The best engineers in history

Who are the best engineers of all time? Here is a complete list of the world’s most fantastic minds: gifted people with a brilliant intellect, whose inventions have definitely improved and made easier the lives of the whole of humanity.

10. Alan Turing

In the top 10 engineers we must include a man considered to be the founding father of Information Technology, as well as the inventor of the binary system which is still used in computers today.

9. Nicolaus Otto

An engineer of German origin who lived in the nineteenth century and was known throughout the world, especially for having invented the 4 speed internal combustion engine.

8. Nikola Tesla

The most important inventor, physicist and electrical engineer of all time:  his main inventions still form the basis of the modern electrical system using alternating current.

7. Archimedes

Among the top engineers we find Archimedes, to whom we owe revolutionary inventions such as the catapult, levers and the first principles of the laws which govern floating bodies.

6. James Watt

A Scottish mathematician and engineer, notable for (among other things) having invented a steam valve which allowed constant regulation of the speed of steam engines.

5. Hero of Alessandria

A great mathematician and engineer, known above all for the invention of the aeolipile: a device considered to be the fore-runner of the steam engine and the jet engine.

4. Wilbur and Orville Wright

Engineers and inventors from the United States, these brothers are remembered as two of the most famous aviators of the pioneering era and the first to develop a successful flying machine powered by an engine.

3. Henry Ford

A businessman and founder of the Ford Motor Company, famous for his successful mass production of popular cars and the consequent reduction in costs and prices.

2. Thomas Edison

Edison features in the top 10 engineers because, with his 1097 registered patents, he is considered one of the greatest inventors of his time.

1. Leonardo da Vinci

Remembered as the greatest visionary of all time, Leonardo da Vinci foresaw inventions such as the helicopter, the liquid tank and the submarine.

This is our complete list of the best engineers of all time:  great characters who have enabled us to make giant steps forward in science.

Translated by Joanne Beckwith