Young Bright Minds & Inventors Academy

Inventing seems to be a genetic trait. Perhaps it is not genetic but a matter of influence. I don’t think we may ever know the true answer, but one thing is for sure, when one person in a family invents something it gets other members of the family on board. There are many families throughout history that have had two or more inventors. We can only speculate as to why inventors seem to run in the family, but despite that, we can be thankful because without inventors our life would not be what it is today.

Famous US Inventor Families

Arguably one of the most well known and famous family of inventors are the Wright brothers. The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilber Wright, are the inventors of the airplane. They were also the first to fly an airplane. Almost every person in the United States has been taught about the Wright Brothers in school. Thinking about their contribution, it is amazing just how much these brothers influenced the world. Without them life would be very different today. Flight is an important invention and without it the transportation industry would be very different and likely less efficient. Often considered the first family of inventors, the Stevens’s from New Jersey, have had three generations of inventors. They all have contributed inventions in the field of transportation. These inventors have provided new technology and products to steamboats, railroads and war craft.

The first Stevens to produce an invention and thus start the family “business” of inventing were John Stevens who worked with steam engines and was considered a pioneer in the field of mechanical transportation. Then there is his son, Robert Livingston Stevens, who created a new type of railroad rail in 1830 called the Stevens Rail. Robert had a brother Edwin Augustus who invented a plow, delivery wagon and created improvements for steam engines. The third generation of Stevens, Edwin’s son, invented the standard double ended ferryboat. Francis Bowes Stevens is the last of the family to enter the world of inventing. He invented a steam cutoff used in paddle wheel steamers.

Families with multiple inventors are nothing new. There are sure to be more families that produce a range of inventors. The two mentioned here only touch on the surface. Inventing is something that is contagious, which is obvious when you learn of families that have multiple inventors. It seems, though, that inventors may not just be born, but rather created from the environment in which they grow up and shaped by the influence of family members with an innovative spirit.