.

Solar energy: First realistic application of solar energy using parabolic solar reflector to drive caloric engine on steam boiler, John Ericsson, U.S., 1860s.

Solar system, universe: (Sun-centered universe) Nicolaus Copernicus, Warsaw, 1543; (establishment of planetary orbits as elliptical) Johannes Kepler, Germany, 1609; (infinity of universe) Giordano Bruno, Italian monk, 1584.

Spectrum: (heterogeneity of light) Sir Isaac Newton, England, 1665–1666.

Spectrum analysis: Gustav Kirchhoff, Robert Bunsen, Germany, 1859.

Spermatozoa: Anton van Leeuwenhoek, The Netherlands, 1683.

Spinning: (spinning wheel) India, introduced to Europe in Middle Ages; (Saxony wheel, continuous spinning of wool or cotton yarn) England, c.1500–1600; (spinning jenny) James Hargreaves, England, 1764; (spinning frame) Sir Richard Arkwright, England, 1769; (spinning mule, completed mechanization of spinning, permitting production of yarn to keep up with demands of modern looms) Samuel Crompton, England, 1779.

Star catalog: (first modern) Tycho Brahe, Denmark, 1572.

Steam engine: (first commercial version based on principles of French physicist Denis Papin) Thomas Savery, England, 1639; (atmospheric steam engine) Thomas Newcomen, England, 1705; (steam engine for pumping water from collieries) Savery, Newcomen, 1725; (modern condensing, double acting) James Watt, England, 1782.

Steamship: Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans, France, 1783; James Rumsey, U.S., 1787; John Fitch, U.S., 1790. All preceded Robert Fulton, U.S., 1807, credited with launching first commercially successful steamship.

Stethoscope: René Laënnec, France, 1819.

Sulfa drugs: (parent compound, para-aminobenzenesulfanomide) Paul Gelmo, Austria, 1908; (antibacterial activity) Gerhard Domagk, Germany, 1935.

Superconductivity: (theory) Bardeen, Cooper, Scheiffer, U.S., 1957.

Symbolic logic: George Boule, 1854; (modern) Bertrand Russell, Alfred North Whitehead, England, 1910–1913.

Tank, military: Sir Ernest Swinton, England, 1914.

Tape recorder: (magnetic steel tape) Valdemar Poulsen, Denmark, 1899.

Teflon: DuPont, U.S., 1943.

Telegraph: Samuel F. B. Morse, U.S., 1837.

Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell, U.S., 1876.

Telescope: Hans Lippershey, The Netherlands, 1608; (astronomical) Galileo Galilei, Italy, 1609; (reflecting) Isaac Newton, England, 1668.

Television: (Iconoscope–T.V. camera table), Vladimir Zworkin, U.S., 1923, and also kinescope (cathode ray tube), 1928; (mechanical disk-scanning method) successfully demonstrated by J.K. Baird, England, C.F. Jenkins, U.S., 1926; (first all-electric television image), 1927, Philo T. Farnsworth, U.S; (color, mechanical disk) Baird, 1928; (color, compatible with black and white) George Valensi, France, 1938; (color, sequential rotating filter) Peter Goldmark, U.S., first introduced, 1951; (color, compatible with black and white) commercially introduced in U.S., National Television Systems Committee, 1953.

Thermodynamics: (first law: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another) Julius von Mayer, Germany, 1842; James Joule, England, 1843; (second law: heat cannot of itself pass from a colder to a warmer body) Rudolph Clausius, Germany, 1850; (third law: the entropy of ordered solids reaches zero at the absolute zero of temperature) Walter Nernst, Germany, 1918.

Thermometer: (open-column) Galileo Galilei, c.1593; (clinical) Santorio Santorio, Padua, c.1615; (mercury, also Fahrenheit scale) Gabriel D. Fahrenheit, Germany, 1714; (centigrade scale) Anders Celsius, Sweden, 1742; (absolute-temperature, or Kelvin, scale) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.

