10 Great Inventions Made by Terrible People

10 Great Inventions Made by Terrible People

Welcome to WatchMojo and today we are looking at major world-changing inventions whose inventors had dark, disturbing, or outright unethical streaks that history hasn’t forgotten.

J. Marion Sims & the Vaginal Speculum

He was praised as the “father of modern gynecology,” but the reality behind his work was nothing less than horrifying. J. Marion Sims developed various surgical techniques and instruments in the 1840s. The most notable was the vaginal speculum. Unfortunately, it wasn’t Sim’s invention that was inherently evil, but rather how he came about developing it: by experimenting on enslaved Black women in Alabama. Sims performed surgeries without anesthesia. He was said to believe that Black women didn’t feel pain the same way as white women did. While his medical innovations have had a lasting influence, they were developed at the expense of unimaginable suffering. Sims’ legacy is now a fierce debate that questions whether we should honor his invention or forever condemn the monstrous methods behind it.

Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone

The telephone allowed human voices to travel instantly across large distances. It is one of the most revolutionary inventions in human history. Alexander Graham Bell is the man credited with the breakthrough. While his invention brought everyone a little closer, Bell wasn’t exactly a saint. Known for his aggressive patent disputes, Bell reportedly relished in crushing rival inventors working on similar concepts like Elisha Gray. To stoke his ruthless competitive streak, Bell used legal and financial maneuvers to ensure his name went down in history. A world without instant communication now seems unimaginable. Bell’s story is a cautionary tale and reminder that innovation often comes at the cost of fairness and collaboration.

James Watson & the Double Helix

The discovery of the double helix structure of DNA transformed the fields of biology and medicine. James Watson was co-credited for this discovery and got his name etched into the annals of science. History, meanwhile, has not been too kind to him. Watson’s personal behavior overshadowed much of his scientific fame. He infamously suggested intelligence was linked to race and allegedly frequently made racist and sexist remarks. His dismissive treatment of Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray work was crucial to the discovery of the double helix, made matters worse. Despite being awarded the Nobel Prize, Watson was stripped of many honors in his late life as institutions distanced themselves from his views. The double helix was a beautiful discovery, but Watson’s legacy remains ugly.

Jack Parsons & Rocket Propulsion

Before NASA came along, there was Jack Parsons. Parsons was a rocketry trailblazer who laid the groundwork for modern space travel. His experiments with rocket propulsion helped what was once considered fringe science become serious research and the backbone of the modern Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Parsons’ science was on point, but his personal life was straight out of a pulp novel. He was deeply involved in occult practices that confounded his contemporaries. From Aleister Crowley’s Thelema movement to notorious wild rituals, substance use, and illegal activities, Parsons is remembered for his genius and his madness. While his rockets pointed toward the stars, Parsons himself lived in the shadows of the occult.

Fritz Haber & Synthetic Fertilizer

The discovery of synthetic fertilizer allowed industrial agriculture to flourish. Fritz Haber was the man who made this possible. He came up with the nitrogen fixation process, crucial for nitrogen-based fertilizers. From feeding billions of people to arguably preventing global famine, Haber’s invention saved many lives, but his legacy came at the cost of a horrific contradiction. Haber also trailblazed chemical weapons, such as chlorine gas, used by Germany during World War I. His weapons unleashed new horrors and changed the face of war. Haber’s wife, also a chemist, tragically took her own life, supposedly in protest of his work. Haber’s story demonstrates how one mind can both sustain life and invoke death.

William Shockley’s Transistor

A cornerstone of modern electronics, the transistor is the reason we have smartphones, computers, and most of today’s digital world as we know it. William Shockley, a physicist, was part of the team that invented the transistor and would later win a Nobel Prize. While the transistor revolutionized technology, Shackley’s apparent personal beliefs turned his reputation toxic. Shockley was a vocal supporter of eugenics, promoting racist theories about intelligence and genetics. His obsession with these ideas turned his colleagues away. This left behind a man with a tarnished legacy and among the most disliked figures in the scientific community. Although Shockley’s transistor was a monumental breakthrough in science, he has become infamously known for spreading pseudoscience.

Guglielmo Marconi’s Radio

If Bell’s telephone connected localities, Guglielmo Marconi’s invention connected continents, transformed media, and paved the way for modern broadcasting as we know it. This was the man who laid the groundwork for modern radio with his development of wireless telegraphy. Unlike his glorious invention, Marconi’s reputation darkened through his political ties. He was an open supporter of Benito Mussolini and aligned himself with Italy’s fascist regime. Lending his name and prestige to authoritarian propaganda, Marconi became a unique reflection of how invention and ideology can intertwine in troubling ways. The radio remains one of history’s great communication tools, while its inventor is rather remembered with a legacy compromised by politics and power.

Hans Geiger & the Geiger Counter

Radiation, in its advent, was considered an invisible but deadly and mysterious force. Then came along an individual who found a means to quantify and detect it. His name was Hans Geiger, the inventor of the Geiger counter. An essential device in 20th-century science and medicine, the Geiger counter is an indispensable tool for nuclear safety. Much like what the counter measures, its inventor’s story carries disturbing undertones. Geiger was affiliated with the Nazi Party during World War II. He contributed to military projects that furthered the party’s ambitions. Contrary to his invention that has helped safeguard future generations, Geiger’s own actions during one of history’s darkest periods are a blemish on his legacy.

Henry Ford’s Assembly Line

Here is an individual who is credited with helping the middle class take off. He did this by making cars affordable for everyday people. The man’s name was Henry Ford. He left an indelible mark on the manufacturing industry, coming up with the concept of an assembly line. His innovation turned the popular Model T into the car that put America on wheels. But Ford himself was a man of troubling views and actions. Openly anti-Semitic, Ford published vile conspiracy theories in his newspaper, “The Dearborn Independent.” He also clashed with labor unions, using harsh tactics against workers. Although Ford shaped modern manufacturing and production practices, his personal bigotry, prejudice, and hostility toward workers stall his claim to moral greatness.

Thomas Edison & the Light Bulb

The light bulb is often used as a symbol of human ingenuity. In contrast, its creator’s darker side demonstrates its story isn’t as bright as it seems. Thomas Edison is remembered as one of history’s greatest inventors. Today, there are major doubts about his credibility. Edison was notorious for stealing credit, particularly from Nikola Tesla, and reportedly used ruthless business tactics to crush rivals. During the “War of the Currents,” Edison staged brutal demonstrations of electrocution to discredit Tesla’s alternating current. While he basked in fame, Edison also exploited his workers and pushed them to exhaustion. The light bulb may have illuminated many a dark household in its advent, but its inventor leaves behind a legacy proving how brilliance often burns in the dark.

Which of these inventors do you think history should judge most harshly? Let us know in the comments.