Inventors

Animator, inventor, and film director Max Fleischer was born in Kraków, Poland, on July 19, 1883. Fleischer patented several animation innovations and was behind popular cartoons such as Betty Boop, Popeye, and Superman, earning the nickname “The Dean of Animated Cartoons.”

Entrepreneur George Eastman was born on July 12, 1854, in Waterville, New York. Eastman invented the first successful film roll, making photography accessible for everyone and contributing to the development of motion pictures.

Samuel Finley Breese Morse was born on April 27, 1791, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Morse is credited with inventing the telegraph and the communication system used for the device, which bears his name: Morse code.

On April 17, 1964, the Ford Mustang debuted at the New York Auto Show, and was available for sale around the country that same day. The Mustang far outsold expectations and shattered sales records.

Photographer Eadweard Muybridge was born on April 9, 1830, in Kingston upon the Thames, Surrey, England. Muybridge was a photography pioneer, improving the technology and completing early motion studies on film.

On March 21, 1826, the Rensselaer School was incorporated in Troy, New York.  Later named the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, it’s considered the oldest continuously operating technological college in America and the English-speaking world.

On March 9, 1858, iron manufacturer Albert Potts of Philadelphia patented an early mail collection box.  His mailbox was affixed to a lamp post for the convenience of mailers.

On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the patent for the telephone. Three days later, Bell transmitted the first recognizable words over a telephone line.

On December 17, 1903, brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.