• 10 Youngest Inventors of All Time

You don’t have to wait to become an adult to be an inventor. These kids proved it! Most of the young people on this list created their inventions before they even made it out of high school.

Philo Farnsworth • Age: 14 Invention: Television

Without Philo Farnsworth we may have never seen a television. Can you imagine? As a 14-year-old boy in Rigby, Idaho, Philo drew his first sketch of what would later become the electronic television. He is considered to be the godfather of the modern television.

Peter Chilvers • Age: 12 Invention: Windsurfing

In 1958, 12-year-old Peter Chilvers created the very first sailboard. As a young boy he lived on the southern coast of Britain. He loved all kinds of water sports. One day he decided to put a sail on his surfboard and the rest is history.

George Nissen • Age: 16 Invention: Trampoline

George Nissen designed the first modern trampoline in his parent’s garage. He first built a rectangular frame. Then stretched a piece of canvas over the rectangular frame that was tight enough to bounce on. This was the first trampoline.

Horatio Adams • Age: Mid-teens Invention: Bubble Gum

Some people think chewing gum was invented by businessman Thomas Adams. But it was his son, Horatio, who made the discovery. Thomas had purchased Mexican chicle and was trying to figure out how use the natural substance as a rubber substitute. But young Horatio quickly saw that chicle could be turned into a chewable substance. He created 200 balls of what later became known as bubble gum. Horatio had the local druggist dispense the balls. By mid-afternoon that day, all bubble gum balls had been sold for 1 penny.

George Westinghouse • Age: 19 Invention: Rotary Steam Engine

In 1865, George Westinghouse received his first patent for the rotary steam engine. He was only 19. He also had many more inventions throughout his life. One invention was a braking system that made it possible for trains to travel more safely, and at higher speeds.

Frank Epperson • Age: 11 Invention: Popsicles

In 1905, eleven-year-old Frank Epperson forgot about a mixture of water and powdered soda that was in a cup with a stirring stick on his porch. It was a cold evening and the next morning, Frank discovered a frozen pop on his porch. He found it delicious and called it an “Epsicle.” For the next 18 years, Epperson didn’t try to sell his accidental invention. But, he made the tasty creation for his children and they called the cold treat “Pop’s Sicle.” In 1923, he finally applied for a patent and it became a hit.

Blaise Pascal • Age: 19 Invention: Mechanical Calculator

Almost 400 years ago in 1642, young Blaise Pascal would watch his father at work. Pascal’s father spent all day conducting complex math calculations as a tax collector for the King of France. Little Pascal created a wooden box that had 16 separate dials and when each dial was turned, additions and subtractions were able to be done quickly. His creation of an “adding machine” was the groundwork for the modern day calculator.

Becky Schroeder • Age: 12 Invention: Glo-Sheet

In 1974, Becky Schroeder created The Glo-Sheet and became the youngest woman to be granted a U.S. patent. Becky was only 10 years old when she was attempting to do homework in her mom’s car. As it got darker outside, she had the idea that there should be a way to make her paper easier to see in the dark. Becky took matters into her own hands and began playing around with phosphorescent materials, which exhibited light but without heat. She then used phosphorescent paint to cover an acrylic board and The Glow Sheet was created.

Louis Braille • Age: 15 Invention: Braille Reading

As a child, Louis Braille was accidentally blinded. After moving to Paris to attend a school for the blind, he found they had books that allowed the students to use their hands to touch large raised words on the page as a means for them to read. Braille decided to create a better system using raised dots instead of raised letters. The language of Braille has since become the writing system used by the blind around the world.

Alexander Graham Bell • Age: 18 Invention: Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell was only 18 years old when he started to develop a way to transmit speech. His creation of what he called the “harmonic telegraph” involved the idea of transmitting a voice message through a single wire to a receiver in a separate location. His experiments with his assistant Thomas Watson finally proved successful on March 10, 1876, when the first complete sentence was transmitted: “Watson, come here; I want you.”