Doug Engelbart, who has died aged 88, never really made any money from inventing the mouse. Here are 10 others who didn't get to be billionaires.

1. LEDs
When Nick Holonyak Jr invented the first practically useful LED in 1962 he predicted it would one day replace Edison's lightbulb. Holonyak's colleagues have said he should be given the Nobel Prize but he humbly says: "It's ridiculous to think that somebody owes you something. We're lucky to be alive, when it comes down to it."

2. Post-It Notes
3M sell billions of Post-It Notes each year but its inventors describe themselves as "comfortably off" not wealthy. They were the co-creation of Dr Spencer Silver, who in 1968 developed an adhesive that had a "removability characteristic", and his colleague Art Fry hit on the idea of a bookmark that would stay in place in his hymnbook.

3. AK-47
The Kalashnikov rifle, or AK-47, was invented by Soviet Army soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov while recovering in hospital from injuries sustained in World War II. Kalashnikov claimed his creation was for the benefit of his country.

4. Sapphire stylus
Marie Killick invented a sapphire stylus for a record player but could not license it and despite years of litigation never made any money. In 1958 she won a lawsuit against Pye but went bankrupt the following year.

5. Hovercraft
Sir Christopher Cockerell used a vacuum cleaner and tin cans to test his theories as he developed the hovercraft, which first crossed between Calais and Dover in 1959. Cockerell was knighted but fought for years to get a lump sum from the National Research Development Corporation.

6. Tetris
Russian computer programmer Alexey Pajitnov's game Tetris was developed alongside colleagues at a Russian government-funded research centre in 1985. He only started getting royalties 10 years later when he formed The Tetris Company.

7. The Wind-Up Radio
Inventor Trevor Baylis recently said he can no longer afford to live in his home in Twickenham, London, because despite millions of sales around the globe, the company he went into business with were able to tweak his design and he lost control over the product and profits.

"Most of us don't do it for the money but for the buzz," says Baylis. "I know that at least I've left my mark with the radio, the wind-up torch and other things I've invented."

8. Karaoke machines
Japanese businessman Daisuke Inoue made money from playing drums in a backing band which let bar goers take the mic and have a go at singing. One time when he couldn't make a gig he put the backing music on tape instead and later made 11 Karaoke (empty orchestra) machines which he leased out. He didn't patent his invention and barely made a yen.

9. MP3
The MP3 quickly became the standard for transferring music over the internet. German PhD student Karlheinz Brandenburg started work on the project in the 1980s but because there was no money to distribute the software it was marketed as shareware.

10. World Wide Web
And finally, no-one would have stumbled across this list save for Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who created the web to help scientists working at the European research lab at Cern. He says the secret of the rapid success of his invention was the fact he made it freely available.

Not all inventors are driven to make money but some want to make a contribution to the "common good", says Dr Tilly Blyth, Keeper of Engineering and Technology at the Science Museum.

"We tend to focus on the commercial development but in fact its often public and government research that has got it to that stage," Dr Blyth says. "If you look at the iPhone you think it's a great invention from Steve Jobs and Apple but look at the vital components like the screen, the chip and the processor and their origins were all in government-funded research."

"A lot of the real cutting-edge research comes from the pure and blue sky thinking done in public research facilities for the good of humanity rather than to make money."


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23179103

All I can say is "thank you" to everybody that has made the world transform positively to what it is today.

Kudos to d makers of civilisation, they'll never b forgotten hia on earth.They'll reap dia billions in heaven.

Psalhadeen: Kudos to d makers of civilisation, they'll never b forgotten hia on earth.They'll reap dia billions in heaven.

U sure they re in heaven??

The guy weh invent that ak-47 no try at all.

Itoroetti :
The guy weh invent that ak-47 no try at all.

@ topic, Thanks to them all.

Geniuses

How do you a expect someone that invented AK47 to be a billionaire?

Thanks to the inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle

U 4got d inventors of garri stick in ibadan.

Itoroetti :
The guy weh invent that ak-47 no try at all.

Give your reasons

Itoroetti :
The guy weh invent that ak-47 no try at all.

by their chat we shall no dem smh

am off to inventing something...anything sha dat hasnt being invented...maybe a fart detector or a nose sneezer...but the irony is dat it wont be for free o...lai lai ?

Am sure number 3 still owed God wherever he is today.All because he went to war and come that is why he turn d world into what its today.Der ist Penner.

jagabanban:

3. AK-47
The Kalashnikov rifle, or AK-47, was invented by Soviet Army soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov while recovering in hospital from injuries sustained in World War II. Kalashnikov claimed his creation was for the benefit of his country.

The benefit of his country but the doom of the society.

In between there are hundreds of scientific inventions better than the quoted which the inventors gave out for free.

Promhize: U 4got d inventors of garri stick in ibadan.

so

Why is NIKOLA TESLA not on the list? And I believe him to have contributed to the society more than most people listed above.

Promhize: U 4got d inventors of garri stick in ibadan.

yes, and ALOMO

I will try to invent corruption detection machine as it will be useful in Nigeria . . . . . . But I don't think this fisherman will allow me.

Most of them did'nt deserve to be mega rich.

You want the inventor of AK-47 to die rich?

11.NAIRALAND:seun invented Nairaland to make us happy........

jagabanban:
10. World Wide Web
And finally, no-one would have stumbled across this list save for Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who created the web to help scientists working at the European research lab at Cern. He says the secret of the rapid success of his invention was the fact he made it freely available.

