If it weren’t for the State of New York, the world would be without many important products.
GEORGE EASTMAN
A high-school dropout from Waterville, New York, George Eastman changed the way we see the world in 1885 when he invented rolled photography film. The creation did away with the delicate glass plates and messy gelatin emulsions used in photography at the time and made it easier for everyone to document the world around them. Eastman continued to take photography mainstream over the next decade with the invention of the handheld, push-button camera.
LINUS YALE SR.
Linus Yale Sr. of Salisbury helped Americans feel more secure in 1848 when he invented the pin-tumbler lock, a cylindrical mechanism that employs rods of various lengths to prevent a lock from being opened without the appropriate key. The design was later modified in 1875 by his son, Linus Yale Jr., and remains popular today.
WILLIS HAVILAND CARRIER
Anyone who has ever used an air conditioner to cool off on a hot day has Willis Haviland Carrier to thank. This Angola engineer outsmarted Mother Nature in 1902 when he created the first air-conditioning unit to control the heat and humidity levels in a Brooklyn printing plant. Carrier continued to refine his invention, and by 1915 he was selling his “Apparatus for Treating Air” to grateful clients all around the world.
JONAS SALK
In 1948, New York City native Jonas Salk was the head of the Virus Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh when he first began work on a way to eradicate the dreaded polio virus. Salk’s experiments proved to be successful, and by 1952 he had created a safe and effective polio vaccine that he tested on his wife and three sons. Nationwide testing began two years later, and by 1955 America’s “Polio Panic” had become a thing of the past. Salk’s breakthrough made him a national hero and led to the creation of the Salk Institute, a leading independent scientific research center located in La Jolla, California.
Oldest organized sporting venue in the U.S.: Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs.
GEORGE CRUM
The head chef at a resort in Saratoga Springs, George Crum unwittingly made history in 1853 when a notoriously hard-to-please patron sent back a plate of French fries, complaining they were too thick. Fed up with the patron’s frequent complaints, Crum tossed several thin slices of potato into a pan, fried them to a crisp, and covered them with a generous helping of salt. To his surprise, the patron loved them, and Crum’s “potato chips” soon became a staple on his menu. By the 20th century, potato chips had made their way into millions of American homes.
PIERRE LORILLARD IV
This wealthy tobacco magnate found himself on everyone’s best-dressed list in October 1886, when he wore a tail-less black jacket and matching black tie to a formal ball at the Tuxedo Club in Tuxedo Park, New York. He may have heard about King Edward VIII of England wearing a similar outfit—some say as early as 1875. Regardless, after the Tuxedo Club’s ball, news soon spread and it wasn’t long before socialites were sporting “tuxedos” at formal functions all around the country.
JOSEPH C. GAYETTY
In 1857 New York City inventor Joseph C. Gayetty brought some much-needed relief to Americans when he created the world’s first commercial toilet paper. Marketed as a means to cure sores and prevent hemorrhoids, Gayetty’s Medicated Paper contained 500 individual sheets moistened with soothing aloe; each package sold for 50¢.
For more inventors, turn to page 301.
Q: Who are Eugene Klein and Stanley Eisen of Queens better known as? A: Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band Kiss.