Scientist entrepreneurs

There are many famous scientists and popular entrepreneurs around the world. Today’s ease and comfort can be attributed to the scientific innovations that surround us. There have been many great scientists who were also successful entrepreneurs. What made them successful scientist entrepreneurs? 

Curiosity, imagination, solid reasoning skills, and self-confidence are some of the characteristics of scientists.

Read on to know more about some of the most famous scientists turned entrepreneurs in history.

Few successful scientist entrepreneurs

Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison, an American scientist and entrepreneur was born in Milan, Ohio, on February 11, 1847. At the age of 12, he started selling newspapers and soon at the age of 15, he started his newspaper, the “Grand Trunk Herald.” He also started a research laboratory in New Jersey. Thomas invented electric light bulbs, motion pictures, music players, and car batteries. With 1093 patents, Edison holds the record for the most ever granted by the US Patent, and Trademark Office. He organized a group of high-powered investors and formed the Edison Illuminating Company in 1880. His goal was to introduce light bulbs to the public by making them cheap. He also started more than a hundred businesses and partnerships.  He focussed more on market-driven problems, allowing him to develop highly successful enterprises in cement, storage battery, picture, and phonograph industries. His first successful invention was the “Universal Stock Printer.”

James H Clark

James H Clark, an American entrepreneur and computer scientist was born on March 23, 1944, in Plainview, Texas. Clark was the founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, Healtheon, myCFO, and Shutterfly.

Clark founded Silicon Graphics (SGI) in 1991, a company that created high-quality visual effects and 3-D images for the film. It led to the global production of visual effects for Hollywood films and 3-D imaging. By 1994, he had sold his shares and left the company and had founded Netscape—a tech company that had introduced the widely popular web browser, Navigator. In 1996, he founded Healtheon, which merged with WebMD. Clark entered the billionaire’s club when American Online (AOL) purchased Netscape for $4.2 billion in 1998. He was also chairman and board member of Shutterly, a digital photo sharing and storage website. CommandScape is his new successful start-up and his current net worth is $900 million. 

James Watson

James Dewey Watson was born in Chicago, Illinois, on April 6, 1926. With a net worth of $20 billion, he is the world’s richest scientist. Watson is a geneticist, biologist, and zoologist who was a key member in the discovery of the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. In 1962, Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He has appeared in many television documentaries, has written many science books, and published many research papers.

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was a leading figure in early American history. He was a statesman, writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat. He was born in a Boston family and had little formal education. His inventions include devices such as lightning rods, bifocals, the iron furnace stove, a carriage odometer and the harmonica. By the age of 24, Franklin was a successful scientist entrepreneur, owning a print shop, a newspaper, and a general store. He was one of the wealthiest men of his time as a result of his businesses and the commercialization of his inventions.

Marie Curie

Marya Sklodowska was born on November 7, 1867, in Warsaw, Poland. 

She arrived in Paris from Poland in 1981 and discovered the elements radium and polonium.

She became the first woman in France to receive a Ph.D. in physics and was awarded the Nobel Prize in both physics and chemistry. She became the first female professor at the University of Paris who contributed to the advancement of radioactivity research. 

Despite many challenges, she became a successful scientist in a male-dominated world and has inspired many women. She is often heralded as a scientific pioneer who also trained many nuclear physicists and radio chemists in her laboratory.