John Garand was a civil service employee. As the chief civilian engineer at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts, he invented a semiautomatic .30-caliber rifle known as the M1 or the "Garand." His ...

During World War I, machine guns were heavy, crew-served weapons. Their operation required several soldiers. Even so-called light machine guns could not easily be handled by single soldiers. To meet ...

As a young man, King C. Gillette (1855-1932) worked as a traveling salesman. Always interested in inventions, King received a number of patents, none more important than one for a disposable safety ...

The Volta Laboratory’s commercial successes—a way to engrave sound on a wax cylinder and a new machine to record cylinders and play them back called the graphophone—transformed Thomas Edison’s ...

Anodized aluminum tumblers were commonly used for serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks at backyard cookouts. The anodizing process increased the thickness of the oxide layer on metallic ...

"I remember this circumstance very well because of the excitement and surprise and incredulity which he manifested at the time. He asked me over and over again what it was." (William D. Coolidge, ...