Tire, pneumatic: Robert W. Thompson, England, 1845; (bicycle tire) John B. Dunlop, Northern Ireland, 1888.

Toilet, flush: Product of Minoan civilization, Crete, c. 2000 B.C. Alleged invention by “Thomas Crapper” is untrue.

Tractor: Benjamin Holt, U.S., 1900.

Transformer, electric: William Stanley, U.S., 1885.

Transistor: John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, William B. Shockley, U.S., 1947.

Tuberculosis bacterium: Robert Koch, Germany, 1882.

Typewriter: Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, U.S., 1867.

Uncertainty principle: (that position and velocity of an object cannot both be measured exactly, at the same time) Werner Heisenberg, Germany, 1927.

Uranus: (first planet discovered in recorded history) William Herschel, England, 1781.

Vaccination: Edward Jenner, England, 1796.

Vacuum cleaner: (manually operated) Ives W. McGaffey, 1869; (electric) Hubert C. Booth, England, 1901; (upright) J. Murray Spangler, U.S., 1907.

Van Allen (radiation) Belt: (around Earth) James Van Allen, U.S., 1958.

Video disk: Philips Co., The Netherlands, 1972.

Vitamins: (hypothesis of disease deficiency) Sir F. G. Hopkins, Casimir Funk, England, 1912; (vitamin A) Elmer V. McCollum, M. Davis, U.S., 1912–1914; (vitamin B) McCollum, U.S., 1915–1916; (thiamin, B₁) Casimir Funk, England, 1912; (riboflavin, B₂) D. T. Smith, E. G. Hendrick, U.S., 1926; (niacin) Conrad Elvehjem, U.S., 1937; (B₆) Paul Gyorgy, U.S., 1934; (vitamin C) C. A. Hoist, T. Froelich, Norway, 1912; (vitamin D) McCollum, U.S., 1922; (folic acid) Lucy Wills, England, 1933.

Voltaic pile: (forerunner of modern battery, first source of continuous electric current) Alessandro Volta, Italy, 1800.

Wallpaper: Europe, 16th and 17th century.

Wassermann test: (for syphilis) August von Wassermann, Germany, 1906.

Wheel: (cart, solid wood) Mesopotamia, c.3800–3600 B.C. 

Windmill: Persia, c.600.

World Wide Web: (developed while working at CERN) Tim Berners-Lee, England, 1989; (development of Mosaic browser makes WWW available for general use) Marc Andreeson, U.S., 1993.

Xerography: Chester Carlson, U.S., 1938.

Zero: India, c.600; (absolute zero temperature, cessation of all molecular energy) William Thompson, Lord Kelvin, England, 1848.

Zipper: W. L. Judson, U.S., 1891.   Link

   Bunch of Jewish names though, huh? There's a theory that goes ... Arab men are mostly unemployed, therefore poor, live in hot, dry horrid places, have no heroes or recent icons to emulate, and because of this, have little social/cultural pride. If I were Arab, I'd be feein' a little impotent, inconsequential and in need of a convenient scapegoat too. The Jews are handy.

               

Comments

[Steel]

Sorry about all that pink. It's a problem with the C&Pd script and I ain't smart enough to fix it.

[Moze]

[Sorry about all that pink.]

Actually, it was fuschia, and now it's not...

Cheers,

[Steel]

Whoa!

That's MAGIC!

[Jimmy the Geek]

Interesting post Steel...

After a cursory glance, I only found three 'discoveries' attributed to Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Persia (Iran). Important discoveries to be sure... if you're a caveman.

1. Plow, forked: Mesopotamia, before 3000 B.C.
2. Wheel:(cart,solid wood) Mesopotamia, c.3800–3600 B.C.
3. Windmill: Persia, c.600.

All they've contributed in modern history is hatred, greed, terrorism, and on and on...

[Steel]

When I saw that list of inventions I was blown away.

I was thinking about attributing the invention of 'sand' and 'bestiality' to 'em, but I knew better.

My father was a geologist.

