The “Father of Mechanical Engineering”, James Watt was a Scottish mechanical engineer born in 1736. He is famous for his major improvements in steam engine technology.
George Stephenson, a British civil and mechanical engineer born in 1781, was renowned as the “Father of Railways”.
Charles Babbage is credited with the concept of the first mechanical computer which was the first stepping stone on the way to more complex designs.
Creator of the internal combustion engine, Nicolaus Otto provided the first viable successor to the steam engine.
Nikola Tesla, a name very familiar these days, was a Serbian-American mechanical and electrical engineer born in 1856.
Born in 1847, he was a Scottish-born engineer, scientist, and inventor that developed the first telephone by sending voice signals down a telegraph wire.
1847 was a great year for inventors, as Thomas Edison was also born during this year. He is described as America’s greatest inventor, holding a world record of 1093 patents.
Fazlur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer and architect born in 1929, who is known as the father of the modern skyscraper.
Stephen Wozniak, born in 1950, and the only living engineer on this list, is an electronics engineer, programmer, and technology entrepreneur.
Such a list would not be complete without the mention of Archimedes, the original engineer as some refer to him, and definitely the most famous engineer of his era.