Famous Inventors Born in June!

Sir Frank Whittle

Date of Birth: June 1, 1907

Sir Frank Whittle was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer.

By 1929, Frank Whittle had conceptualized the turbojet engine. On May 15, 1941, the Whittle W1 jet engine, housed in the Gloster E.28/39, made its maiden flight. Whittle’s jet engine is marked as one of the greatest contributions in aviation history.By 1929, Frank Whittle had conceptualized the turbojet engine. The 1930s, however, proved challenging as he sought financial support and interest from the British Air Ministry. It was not until May 15, 1941, that the Whittle W1 jet engine, housed in the Gloster E.28/39, made its maiden flight. Whittle’s jet engine is marked as one of the greatest contributions in aviation history.

Jeffrey Charles Hawkins

Date of Birth: June 1, 1957

American neuroscientist and engineer who invented the Palm Pilot and Treo. Palm Pilot is one of the first successful handheld personal digital assistant devices. The Palm Pilot’s form and function impacted the design of future smartphones.

He was interested in the ways in which the brain acquires and stores information, which, in essence, develops intelligence. His creation of the world’s most popular personal digital assistant grew out of his interest in this field and has since launched an entire new industry.

Charles R. Drew

Date of Birth: June 3, 1904

African American surgeon and medical researcher. He researched in the field of blood transfusions, developing improved techniques for blood storage, and applied his expert knowledge to developing large-scale blood banks early in World War II. This allowed medics to save thousands of Allied forces’ lives during the war. 

Heinrich Wieland

Date of Birth: June 4, 1877

German chemist, who researched bile acids; made the first synthesis of Adamsite; and isolated the toxin alpha-amanitin, the principal active agent of one of the world’s most poisonous mushrooms (Nobel Prize, 1927)

Much of Wieland’s life work was occupied by the investigations into the oxidation processes in living cells, which enabled him to recognize dehydrogenation as a universal oxidation principle in Nature. This work restored the unity of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry which had been lost since the time of Liebig.

Allvar Gullstrand

Date of Birth: June 5, 1862

Swedish ophthalmologist, who researched the refractive properties of the eye to focus images (astigmatism), and invented an improved ophthalmoscope and corrective lenses for use after removal of a cataract (Nobel Prize, 1911)

Karl Ferdinand Braun

Date of Birth: June 6, 1850

German scientist who invented the first oscilloscope, known as the Braun tube, and invented a form of wireless telegraphy (Nobel Prize, 1909).

Braun was a founder of Telefunken, one of the pioneering communications and television companies, and has been both called the “father of television” (shared with inventors like Paul Gottlieb Nipkow), “great grandfather of every semiconductor ever manufactured” and the co-father of the radio telegraphy, together with Marconi.