3. Liquid Crystal Display
The history of liquid crystals is a long and interesting one starting with their discovery in 1888 by Friedrich Reinitzer when he found them in cholesterol extracted from carrots. Carrots!
However, it was James Fergason who took the research done by Reinitzer and George Heilmeier (in the 1960s) and expanded it, taking out a substantial number of patents in liquid crystal displays.
Seen as the father of the liquid crystal industry, he started the International Liquid Crystal Company (ILIXCO) and produced the first LCD watch in 1972.