Inventors and engineers

65 cards. Each one is a 40-second story with a five-minute read behind it. Page 2 of 2.

61. The shepherd's son who became the Colossus of Roads and a master of iron.Born into poverty in rural Scotland, Thomas Telford rose to become the defining civil engineer of the early 19th century. From massive aqueducts to thousands of miles of roads, hi…
62. The French engineer who looked to dragonflies to master the mechanics of flightÉtienne Oehmichen was a visionary engineer who bridged the gap between biology and aviation. While best known for pioneering the helicopter, he spent decades studying the flight o…
63. The Italian engineer who conquered the North Pole only to be branded a cowardUmberto Nobile was a visionary aeronautical engineer who pioneered semi-rigid airships and likely reached the North Pole first. Yet, a catastrophic crash in 1928 turned him into a…
64. The Russian engineer who pioneered the world's first true assault rifle designLong before the modern era of infantry combat, Vladimir Grigoryevich Fyodorov was already revolutionizing warfare. A lieutenant general and academic, he founded the Soviet school …
65. How a brilliant designer survived the Nazi regime and redefined modern aviation engineeringWilly Messerschmitt was a visionary who built the backbone of the Luftwaffe, yet his career was defined by volatile rivalries and moral compromise. From designing record-breaking …

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