20th-century American engineers

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum theory. His mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2, which arises from special relativity, has been called "the world's most famous equation". He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for "his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect".

American inventor and businessman (1847–1931)

Neil Alden Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who, as the commander of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, became the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot and university professor.

Serbian-American engineer and inventor (1856–1943)

American business magnate (1863–1947)

Elon Reeve Musk is a businessman and entrepreneur known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X, and xAI. Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025; as of April 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$809 billion.

American aviation pioneers

Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American businessman, the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and cloud computing company. According to Forbes, as of December 2025, Bezos's estimated net worth is US$239.4 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world. He was the wealthiest person from 2017 to 2021, according to Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

German and later American aerospace engineer and space architect (1912–1977)

American computer pioneer, inventor, computer engineer and programmer; co-founder of Apple Inc.

American physicist and engineer (1908–1991)

American physicist and inventor (1910–1989)

American computer scientist and United States Navy officer (1906–1992)

Italian-born American film director (1897–1991)

American experimental physicist, inventor, and professor (1911–1988)

Nobel prize winning US scientist and engineer (born 1956)

American aviator, engineer, industrialist, and film producer (1905–1976)

Japanese doctor of Engineering (1954-), inventor of the blue LED, 2014 Nobel laureate in Physics

American astronaut, first American in space, lunar explorer (1923–1998)

American mathematician and information theorist (1916–2001)

American doctor and NASA astronaut

American aviation pioneer from Russian Empire (1889–1972)

69th United States Secretary of State

Indian-American business executive and CEO of Microsoft

American mechanical engineer (1856–1915)

American astronaut and lunar explorer (1933–2024)

American astronaut (1926–1967)

American electrical engineer and science administrator (1890–1974)

American astronaut (1930-1967)

American computer scientist

American engineer and astronaut (1949–1986)

American engineer, retired U.S. Air Force officer, former test pilot, and former NASA astronaut (born 1932)

American electrical engineer

American astronaut (1930-1991)

Jen-Hsun Huang, commonly anglicized as Jensen Huang, is a Taiwanese and American business executive, electrical engineer, and philanthropist who is the founder, president, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nvidia, the world's most valuable company. As of April 2026, Forbes estimates his net worth at over US$180 billion, making him the seventh-wealthiest individual in the world.

United States Navy commander, NASA astronaut (1935–1967)

American mathematician and aerospace engineer

Applied mathematician, computer scientist, and electrical engineer (1925–1996)

pioneer in computing, original conceptual designer behind IBM's Harvard Mark I computer (1900-1973)

American physicist and radio engineer

NASA Astronaut, Pilot (1931-1982)

American computer scientist (1931–2022); author of The Mythical Man-Month and 'No Silver Bullet' (1986), which distinguished essential from accidental complexity in software engineering

American computer scientist

Hungarian–American scientist and inventor (1900–1995)

United States Army Corps of Engineers officer (1896–1970)

American computer scientist and Internet pioneer

American computer scientist (1949-2003)

American computer scientist

Costa Rican politician (1906–1990)

American astronaut (1924–1993)

American Internet pioneer, computer scientist (born 1938)

American billionaire heir and businessman (1940–2019)

American electrical engineer, businessman, and philanthropist (1912–1996)

American professor, author, and consultant (1900-1993)

American engineer and former astronaut

American physicist (1930-2017)

NASA astronaut (1933-1990)

American actor (born 1929)

Latvian computer scientist (1928–2022)

American theoretical computer scientist (b.1935)