[Truth not Hate]

First of all you see mostly westren names in this list, you do not see Indian, Chinese, Japanese, African, South American or as your focus Arab names, What does this mean?. Secondly, most the inventions and scientific discoveries in the list -which have most impact on our live today- happened during the last four hundred years, What does this imply?
Two thoughts that might help here, first during the last four to five hundred years the west was the dominant force, but unfortunately this power and wealth did not come by peaceful means, the west blundered most of the earth, subjected millions of people to poverty, humilation and death, for its interents. I just wonder how much more progress, more advanced technologies, and redical new scientific discoveries, we - all humans - would have accomplished, if the west collaborated instead of blundering other nations, soo I see this list as disgrace list insteand of an honor one.
The second thought, is that everyone in the scientific community knows that knowledge build upon previous ideas and experiences. In other words the advancement of science is exponential. Just look at the list, and see the invention in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Since the arab civilization was dominant a thousand years ago, you will expect to have lesser number of inventions.
Just to make the point, the concept of zero in numerical system. It is disputed who come up with it first, the arabs or indians, but it is a known fact that the arab-muslims are the one who put it in practice to solve many mathimatical problem. and if we don't have zero, well, we will not have this web site, Cheers, and stop the hatred

[Bomb-a-rama]

>Cheers, and stop the hatred

Yer barkin' up the wrong tree. While you may consider what's been posted above to be "hatred", in the meantime the Nasrallahs, Ahmadinejads, bin Ladens, and the al-Sadrs of the world tend to do all that AND take it one step further: they're willing to KILL YOU.

But feel free to admonish Steel all you wish; after all, it costs nothing to criticize someone who's not likely to send you to an early grave for something as silly as being an "infidel".

[Ned Lamont]

[While you may consider what's been posted above to be "hatred", in the meantime the Nasrallahs, Ahmadinejads, bin Ladens, and the al-Sadrs of the world tend to do all that AND take it one step further: they're willing to KILL YOU.]

Bomb-a-rama, you incessant douche bag, don't you realize that Muslims are every bit as benign as Methodists? Truth-not-Hate is right: The "west blundered most of the earth."

I, for one, hate America, and I am not alone, as the intrepid voters of the valiant State of Connecticut proved last week. This country should bring our troops home and let Iraq deal with their own problems. That is my platform, and that is why the voters of Connecticut rejected Joseph Lieberman.

I say, anyone who doesn't agree with me should be racially profiled at airports across this land.

Regards,

[Edmund Burke]

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Regards,

[thebizofknowledge]

As a writer and educator, I spend much of my time conducting online research on various subjects. I found this listing quite fascinating, but I have to admit I was a bit dismayed by the heading!

[Cody Lane Tiniakoff Mannbro]

Ned Lamont, you, sir, are and idiot. And not just for two specific reasons, but also in general. One, you hate America. That is wrong RIGHT THERE. Oh, wait, no its not. As long as you dont hate the people in it, but instead you hate the people that RUN and GOVERN it. Two, you are every bit as mentally set as Hitler, and im not kidding. "agree with me you M*therF*cker or you will suffer painful deaths while I gas your parents and children to death. Oh, by the way, its nothing personal, its just that you know, your Jewish, and I think that all Jewish people suck and are idiots and are useless and morons. But other than that..." now, reverse it. "I am Ned Lamont, And you should agree with my opinion that America is completely idiotical and useless and hate it, or you should be considered an enemy of the world, and have pictures of yourself posted at airports across this land. Oh, wait, DONT I HATE THIS LAND? F*CK! IM AN IDIOT! *hangs self* Thank you very much.

