Insights
A Salute to Edisons Everywhere
May 19, 2016
- Buzz
- A Salute to Edisons Everywhere
Remember the 1980s? MTV launched. The Berlin Wall fell. And people were in hot pursuit of the next great invention. The disposable camera was invented, along with disposable contact lenses. Engineers built a prototype for the first HDTV. The forensic science field was forever changed by the breakthrough of DNA fingerprinting.
New inventions were debuting on the market at dizzying speeds, and many of them vastly improved health, communication and technology.
How appropriate then, that in 1983, on the anniversary of Thomas Edison’s birthday, U.S. President Ronald Regan proclaimed February 11 National Inventors’ Day “in recognition of the enormous contribution inventors make to the nation and to the world.”
Other countries have marked occasions to honor inventors, too. Argentina celebrates Inventors’ Day on September 29, the birthday of ballpoint pen inventor Laszlo Jozef Biro. Hungary celebrates on June 13, in honor of Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, who patented synthesized vitamin C.
Fast-forward some 15 years. In 1998, The United Inventors Association of the USA (UIA-USA), the Academy of Applied Science and Inventors' Digest magazine came together and established May as National Inventors Month. The month brings 31 days devoted to honoring and celebrating the scientists, engineers, physicists and big thinkers who continue to push the boundaries of what is possible. Together, they are the lifeblood for technological progress and economic well-being.
This month, designed to rekindle the spirit of imagination and fuel the inventor in all of us, we encourage you to learn about and honor past, present and future inventors.
Happy National Inventors Month, friends. Onward and upward toward your next great venture!
