Merton Lloyd  KNOWLES

 1938 - The ballpoint pen is invented (Lazlo Biro, Hungary)

 1938-1944 - Sunscreen is invented (Franz Greiter, Switzerland and Benjamin Green, United States)

 1938 - October 27 - Du Pont announces a name for its new synthetic yarn: nylon.

 1940 - April - 1st electron microscope demonstrated (RCA), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

 1945 - The atomic bomb is invented (J. Robert Oppenheimer, et al., United States)

 The microwave oven was invented accidentally in 1945 by Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer. While testing a magnetron, he noticed microwaves melted a candy bar in his pocket. Experimenting further, he discovered microwaves could cook food quickly. Raytheon patented the process, and by 1947, they built the first commercial microwave oven, called the 'Radarange.' Initially used in commercial settings, microwaves becomes affordable for home use by the 1960s and 1970s, revolutionizing cooking.

 1948 - Velcro is invented (George de Mestral, Switzerland)

 1968 - The ATM is invented (Don Wetzel, United States)

 The cell phone was invented by Martin Cooper of Motorola. On April 3, 1973, he made the first handheld mobile phone call with the Motorola DynaTAC. This device weighed 2.5 pounds and was 10 inches long, offering 30 minutes of talk time and requiring 10 hours to charge. The first commercial cell phone was released in 1983, revolutionizing communication and leading to the modern smartphones we use today.

1981 - June 5 - First reported case of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

 1982 - The camcorder is invented (Sony Corp., Japan)

 1983 - The laptop computer is invented (Radio Shack Corp., United States)

 1989 - The World Wide Web is invented at CERN (Tim Berners-Lee, UK)