Not all inventors are driven to make money but some want to make a contribution to the "common good", says Dr Tilly Blyth, Keeper of Engineering and Technology at the Science Museum.

"We tend to focus on the commercial development but in fact its often public and government research that has got it to that stage," Dr Blyth says. "If you look at the iPhone you think it's a great invention from Steve Jobs and Apple but look at the vital components like the screen, the chip and the processor and their origins were all in government-funded research."

"A lot of the real cutting-edge research comes from the pure and blue sky thinking done in public research facilities for the good of humanity rather than to make money."


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23179103

What happened to Emeagweali Philip? - the real father of the internet.

Money isn't a motivating factor for great inventors, they invent things for the good of mankind, and to secure their names in history.

mactoni91: ARE U FEELING BORED?
AND U ARE WONDERING WHAT TO
DO?
It's simple.. (Follow these steps)
1. Open ur zip
2. Insert ur hand
3. Slowly take out your
.
.
.
.
. . .
.
.
.
. .
. .
.
.
. .
.
. .
.
. .
.
.
. .
.
.
.
.
Pen & Paper from ur bag and write: "I love you DAD and MOM" 10000 times!!
Hahahaha
ur mind had already gone down
d gutter.. Lol.
Dirty Mind..
HIT THE LIKE IF I GOT YA

U mad, bro?

Itoroetti :
The guy weh invent that ak-47 no try at all.

but he had the intention of protecting his country, he did not invent Ak47 to destroy his political opponents but to help his country against any fort coming war. Therefore he tried very well for his country.

Ermm Seun should had been on the list.

jagabanban: Doug Engelbart, who has died aged 88, never really made any money from inventing the mouse. Here are 10 others who didn't get to be billionaires.

1. LEDs
When Nick Holonyak Jr invented the first practically useful LED in 1962 he predicted it would one day replace Edison's lightbulb. Holonyak's colleagues have said he should be given the Nobel Prize but he humbly says: "It's ridiculous to think that somebody owes you something. We're lucky to be alive, when it comes down to it."

2. Post-It Notes
3M sell billions of Post-It Notes each year but its inventors describe themselves as "comfortably off" not wealthy. They were the co-creation of Dr Spencer Silver, who in 1968 developed an adhesive that had a "removability characteristic", and his colleague Art Fry hit on the idea of a bookmark that would stay in place in his hymnbook.

3. AK-47
The Kalashnikov rifle, or AK-47, was invented by Soviet Army soldier Mikhail Kalashnikov while recovering in hospital from injuries sustained in World War II. Kalashnikov claimed his creation was for the benefit of his country.

4. Sapphire stylus
Marie Killick invented a sapphire stylus for a record player but could not license it and despite years of litigation never made any money. In 1958 she won a lawsuit against Pye but went bankrupt the following year.

5. Hovercraft
Sir Christopher Cockerell used a vacuum cleaner and tin cans to test his theories as he developed the hovercraft, which first crossed between Calais and Dover in 1959. Cockerell was knighted but fought for years to get a lump sum from the National Research Development Corporation.

6. Tetris
Russian computer programmer Alexey Pajitnov's game Tetris was developed alongside colleagues at a Russian government-funded research centre in 1985. He only started getting royalties 10 years later when he formed The Tetris Company.

7. The Wind-Up Radio
Inventor Trevor Baylis recently said he can no longer afford to live in his home in Twickenham, London, because despite millions of sales around the globe, the company he went into business with were able to tweak his design and he lost control over the product and profits.

"Most of us don't do it for the money but for the buzz," says Baylis. "I know that at least I've left my mark with the radio, the wind-up torch and other things I've invented."

8. Karaoke machines
Japanese businessman Daisuke Inoue made money from playing drums in a backing band which let bar goers take the mic and have a go at singing. One time when he couldn't make a gig he put the backing music on tape instead and later made 11 Karaoke (empty orchestra) machines which he leased out. He didn't patent his invention and barely made a yen.

9. MP3
The MP3 quickly became the standard for transferring music over the internet. German PhD student Karlheinz Brandenburg started work on the project in the 1980s but because there was no money to distribute the software it was marketed as shareware.

10. World Wide Web
And finally, no-one would have stumbled across this list save for Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who created the web to help scientists working at the European research lab at Cern. He says the secret of the rapid success of his invention was the fact he made it freely available.

Not all inventors are driven to make money but some want to make a contribution to the "common good", says Dr Tilly Blyth, Keeper of Engineering and Technology at the Science Museum.

"We tend to focus on the commercial development but in fact its often public and government research that has got it to that stage," Dr Blyth says. "If you look at the iPhone you think it's a great invention from Steve Jobs and Apple but look at the vital components like the screen, the chip and the processor and their origins were all in government-funded research."

"A lot of the real cutting-edge research comes from the pure and blue sky thinking done in public research facilities for the good of humanity rather than to make money."


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23179103

What invention has the Nigerian government funded since 1960.That is about 52 yrs now.Our past governmnent were as useless as their ethnic followers.

While serious countries sponsor researches,our country spends money on frustrating our scientists.The reason they migrate to countries that take them serious.

Standing5:

What happened to Emeagweali Philip? - the real father of the internet.

He is black,so forget it.

Lordave: How do you a expect someone that invented AK47 to be a billionaire?

Do you know how many Ak47 plus variants are sold world wide? If that guy was in the west he probably would have been.