[khaled]

well i must say all the technology used by our white freinds inventing these great invention all used some sort or Eastern idea's or mathematics...and by the way math's...science....astronomy,medicine, mechanics,engineering...oh the list is endless....

these are arab contributions..it took your race of people centuries to catch up with our technology.....your article is very biased and ignorant...ah well..at least us 'sandnigers' control the west:)
asalam wa alykoom...fuckin cracker honestly you guys start wars you will never win..im not pro-iraq nor am I pro-Us...we THE WEST HAS CONTRIBUTED TERROSIM, NUCLEAR WEAPONS, HIV,STI's,famine,poverty etc.....YOU MY aUBYUTH FREIND are the stupid one's

im not wasting my time on this stupid topic we are the clever race(not master) im not into that but your media is the one that fuels your idea's and you and the person and the affiliats of this webpage are victims of it.

It's times like these i wish Malcom X and Tupac wherent assasinated by your Government

[morg]

the list shows things which were made by the western world when the western world were in theyr second golden age. surely theyr contributions were important for the world. but theyr fundaments were layd by the arabs and muslims who preserved the greek documents as well as invented theyr own ideas.
muslims did all that during theyr golden age, becouse later on internal strife weakened the islamic lands and took them into the dark ages which europe suffered before them.

note these names.

al-Samawal
Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi
Ghiyath al-Kashi
Abu Kamil
Kuhi
Al-Karaji
Abu Nasr Mansur
Ahmed ibn Yusuf
Al-Jawhari
Al-Khwarizmi
Al-Kindī
Alhazen
Biruni
Lotfi Askar Zadeh
Nader Angha
Omar Khayyám
Sadegh Angha
Ulugh Beg
Ahmed H. Zewail
Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan
Abul Hasan al-Tabari
Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari
Al-Zahrawi
Avicenna
Saghir Akhtar
Rhazes

[ben canaan]

a few notable exceptions from your list:
civilization, mesopotamia
agriculture, mesopotamia
literacy, mesopotamia
the wheel, mesopotmia

not counting those?
what about algebra, the telescope, the architecture that built the Taj freakin Mahal, and the list really does go on and on. the list posted here ignores many of the inventions created during Islam's golden age, while. In the middle ages, much of Europe and the western world was plunged in sickness, cramped living conditions, low life expectancy, intolerance, plague, endless warfare, and illiteracy while islam flourished for 500 years as the greatest civilization the world had known. for more on islamic achievement, see...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Islamic_science_and_technology

[ben canaan]

and finally, judge not an entire religion and civilization and ethnic group for the actions of a crazed few in power (ahmadinejad). how would you feel if every american was judged for having the same belief system as president bush?

[Steel]

The point of the post is that nothing has been contributed in a thousand years - including those things you mention.

The analogy you make is specious at best.

I do speak for Europe, I have little love for Europe. And less blood.

Most of Islamic invention was built on the shoulders of Greek discovery.

Bush? But he is NOT a 'crazed few', nor does he subscribe to the concept of re-establishing something that never existed - The Great Caliphate.

The only reason Islam did not wither and die in the desert a thousand years ago is borne of fleas on the backs of rats.

The plague.

You speak in generalities - that's usually symptomatic of a lack of education or knowledge.

Perhaps you can find you way to the current postings on this site and engage there.

[Herman U Neustadt]

Yes, The best inventions we know off came during the last 400 years or so.

Coincedetally, that's about 50 years or so from the loss of Muslim Spain and its great libraries to the Latin hordes and their inquisitions.

There is absolutely no proof that European came up with inventions within 100 year all on their own. The time lag between the fall of spain and the rise of europe can only be accounted for by the slow translation and plagerism.

The Arabs are the Mesapotamians, The Phoenicians, The Cartagians, and the Egyptians and all the civilization the preceeded the rise of the both Greeks and Romans. Even Alexander the great had to come to egypt to validate his vision of his greatness, just like anyone from a third world country comes to hrvard or yale for educations.

Indsians and Chinese al;so had their inventions stolen fropm them. Rockets, the decimal system (Let me see you f'n bill gate put together a computer with your effin Roman Numeral.

