Heroes of Progress: 65 People Who Changed the World

by Alexander C. R. Hammond

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952223679
Publisher:	Cato Institute
Publication date:	03/01/2024
Pages:	350
Sales rank:	286,344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alexander C. R. Hammond is an IEA Free Trade Fellow and Director of the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity. He is also a Senior Fellow at African Liberty and fellow at EPICENTER. Formerly, Alexander was a Policy Analyst at the IEA, a Research Associate in the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, and a Foreign Policy Fellow at Young Voices. SHORT BIO: Alexander C. R. Hammond is an IEA Free Trade Fellow and Director of the Initiative for African Trade and Prosperity. He is also a Senior Fellow at African Liberty and fellow at EPICENTER.

Table of Contents

Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1394-1468) Inventor of the first movable-type printing press. Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536) First modern champion of toleration and peace. John Harrington (1560-1612) Inventor of the first flushable toilet. Mary Astell (1666-1731) Early pioneer of feminist philosophy. James Watt (1736-1819) Inventor of the enhanced design of the steam engine. Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794) Father of modern criminal justice. Alessandro Volta (1745-1827) Inventor of the electric battery. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) Promoter of rational, utility-based laws. Edward Jenner (1749-1823) Pioneer of the smallpox vaccination, the world’s first vaccine. James Madison (1751-1836) Father of the U.S. Constitution. William Wilberforce (1759-1833) Advocate of freedom who helped end slavery in the British Empire and boosted global efforts to end slavery. Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797) Prominent early pioneer of feminist philosophy. Charles Babbage (1791-1871) Designer of the first automatic digital computer. Richard Cobden (1804-1865) Champion of free trade. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) Advocate of free speech, women’s rights, and the harm principle. Jon Snow (1813-1858) Pioneer of anesthesiology and father of epidemiology. Ada Lovelace (1815-1852) The first computer programmer. Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) Advocate of freedom who helped end slavery in the United States. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) Father of microbiology. Joseph Lister (1827-1912) Father of modern surgery. Wilhelm Rontgen (1845-1923) First person to identify x-rays. Kate Sheppard (1847-1934) First successful suffragette leader. Ronald Ross (1857-1932) Discoverer of the spread of malaria via mosquitoes. Karl Landsteiner (1868-1943) Discoverer of the existence of blood groups. Fritz Haber (1868-1935) Co-creator of the Haber-Bosch Process. Carl Bosch (1874-1940) Co-creator of the Haber-Bosch Process, which revolutionized the production of crop fertilizer. Richard Lewisohn (1875-1961) Creator of procedures for blood to be stored outside the body. Willis Carrier (1876-1950) Inventor of the first modern air-conditioning unit. Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) Discoverer of penicillin. Lucy Wills (1888-1964) Discoverer of folic acid’s ability to prevent anemia. Pearl Kendrick (1890-1980) Co-creator of the first whooping cough vaccine. Linn Enslow (1891-1957) Co-creator of the formula to safely use chlorine to purify water. Frederick Banting (1891-1941) Co-creator of the first effective treatment for diabetes. Abel Wolman (1892-1989) Co-creator of the formula to safely use chlorine to purify water. Frederick McKinley Jones (1893-1961) Inventor of the first mobile refrigeration units. Paul Hermann Müller (1899-1965) Discoverer of the insecticide qualities of DDT. Charles Best (1899-1978) Co-creator of the first effective treatment for diabetes. Grace Eldering (1900-1988) Co-creator of the first whooping cough vaccine. Enrico Fermi (1901-1954) Inventor of the first nuclear reactor. George Hitchings (1905-1998) Co-creator of the technique of rational drug design. Virginia Apgar (1909-1974) Creator of the Apgar Score, which dramatically improved newborn babies’ health. Wilhelm Kolff (1911-2009) Inventor of the first kidney dialysis machine. Alan Turing (1912-1954) Computing pioneer who cracked Nazi Germany’s Enigma code, which helped shorten World War II and ensure an Allied victory. Wilson Greatbatch (1919-2011) Inventor of the first implantable pacemaker. Malcom McLean (1913-2001) Developer of the intermodal shipping container. Norman Ernest Borlaug (1914-2009) Father of the green revolution. Jonas Salk (1914-1995) Inventor of the first successful polio vaccine. Benjamin Rubin (1917-2010) Inventor of the bifurcated needle. Gertrude Elion (1918-1999) Co-creator of the technique of rational drug design. James Elam (1918-1995) Co-discoverer of modern CPR. Maurice Hilleman (1919-2005) Creator of over 40 vaccines. Charles Dotter (1920-1985) Inventor of angioplasty. Peter Safar (1924-2003) Co-discoverer of modern CPR. Vasili Arkhipov (1926-1998) Soviet naval officer who likely prevented nuclear war. Paul Lauterbur (1929-2007) Co-creator of the modern MRI machine. Yuan Longping (1930-2021) Creator of the first hybrid rice. Tu Youyou (1930-) Discoverer of the anti-malaria medicine artemisinin. Luc Antonie Montagnier (1932-2022) Co-discoverer of HIV as the cause of AIDS. Peter Mansfield (1933-2017) Co-creator of the modern MRI machine. Raymond Damadian (1936-) Co-creator of the modern MRI machine. Andreas Gruentzig (1939-1985) Improver and popularizer of angioplasty. David Nalin (1941-) Developer of the formula for oral rehydration therapy. Alfred Sommer (1942-) Discoverer of the link between vitamin A deficiency and ill health. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi (1947-) Co-discoverer of HIV as the cause of AIDS. Bill Gates (1955-) Technology entrepreneur who helped make personal computers available for the masses.