PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Primary Source Set: Telephone Invention
This collection uses primary sources to explore the invention of the telephone.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Telephone and Light Patent Drawings
A lesson plan about Alexander Graham Bell's patent for the telephone and Thomas Edison's patent for the electric lamp. Contains good background information and historically pertinent documents. It also discusses the role corporations...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: Alexander Graham Bell
This site provides a biographical sketch of Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions. Find out about Bell's patents in addition to the telephone.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Eli Whitney's Patent for the Cotton Gin
This National Archives and Records Administration site relates the history of Eli Whitney and his remarkable inventions. Links to sites with patent information on the cotton gin. Tons of teacher's resources can be found at this site.
Library of Congress
Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Who Is Credited as Inventing the Telephone?
Find out who is credited for the invention of the telephone in this brief history.
Great Idea Finder
The Great Idea Finder: Qwerty Keyboard Invention
Where did the idea of the QWERTY keyboard come from? Read about typewriter inventor, Christopher Sholes, and how he came up with his idea of a new keyboard design way back in 1875. Additional links to related sites, fascinating facts,...
Other
United States Patent and Trademark Office: The Cycle of Invention
Read about the cycle of invention where one invention inspires someone to create another one.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Temple of Invention
A wonderful click-through slideshow of one of America's most-graceful examples of Gothic Revival architecture. The U.S. Patent Office Building, which dates from 1836, is now home to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Inventive Women Part 1
Students will learn about female inventors and their contributions to American technology.
A&E Television
History.com: 6 Key Inventions by Thomas Edison
Edison's genius was improving on others' technologies and making them more practical for the general public. Thomas Edison applied for his first patent in 1868, when he was just 21 years old. The famous inventor's first brainchild was...
A&E Television
History.com: 9 Groundbreaking Inventions by Women
Women inventors are behind a wide range of key innovations, from Kevlar to dishwashers to better life rafts. Female inventors have played a large role in U.S. history, but haven't always received credit for their work. Women --...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Inventions
Investigate past and present inventions, and use the tape player as an example to explore issues inventors must deal with, including patents, theft and technological obsolescence. Use the scientific method to choose, design and develop...
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Glidden's Patent Application for Barbed Wire
The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) provides an elaborate lesson plan on Joseph Glidden's patent for barbed wire. Content includes extensive background information about barbed wire, images of the original patent...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: Thomas Alva Edison
As the inventor of the lightbulb, phonograph, and the printing telegraph, Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931), improved the daily lives of everyday people.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) recognizes the enduring legacies of exceptional U.S. patent holders. Inventors not only create new inventions, but they can create new industries that employ millions of people. Their...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Thomas Edison
A good description of the inventions and life of this bright and ambitious man. As inventor of the light bulb, phonograph, movie camera and many others, Edison lived a very inspiring life. In Spanish.
Other
Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Spark!lab: Inventor Profiles: Charlotte Cramer Sachs
Charlotte Cramer Sachs held the patents on many inventions. She invented quick baking products such as Joy muffin mixes, as well as accessories for dogs and musical games. One invention was a precursor to the retractable dog leash. A...
Other
Patent Museum: Egg Beater: Willis Johnson 1884
A brief description to the patent filing and an excerpt from the patent request that Willis Johnson filed for his improvements in the egg beater. Included are drawings submitted with the patent request.
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford: Thomas A. Edison and the Menlo Park Laboratory
This site, presented by the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, offers a peek into the life and inventions of Thomas Edison. Content is focused mainly on Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory and his invention of the first practical...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Nikola Tesla
An in-depth biography of inventor Nikola Tesla. Discusses his many inventions, his troubles with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and information on his multitude of patents.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
National Inventors Hall of Fame: Louis Pasteur
This site provides general information on Louis Pasteur (1822-1895 CE) and his patent number 135,245. The site also describes how he created pasteurization.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Hedy Lamarr
Use this site to learn about Hedy Lamarr (1913-2000 CE), the movie actress who "helped the Allies win World War II" through her involvement in inventing "a classified communication system."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Roy J. Plunkett
Read about Roy Plunkett's invention, teflon, one of the best-known and most widely used polymers that was created by accident.