Inventions: Biographies of Famous Inventors

Marie van Brittan Brown and Alfred Brown's home surveillance system (1966) included a camera, a TV monitor, microphones, a “radio-controlled lock”, and an emergency button to call police. Photo: New York Times

Beulah Louise Henry, aka "Lady Edison" (1887-1973). Henry holds 49 patents, including the first bobbin-less sewing machine.

Mothers and daughters of invention: notes for a revised history of technology (1995)

Guitar designer and manufacturer Paul Reed Smith developed technology to analyze images, video and other types of waves. The systems have medical imaging and military intelligence applications. Photo by Lauren Bulbin