Inventor cards: Pre-1600 set

Inventor cards: Pre-1600 set [∞]

Here’s a proposed set of pre-1600 Inventor Cards featuring influential inventors and their contributions. Each card will include:

1. Name of the Inventor
2. Key Invention/Discovery
3. 1-2 Interesting Facts

Card Set: Pre-1600 Inventors

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1. Archimedes (c. 287 BCE – c. 212 BCE)

Invention: Archimedes’ Screw

Interesting Facts:

• Used to raise water for irrigation and drainage.
• Known for shouting “Eureka!” when discovering the principle of buoyancy.

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2. Hero of Alexandria (c. 10 CE – c. 70 CE)

Invention: The Aeolipile (Steam Engine)

Interesting Facts:

• Created the first recorded steam-powered device.
• Wrote about mechanics and automata, influencing future engineering.

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3. Zhang Heng (78 CE – 139 CE)

Invention: Seismoscope (Earthquake Detector)

Interesting Facts:

• Developed an intricate device to detect earthquakes.
• Was also a celebrated astronomer and mathematician in ancient China.

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4. Alhazen (Ibn al-Haytham) (965 CE – c. 1040 CE)

Invention: The Book of Optics

Interesting Facts:

• His work laid the foundation for modern optics.
• Proposed early ideas about the scientific method.

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5. Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400 CE – 1468 CE)

Invention: Movable Type Printing Press

Interesting Facts:

• Revolutionized book production, making books more affordable.
• His invention spurred the European Renaissance and Reformation.

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6. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 CE – 1519 CE)

Invention: Flying Machines (Conceptual Designs)

Interesting Facts:

• Sketched designs for helicopters and parachutes centuries before they were built.
• His studies combined art, engineering, and anatomy.

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7. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (Albucasis) (936 CE – 1013 CE)

Invention: Surgical Instruments

Interesting Facts:

• Known as the “Father of Surgery.”
• Authored a medical encyclopedia used in Europe for centuries.

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8. Su Song (1020 CE – 1101 CE)

Invention: Water-Driven Clock Tower

Interesting Facts:

• His clock used a chain drive mechanism, a precursor to modern clocks.
• Combined astronomy and mechanics in his designs.

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9. Vitruvius (c. 80 BCE – c. 15 BCE)

Invention: Roman Aqueduct Systems

Interesting Facts:

• Authored “De Architectura,” an influential treatise on architecture.
• His work inspired Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

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10. Ismail al-Jazari (1136 CE – 1206 CE)

Invention: Automata and Water-Raising Devices

Interesting Facts:

• Created intricate mechanical devices, including programmable robots.
• His work influenced later European and Islamic engineering.

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