When singer Frank Sinatra famously crooned about New York, ‘If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere, ‘ he could have been talking about New York’s great inventors whose works have travelled across the globe. New York has been a hotbed of innovation since its founding.
Made in New York tells the stories behind the innovators and their inventions. Like many New Yorkers, some came from elsewhere to find success in their new home. Some became famous; others struggled for recognition. All were visionaries and risk-takers who were willing to put their lives on the line if necessary. From the first brassiere to the life-saving pacemaker, and from a solar lantern to the first mass-produced cameras, New York has been the seedbed of life-changing technologies that have altered how we live.
Made in New York celebrates these compelling stories.
Table of Content
List of Illustrations
Introduction: Made in New York
1. The Dry Cleaner and the Abolitionist (1821)
2. A Diamond Is Forever: Devising the Rules of Baseball (1845)
3. The High-Class Origin of the Potato Chip (1850)
4. Going Up: The Elevator Makes New York Skyscrapers Possible (1854)
5. The Submarine Paid For by Irish Rebels (1881)
6. The First Roller Coaster (1884)
7. Photography’s Kodak Moment (1887)
8. The Machinery of Democracy (1892)
9. Tesla Invents the Remote Control (1898)
10. The Cool Machine (1902)
11. The Teddy Bear Is Born in Brooklyn (1902)
12. The Teenage Debutante Who Let Women Breathe Easier (1910)
13. The Man Who Streamlined America (1934)
14.
Scrabble Games the World (1938)
15. The Invisible Woman Makes
Gone with the Wind a Hit Movie (1939)
16. Batman Is Born in the Bronx (1939)
17. The Bloodmobile Drives to War (1940)
18. The Atomic Woman (1945)
19. The LP Makes Vinyl a Hit Record (1948)
20. How to Mend a Broken Heart (1960)
21. New York Traffic Inspires the Maglev Train (1966)
22. A Queens Nurse Invents the Security Camera (1966)
23. Break This: The Birth of Hip-Hop (1973)
24. The Body Scanner (1977)
25. Solar Lights Up the Dangerous Dark (2015)
Index
About the author
Frank Vizard is a former editor with
Popular Science magazine and a contributor to publications ranging from
Luxury Magazine to
USA Today. He is the coauthor (with Phil Scott) of
21st Century Soldier, editor of
Why a Curveball Curves, and the author of
Screamer. He lives in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
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