Greatest Americans - Part 9 - Scientists, Inventors & Explorers
George Washington was the winner of the Political Figures category. He'll join Jim Thorpe, John Wayne, Mark Twain, Henry Ford, Martin Luther King, Jr., Elvis Presley & George S. Patton in the finals.
Our final category is Scientists, Inventors & Explorers. Now, I'm going to break from protocol and urge you all to check out the links below and learn more about the candidates before you vote. Don't just vote on reputation. Did you know, for example, that Norman Borlaug is credited with saving a billion lives?
The Candidates
1. Alexander Graham Bell
2. Norman Borlaug
3. Meriweather Lewis & William Clark
4. Thomas Edison
5. Ben Franklin
6. Jonas Salk
7. Nikola Tesla
8. Eli Whitney
9. Orville & Wilbur Wright
So, take a look at these great Americans and then place your vote:
The polls are closed. Thomas Edison edged out Ben Franklin to win the category.
Here's the schedule for the rest of the categories:
1. Actors & Directors: May 9-11
2. Artists & Writers: May 12-14
3. Athletes: May 15-17
4. Business Leaders: May 18-20
5. Champions of Causes: May 21-23
6. Heroes & Icons: May 24-26
7. Musicians: May 27-29
8. Politicians: May 30-June 1
9. Scientists, Inventors & Explorers: June 2-4
The finals will run from June 5-7.
Posted by kris at June 1, 2005 08:19 PM
The trackback entry for this page is : http://www.inthehat.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/938
| Trackback Entries |
Comments
| # June 1st, 2005 9:47 PM james |
| tesla wasnt born in the US - he became a citizen later. einstein did the same - so why isn't einstein on the list? |
| # June 1st, 2005 9:56 PM kris |
| Einstein did much of his best work in Germany well before he was a US citizen. Telsa, while not yet a citizen, did much of his best work in the US. |
| # June 1st, 2005 10:58 PM james |
| im not sure i see the distinction in a category called "greatest americans," but ok. your thingy. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 2:55 AM mbrlr |
| Lincoln and Reagan tied? Lincoln tied with Reagan? Dear Jesus.
Well, this site is bringing me closer to God and confirming my view that the Almighty has a wicked sense of humor. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 3:41 AM methodical |
| George Washington Carver....
Empathy, campassion, and brilliance.... |
| # June 2nd, 2005 7:51 AM BrianH |
| mbrlr,
Care to explain which one you thought should have scored higher and why? It's not clear from your statement whether you though Lincoln or Reagan deserved to score higher. My guess is you thought Reagan was better..... |
| # June 2nd, 2005 8:32 AM kris |
| To me (and many others), Reagan was the greatest President of the 20th century, Lincoln of the 19th century and Washington of the 18th century. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that Reagan & Lincoln would tie.
You crack me up, Brian. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 9:26 AM BVBigBro |
| You needed to put Polk, the conquerer on. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 1:19 PM kris |
| I'm a little bitter about the lack of support for Borlaug. It's a billion people, people! |
| # June 2nd, 2005 2:18 PM BrianH |
| I'd never heard of him. Here I thought Tesla was the great unknown inventor.
One thing that comes to mind, these days I think Borlaung's work would be protested by the same people who are afraid of GMO's. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 2:26 PM kris |
| Oh Borlaug's work has been protested a-plenty by people who don't get it. That's why his efforts to do for Africa what he did for India have been thwarted. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 2:42 PM PackerFan63 |
| I am with methodical: George Washington Carver was an amazing person. Spiritual, humble, practical, caring, unassuming, and off-the-chart brilliant.
However, from the choices, gotta go with Edison. He changed the world. No Edison = no A.G. Bell, no Borlaug, and the Wright Brothers flew in the dark. |
| # June 2nd, 2005 3:06 PM BrianH |
| PackerFan63,
You really should look at Tesla's work. He was a contemporary of Edison and invented most of the technology that makes Edisons light bulbs work today. Kris, I really need to read more about Borlag. The short biography you posted is impressive! It saddens me that the short sighted protests of the loonies can cause so much starvation and suffering in the world. Unfortunately, I'm not surprised that they prevented him from saving even more people. |
| # June 3rd, 2005 1:38 AM Squibbly |
| Somehow I think that Franklin is getting a few extra votes for his role as a statesman. I really don't think that he was our greatest SCIENTIST.
I voted for Jonas Salk. He pretty much eradicated polio. I haven't seen any stats quantifying potential lives he may have saved, probably not a billion, but still significant. I agree with BrianH too, though. Borlaug is very impressive, someone I'd want to read more about. My PhD ChemE hubby prefers the Wright Brothers. |
| # June 3rd, 2005 7:37 AM kris |
| For those that want to know more about Borlaug, here's a great story by Gregg Easterbrook about him
It's funny, both he and Mark Felt are 91-years old, but one is far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far more worthy of being called a hero. And it's not the one getting all the attention and not the one with the family wondering how they can cash in. |
| # June 3rd, 2005 8:50 AM BrianH |
| I've read a few other articles like that one since yesterday. I find it amazing that the lefties were (and still are) protesting him even when he was saving millions. Before there was the "GMO's are evil" mantra there were the "you can't produce food as a rate faster than polulation growth so you shouldn't try" mantra. The environmentalists strongly objected to using fertilizers to keep the production high. The socialists worried that farmers might become wealthy. All arguments to support starvation. Those people are disgusting.
I think you've pointed me to a new unsung hero. I'll start singing his tune from now on so he hopefully won't remain unsung: http://www.agbioworld.org/biotech-info/topics/borlaug/borlaug-rap.html And it appears he is active in supporting GMO's. Some of the links I found talked about the golden rice that could prevent malnutrition for many children. But of course the lefties are fighting that too. |
Log in here
or Get an Account here.