Heroes of Progress : 65 People Who Changed the World / Alexander C. R. Hammond.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hammond, Alexander C. R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Heroes--Biography.

Heroes.

Inventors--Biography.

Inventors.

Civilization, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (212 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Cato Institute, [2024]

Summary:

"Over the past two centuries, humanity has experienced unprecedented progress. Extreme poverty has declined, life expectancy has doubled, illiteracy has declined. While we as a species are becoming more prosperous, more educated, healthier, and more peaceful, it is useful to remind ourselves of the underlying cause of this progress: innovation. Human innovation--whether it be new ideas, inventions, or systems-is the primary way people create wealth and escape poverty. The health and wealth of the modern world rests on the shoulders of dozens of unsung heroes whose work has saved millions, if not billions, of lives. Despite their contribution to improving humanity, few people know the names of these pioneers. Heroes of Progress takes readers on a journey through the lives of the most important people who have ever lived. From agronomists whose hybrid crops saved billions of lives and intellectuals who changed public policy for the better, to businesspeople whose innovations helped millions rise from poverty, or scientists whose medical breakthroughs eliminated diseases and ended pandemics. If it weren't for the heroes profiled in this book, we'd all be far poorer, sicker, hungrier, ignorant, and less free--if we were fortunate enough to be alive at all. Considering their impact on humanity, perhaps it's time to learn their story?"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Foreword

Introduction

1 Johannes Gutenberg - Inventor of the printing press

2 Desiderius Erasmus - Champion of tolerance

3 Sir John Harington - Inventor of the flushable toilet

4 Mary Astell and Mary Wollstonecraft - Advocates of women's equality

5 James Watt - Father of the Industrial Revolution

6 Cesare Beccaria - Father of criminal justice

7 Alessandro Volta - Inventor of the electric battery

8 Jeremy Bentham - Utilitarian philosopher and reformer

9 Edward Jenner - Inventor of vaccination

10 James Madison - Father of the U.S. Constitution

11 William Wilberforce Statesman and successful abolitionist

12 Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace - Early computer designers

13 Richard Cobden - Champion of free trade

14 John Stuart Mill - Advocate of classical liberalism

15 John Snow - Father of epidemiology

16 Frederick Douglass - A leading U.S. abolitionist

17 Louis Pasteur - Father of microbiology

18 Joseph Lister - Father of modern surgery

19 Wilhelm Röntgen - Discoverer of x-rays

20 Kate Sheppard - First successful suffragette leader

21 Ronald Ross - Discoverer of how malaria is transmitted

22 Karl Landsteiner and Richard Lewisohn - Pioneers of blood transfusions

23 Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch - Chemists who revolutionized agriculture

24 Willis Haviland Carrier - Inventor of modern air conditioning

25 Alexander Fleming - Discoverer of penicillin

26 Lucy Wills - Pioneering maternal health researcher

27 Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering - Creators of the whooping cough vaccine

28 Abel Wolman and Linn Enslow - Pioneers of chlorination

29 Frederick Banting and Charles Best - Diabetes treatment trailblazers

30 Frederick McKinley Jones - Inventor of mobile refrigeration

31 Paul Hermann Müller - Slayer of mosquito-borne illnesses.

32 Enrico Fermi - Nuclear energy pioneer

33 George Hitchings and Gertrude Elion - Pioneers of rational drug design

34 Virginia Apgar - Inventor of the life-saving Apgar score

35 Willem Kolff - Inventor of kidney dialysis

36 Alan Turing - Father of computer science

37 Wilson Greatbatch - Creator of the first implantable pacemaker

38 Malcom McLean - Businessman who revolutionized shipping

39 Norman Borlaug - Father of the green revolution

40 Jonas Salk - Polio vaccine pioneer

41 Benjamin Rubin - Inventor of the bifurcated needle

42 James Elam and Peter Safar - Developers of CPR

43 Maurice Hilleman - Prolific vaccine creator

44 Charles Dotter and Andreas Grüntzig - Pioneers of angioplasty

45 Vasili Arkhipov - Preventer of nuclear war

46 Raymond Damadian, Paul Lauterbur, and Peter Mansfield - Creators of the MRI machine

47 Yuan Longping - Inventor of hybrid rice

48 Tu Youyou - Malaria treatment pioneer

49 Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier - Trailblazing AIDS researchers

50 David Nalin - Oral rehydration therapy formula developer

51 Alfred Sommer - Pioneering vitamin researcher

52 Bill Gates - Computer entrepreneur and philanthropist

Suggested Further Reading

Discussion Questions for Book Clubs and Classrooms

Acknowledgments

Index

About the Author

About the Cato Institute and Human Progress.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBook Central, viewed March 13, 2025).

Includes index.

Other Format:

Print version: Hammond, Alexander C. R. Heroes of Progress

ISBN:

9781952223686

OCLC:

1424750235