But some inventors stand out in U.S. history for ingenious discoveries that changed life in our country and all over the world. Also: 2 Dividend Legends To Hold ForeverJohn Logie Baird (1888-1946)public domain / wikimedia commonsBaird is credited with inventing the first working television in 1924. George Washington Carver (1864-1943)public domain / wikimedia commonsCarver was born into slavery in Missouri in the last year of the Civil War. Grace Hopper (1906-1992)James S. Davis / Public Domain / Wikimedia CommonsShe was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Selman Waksman (1888-1973)public domain / wikimedia commonsA Ukrainian-born Jewish-American microbiologist, Waksman won the 1952 Nobel Prize in Medicine.