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Pioneers and personalities: B

Welcome to the alphabetical walkthrough of pioneers and personalities. You're now on letter B. Click through the rest of the alphabet to find out more about the people who've helped shape telecommunication as we know it today.

Baekeland, Dr. Leo (1863-1944)

Baekeland, Dr. Leo (1863-1944)

The chemist Leo Baekeland is regarded as the 'father of plastic'. Born in Ghent, Belgium, he moved to New York in 1889. Before becoming involved with plastics, he first invented a new system for developing photos that ...

Bain, Alexander (1811-1877)

Bain, Alexander (1811-1877)

Alexander Bain was a Scottish watchmaker who invented the chemical telegraph - forerunner of the fax machine.

Baird, John Logie (1888-1946)

Baird, John Logie (1888-1946)

John Logie Baird played a key role in popularising television in Britain.

Baird & Zworykin

Baird & Zworykin

Vladimir Zworykin and John Logie Baird are usually cited as the fathers of TV - but both in the end were unsuccessful, because they missed vital aspects of The Big Picture.

Baran, Paul (1926-)

Baran, Paul (1926-)

Paul Baran was born in Poland in 1926. He moved to the United States with his family in 1928. After gaining a degree in electric engineering from Drexel University he became a technician at the Eckert-Mauchly Computer ...

Bardeen, John (1902-1987)

Bardeen, John (1902-1987)

John Bardeen was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1956, jointly with Walter Brattain and William Shockley, for research into semiconductors and discovery of 'the transistor effect', which led to the development of ...

Bartle, Richard Allan (1960-)

Bartle, Richard Allan (1960-)

Richard Bartle along with Roy Trubshaw created the first true multi user computer game known as MUD (multi user dungeon) in 1978.

Baudot, Emile (1845-1903)

Baudot, Emile (1845-1903)

Emile
Baudot invented a new telegraph code, machine, and printer to allow more than one message to be sent on a single wire at the same time.

Bell, Alexander Graham (1847-1922)

Bell, Alexander Graham (1847-1922)

Alexander Graham Bell was born on 3 March 1847. He was born in Scotland, but moved to America as an adult. He is known as the inventor of the telephone. Bell had a strong imagination and an inquiring mind and ...

Bell & Hubbard

Bell & Hubbard

Alexander Graham Bell went to the United States as a teacher, rather than as an inventor. His lectures in teaching the deaf won him many friends - including a Boston attorney Gardiner Green Hubbard.

Berners-Lee, Sir Tim (b 1955)

Berners-Lee, Sir Tim (b 1955)

Berners-Lee is the creator of the World Wide Web, the information platform of the Internet.

Brin, Sergey (1973-)

Brin, Sergey (1973-)

Sergey Brin, along with Larry Page, co-founded one of the most popular internet search engines: 'Google'.

Brattain, Walter H. (1865-1945)

Brattain, Walter H. (1865-1945)

Walter Brattain was one of the trio of scientists who created the transistor, for which he won a Nobel prize in 1956.

Brunel, Isambard Kingdom (1806 - 1869)

Brunel, Isambard Kingdom (1806 - 1869)

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was one of the 19th century's greatest engineers.

Bush, Vannevar (1890-1974)

Bush, Vannevar (1890-1974)

Vannevar Bush was born in Massachusetts in 1890. He studied engineering at Tufts College. Whilst there he invented a land surveying device called a profile tracer.


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