Harold Evans is the author of the best-seller "The American Century" and the recently published "They Made America - From the Steam Engine to the Search Engine: Two Centuries of Innovators." He was asked to list his top 10 innovators.

10. Sarah Breedlove Walker - 1867-1919

She turned the Walker System into the largest black business and became the nation's first black female millionaire and a celebrity. Her enduring contribution was to show what someone of her race could achieve.

9. Gary Kildall - 1942-1994

He was the true founder of the personal computer revolution and the father of operating systems for the PC software industry. He laid down the basis for PC networking, graphical interfaces (GUI), and interactive multimedia.

8. Herbert Boyer - 1936-

Co-founder of Genentech, he and his associates are responsible for synthetic Insulin in 1978 and growth hormone in 1979. Founded when Boyer and Robert Swanson (1947-1999) each put up $500, Genentech is now a $51.5 billion company.

7. Edwin L. Drake - 1819-1890

Drilled the first oil well in Titusville, Pa., in 1859

6. Amadeo Peter Giannini - 1870-1949

Before him, banks would not lend money to the average worker. He started a bank in San Francisco that did. He was in the forefront of rebuilding after the 1906 earthquake and lessening the effect of the Depression in California. His bank today is the Bank of America.

5. Leo Hendrik Backeland - 1863-1944

In 1907, he created and manufactured Bakelite, the first manmade plastic and first true synthetic.

4. Edwin Howard Armstrong - 1890-1954

FM, in 1935, was one of four basic discoveries that extended the potential of human communications to the ends of the Earth and beyond.

3. Henry Ford - 1863-1947

The 1908 Model T and the mass-production assembly line.

2. Wilbur (1867-1912) and Orville (1871-1948) Wright

The airplane.

1. Thomas Edison - 1847-1931

Enough said.

Your Big Idea?

Write it down in ink. Whatever it is, keep a record. Note the date. Do a sketch. Number the pages. Do not rub anything out. Explain how you think it will work. Estimate the costs of manufacture.

Sign a confidentiality agreement with two friends you trust - not relatives. Convince them that your idea meets the three criteria for a patent: it is novel, not obvious, and of real utility.

Deal with objections in notes on numbered pages. Leave all the evidence there. Do not erase what you have written before. Have your friends witness the changes.

Keep quiet, act quickly. If your idea has appeared in print anywhere in the world a year before you try for a patent, you will be denied.

Search the patent records to make sure you are first. You can search on-line or hire an attorney that specializes in patents. Be prepared to protect your idea in court.

Source:

Parade magazine, 10/24/2004