14 Famous Machinists, Engineers, & Inventors

Machinists are professionals who work with precision machine tools to make parts. The trade is closely related to engineering and inventing. 

Many of the greatest inventors of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries started out in machining and similar occupations. The operation and maintenance of machines helped these innovators to create their own new machines and inventions. 

This list of famous machinists, engineers, and inventors includes the most innovative minds of the Industrial Revolution and beyond. 

While these individuals worked in various time periods and industries, they are similar in their knowledge of machining, inventing, and adapting to the latest technologies. 

1) Jesse Ramsden

1735-1800

Jesse Ramsden was a scientific instrument maker who lived and worked in England. He invented several important tools for use in surveying, astronomy and other professional fields. 

Ramsden’s most famous and influential inventions include the dividing engine, the theodolite for surveying and reading distant markers, and the transit circle for astronomical study. 

2) Eli Whitney

1765-1825

One of the most famous inventors of early American history is Eli Whitney. He was a mechanical engineer and inventor who studied at Yale. 

Whitney’s most famous invention is the cotton gin, which transformed the economy of the South. He is also credited with producing the milling machine and a mass production concept of interchangeable parts that was a precursor of Ford’s assembly line. 

3) Henry Maudslay

1771-1831

Henry Maudslay was a machine tool maker who invented the screw cutting lathe. This machine was important in creating screws that fit properly. 

Maudslay also helped design the production line at Portsmouth Block Mills. This was the worlds first mass-production assembly line that predates Ford’s assembly line. 

4) David Wilkinson

1771-1852

David Wilkinson was an American machinist who was introduced to making things by his blacksmith father. He patented a screw cutting lathe in 1798, around the time Maudslay created his lathe. 

Wilkinson opened a textile mill in 1810 in Rhode Island with a machine shop on the first floor to service the machines required for the business. 

5) David Napier

1787-1873

David Napier was a Scottish inventor who did most of his work in London. He worked for Hendy Maudslay and had connections with James Nasmyth (described below) and others. 

Napier produced lathes and repaired machines before creating his print perfecting machine. He later produced a bullet making machine and a coin weighing machine. 

Believe it or not, these are just a few of Napier’s more successful inventions! 

6) Thomas Blanchard

1788-1864

Thomas Blanchard was born in Massachusetts and worked in an armory there making muskets. At eighteen, Blanchard invented a tack making machine. 

He patented his wood turning lathe in 1819 and produced the first American automobile in 1826. The automobile was a steam powered machine. 

Blanchard acquired over two dozen patents in his lifetime. 

7) James Nasmyth

1808-1890

James Nasmyth was an inventor and artist who is known for creating the steam hammer and pile driver. As an artist, Nasmyth was interested in drawing and photography and created a book with illustrations of the moon. 

His inventions helped modernize large iron manufacturing and made the industry more efficient.  

8) Dorr Felt

1862-1930

Dorr Felt was a self-made millionaire who invented the Comptometer, a computing device that helped businesses make fast and accurate calculations. 

Felt grew up in Wisconsin and worked in a machine shop as a teenager. He moved to Chicago to learn more about machine design. It was there that he unveiled his successful Comptometer. 

In 1925, Felt built a three-story mansion on the coast of West Michigan that visitors can tour today. 

9) Horace Dodge

1868-1920

Horace Dodge and his brother John formed the Dodge automotive company in 1914. Dodge gained experience in machining by working in his father’s machine shop. 

The Dodge brothers opened their own shop and supplied parts for Ford. It was their success in parts manufacturing that led them to start their own successful car company. 

10) Wright Brothers

The Wright brothers are famous for the invention of the airplane in 1903. Wilbur and Orville had years of inventing and tinkering experience before building their airplane. 

The brothers started a printing business and bicycle company before turning to aviation. They took advantage of the bicycle craze of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and found success in building and repairing bikes. 

Wilbur is remembered as being a highly intelligent individual who loved reading and writing. Orville was curious and inventive and while smart, often got in trouble for not taking his schoolwork seriously.

The different yet complementary personalities of the Wright brothers made them extremely successful innovators. 

11) Walter Chrysler

1875-1940

Walter Chrysler founded the Chrysler automotive company in the 1920s. He learned machining as an apprentice at the age of 18 and worked on the railroad for a time. 

After visiting the Chicago auto show of 1908, Chrysler became interested in automobiles. He bought and disassembled a car just to understand how it worked. 

Chrysler became the production chief for Buick and soon after built his first car in his own name in 1924.

He acquired Maxwell Motor Company and rebranded as Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Chrysler added the Dodge, Plymouth, and De Soto brands to his company, becoming one of the most successful and powerful names in the Detroit automotive industry. 

12) Rudolph Bannow

1897-1962

Rudolph Bannow was a Swedish immigrant who came to America as a teenager. He worked as an apprentice pattern maker before creating the Bridgeport milling machine in 1938. 

This machine became “the foundation of the tool and die business of thousands of small job shops.” 

13) Zora Arkus-Duntov

1909-1996

Zora Arkus-Duntov worked in various engineering roles before immigrating to the United States following World War II. He became an engineer for Corvette and is credited with turning the vehicle into the high performance car it is today. 

Arkus-Duntov experimented with the Corvette in races and made adjustments to the car’s fuel injection system to improve its performance. 

Thanks to Zora Arkus-Duntov’s improvements, the Corvette continues to be one of the most popular sports cars in the world. 

14) Naomi Parker Fraley

1921-2018

Naomi Parker Fraley was the model for the famous Rosie the Riveter poster from World War II. She worked in a machine shop in California during the war and was photographed for a war poster while working. 

In the photo, Fraley wears the now famous headscarf and overalls as seen on the “We Can Do It” poster. Fraley worked as a waitress after the war and made appearances in Rosie the Riveter inspired clothing even in her old age.