Pbs: Who Made America?: Innovators: Samuel Colt

One-page profile of influential innovator, Samuel Slater, whose ideas made him the "father of the American factory system" in the early 1800s.

A biography of the man who invented the elevator.

Contrary to myth, Samuel Morse did not invent the telegraph, but he made key improvements to its design, and his work to deploy it would transform communications worldwide.

In popular mythology, Eli Whitney has been deemed the "father of American technology," for two innovations: the cotton gin, and the idea of using interchangeable parts.

He defied the naysayers to create 24-hour cable news network, democratizing information and changing forever the way America -- and the world -- sees itself.

The "Wizard of Menlo Park" brought the world electric light, recorded music, and the movies, among other things, and turned innovation into a science by inventing the research laboratory.

A ceaseless tinkerer created the first safe elevator, then died before he could see it revolutionize architecture, cities, and the way we live.

This frontiersman helped people travel and trade in the nation's interior by opening up the only viable highways -- American rivers.

Recognizing the power of advertising, Woodruff took the Coca Cola Company from an American success story to an international powerhouse.

One-page profile of influential innovator, Lewis Tappan, an abolitionist whose vision and ideas created America's first credit rating and reporting system.