French scientist Pierre Curie lived from 1859 to 1906, while Marie Curie lived from 1867 to 1934. They met at the Sorbonne where Marie was a student and Pierre was a professor (教授) of physics. Together, they discovered "Radium". They won the 1903 Nobel Prize for physics. Marie Curie was the first woman who became a physics professor at the Sorbonne. And in 1911, she won a second Nobel Prize for chemistry.

    Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor who lived from 1847 to 1931 and invented over 1,000 inventions in his lifetime. Two of the most important inventions were the light bulb and the phonograph (留声机), the first thing to record sound. Edison set up a lab in New Jersey in 1876. He made a lot of money by selling one of his earlier inventions.

    Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi lived from 1874 to 1937. His most important invention was a wireless telegraph (无线电报). In 1899, he invented a machine that made it possible to send wireless messages across the country. In 1901, his machine made it possible for the first message to be sent across the Atlantic Ocean. Marconi won the 1909 Noble Prize for physics.

    Alexander Bell invented one of the most widely (广泛的) used inventions of all times—the telephone. He lived from 1847 to 1922, first in Edinburgh, Scotland, then in Canada, and finally in the United States. He invented the first telephone in 1876 which made it possible for voices to be sent. Bell was also interested in inventions which helped the people who couldn't hear well.