[Jinger Binger]

LoL anatomy and the blood circulation were discovered and first applied by arabs, Ibn Sinna's and others, and that long before 1500, plus the Descartes-snell theory was invented by Al Hazen long time before them, and the first pharmacological book to be ever written was arabo-persian (Ibn Sinna).Do you know Al Khawarizimi? did you know that Algebra comes from Al Jabr(meaning reduction) or arithmatics, astronomy? hehe what about Aniline?(the color of the jeans you wear), did you know that it comes from Al nili?...hehe anyway i wont discuss this with you guys, cause if you really wanted to discover the truth about stuff you would've done it a long time ago.and many many other things were made by arabs indians persians, and mesopotamians, hehe did you know that the pythagore and thales theorems were invented by Babylonians long time before pytha and thal??,, anyway, you made me laugh a little....
By the way Nasrallah welcomes you to come in lebanon with your bombs and guns, so that we can put them back in your asses, were they do truly belong (talkin bout the pro-war guys)...

We will defend our lands even if our only weapon is our teeth.

[j]

Well what are your sources? B/C just like you say these names came from a list that YOU found ( which fortunately support your opinion. I say this as a African-American and all throughout American history we see examples of people getting credit for inventing something that they didnt invent!

[cottagecheese]

This is an example of whites distorting the history of civilization. If all is taught in schools is about the "great" achievements of the European, how can you expect anyone to know anything else?

What ignorance the west has, and what a grand fantasy they live to believe they truly are the greatest in the world!

Ask any Asian, African or Arab historian about the barbarity of Alexander, or Constantine, or any other European who crawled out a cave to burn libraries and Masjids, and destroy the culture of the Muslim people in an attempt to replace it with their own.

I'll give the U.S. another century before they fold into their own evil ways.

Islam teaches that man was created from a GERM CELL, while many Westerners believe mankind was created of dirt!
Islam teaches that the world is not flat nor round, but in fact explains in detail that the Earth is towards the oval shape of an ostrich egg. This is in the 600's! While Europeans were being put to death for suggesting the Earth is round! A full 1,000 years before the white Magellan proved (to other whites) the Earth was round!
Sura 39:6 states "He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness."
It goes on to equate the embryo to a leech,or alaqah, and explain the stages of development in detail in Surah 23:14 and Surah 22:5 (please check these to read for yourself). This almost a thousand years before Aristotle began to set forth a reliable concept of embryonic development!

I could list forever the contributions Islamic, Arab, Persian and African people have made to science, and forever more the contributions that were stolen by the white man!

The ancient Egyptians are an example of the great achievements of African people that were destroyed by the barbarian Alexander, Roman, British, and centuries of white rule.

Whites, Blacks, and Asians, Christians, Muslims, and Jews alike have all made great contributions to history.

It is unfortunate that "education" in the west fails the young generations so.

Also, if nothing else it should be noted cottage cheese was invented by an Arab.

[getalife]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inventions_in_the_Muslim_world

[Ali]

Hahah! These Arabs make me laugh! They consider that ancient civilizations as Egyptians or Mesopotamians were Arabs!!! What a funny thing! Actually, most of those "Arab" inventions (1000 years ago, of course) were taken from Indians and Persians - that, even being muslims, HATE to be called "Arabs"!!!

[herman king]

I THOUGHT CONCRETE WAS INVENTED BY THE ROMANS.

[realistic]

Seems like every ones getting the drift here no need for further comments . just to add
The concept of the diesel engine was taked from an Arab. who whilst on his Camel, lit a crude cigar with what apeared to be magic. Upon closer inspection it turned out to be a hollow stick with a palm oil soaked cotton tiped stick inside it . When he punched it down in to the hollow stick , it popped,and he withdrew it quickly , and presto it was lit. then he lit his cigar...The guy who saw this was . you guessed it Rudolf Diesel in his early yrs when traveling.
while he did {steal} this idea . its development and there for aknowledgement aught to surely go to him.

[Steel]

Bullshit!

Diesel never left Europe and originally intended his design to burn coal.

Don't they have Wikipedia in Canada?

Eh?

Putz.