Spoiler alert: forgive us if your favorite inventors are left out of this list. Even Mark Zuckerberg with Facebook and the recent talk of an all-inclusive Metaverse isn't here. Nor will you find tech inventors like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.

Wait, who is included in our list?

This list is STRICTLY trimmed for the pioneers of inventions that are CRUCIAL to our everyday lives. These are the top (top of the top) inventors worth modeling.

Note: social media and computers/smartphones are undoubtedly crucial to our everyday lives. However, we didn't want this list to be about tech inventors.

That said, let's delve in!

Dr. Wu Lien-teh

BTW, the image above is not Dr. Wu's!

Dr. Wu Lien-teh is a Chinese-Malaysian epidemiologist. He featured as a Google doodle on March 10, 2021 - his birthday.

Thanks to Dr. Wu's interventions from a century ago, we have been able to limit the effects of Covid-19.

If you're wondering, Dr. Wu didn't invent the ventilator or the mRNA technology. No, he pioneered something far more precious: using face masks to curtail epidemics.

In 1910, a deadly outbreak similar to Covid-19 (the Manchurian plague) broke out in northeastern China. And Dr. Wu was invited to curtail it.

He (Dr. Wu) noticed that the disease (caused by the notorious Yersinia pestis) can also spread through respiratory droplets and not just via rats and fleas.

To that effect, Dr. Wu suggested the use of cotton-gauze face masks. To date, the intervention is still modeled for controlling the spread of epidemics.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Outside a few 21st-century tech inventors, only a few people come close to Leonardo in terms of inventions. Leo has his feet sunk deep in several vital aspects of society.

Leonardo is a scientist, engineer, architect, and artist. In short, he is the perfect definition of the "Renaissance man."

The astounding thing about Leonardo's inventions is that they transcend his time. Long before airplanes were built, Leo was already studying birds and flights.

Leonardo even went ahead to build the aerial screw that birthed modern helicopters. To date, many of his inventions are still around us.

Some notable examples include:

●Anemometer

●Parachute

●Scuba Gear

Thomas Edison

In the league of inventors, Thomas Edison is not only influential but an overachiever. He churned out innovations at CRAZY rates.

So far, only a few innovators have filed more patents than Thomas Edison. With over 1000 filed patents, the Wizard of Menlo Park (as he's famously called) is one of the top 5 inventors in terms of patents granted.

Imagine a man who died over 9 decades ago still making the top 5! If you're an inventor, you can learn a thing or two about how to patent an invention from Thomas Edison.

Talking about inventions, several of Thomas Edison's creations have been vital to daily living for over a century. Some notable mentions include:

●Electric light bulb

●Motion picture camera

●Phonograph

Nikola Tesla

Like Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla is a wiz. The Serbian-born scientist is a master of physics and mathematics. But we have to add that Tesla is a master of tinkering. His inventions are born from fixing what's not broken.

Here's another thing you might not know about Nikola Tesla:

Tesla worked for Thomas Edison.

After moving to the US, Tesla worked on improving Edison's DC design flaws and was even promised $50K.

Unfortunately, Edison didn't pay the promised sum, which led to rivalry between the two wizards. That rivalry, arguably, propelled Tesla's AC to enviable heights.

After the AC electricity invention, Tesla would later create other innovations. Some of the notable mentions include:

●Induction motor

●Hydroelectric power

●Neon Lamps

Note: Nikola Tesla didn't invent the "Tesla car." The car was named Tesla because it uses Tesla’s AC induction motors.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is undoubtedly one of the most popular enigmatic figures in the 21st century. Do you know that this man actually named one of his companies the "boring company"?

Yes, Elon is weird. But that won't detract from the fact that he is one of the influential inventors today - if not the best.

With just a tweet, Elon can crash the stock market. He is that influential!

And like Leonardo Da Vinci, Elon Musk is close to what we'll call the "Renaissance man." He is involved in electric cars, fintech, spacecraft, internet facilities, renewable energy, and cryptocurrency.

The chances are that Elon Musk probably has other inventions and engagements that haven't surfaced yet. Anyways, we are sure he won't detract from his three core focus:

1. Internet
2. Clean energy
3. Space technology

Overall, Elon's most-used invention is definitely his Tesla car. Elon is one of the first investors in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Thanks to the "PayPal payout."

And since 2003, Elon Musk has COMPLETELY revolutionized the EV industry. Being an influential innovator doesn't get better than that!

And that's the end of our list of the top 5 influential inventors. We hope the stories of the inventors will inspire you to invent an even better product for the world.