6 Important Canadian Inventors You've Never Heard Of

While we all know Alexander Graham Bell, there are hundreds of prominent inventors from Canada that changed the world.

Reginald Fessenden (1866–1932)

wikipedia.org

Born in East-Bolton, Quebec, Fessenden moved to New York at age 20 to work under Thomas Edison. His interest in the electrical field led him to a number of discoveries and accomplishments, including the first audio transmission in 1900. He created the rotary-spark transmitter (seen above) in 1906 to send transatlantic transmissions and the first radio broadcast of entertainment and music. His work would also go on to contribute to sonar technology and the development of the television.

Gideon Sundback (1880–1954)

wikipedia.org / derlinzipper.wordpress.com

Originally a Swedish engineer, Sundback worked in creating fastenings for an American company. He moved between Pennsylvania and St. Catharines, Ontario during his development of the zipper. He created the zipper manufacturing machine, eventually launching the zipper into mass production with his Canadian enterprise Lightning Fastener Company.

Chris Haney & Scott Abbott (1950–2010, 1949–)

wikipedia.org

Both Canadian journalists, Haney and Abbott created one of the most successful game franchises, Trivial Pursuit. While playing Scrabble in 1979, the two were disappointed that they'd have to buy an entirely new game just because they were missing a few letters. That night, they developed the little trivia game with hopes of making it big in board games. Trivial Pursuit is now the eighth-most-sold board game in history and launched the entire trivia game industry.

Helmut Lucas

makezine.com / wikia.com

Although very little is known about Canadian Helmut Lucas, we do know he created the first mechanical prosthetic arm in 1971, the first major advancement in prosthetics in hundreds of years. His studies would change artificial limbs forever.

David W. Brunton (1849–1927)

mininghalloffame.org / buyhatke.com

The Brunton Compass, created in 1894, is a unique tool used to this day by miners. While simple directional compasses were already being mass-produced, Brunton's advancement could also measure horizontal angles, revolutionizing the speed and safety of mining. It's also used worldwide by archaeologists, geologists, environmental engineers, and surveyors.