List of Bulgarian inventors and discoverers

Bulgaria - Coat of Arms "Unity Makes Strength"

This is a List of Bulgarian inventors and discoverers, working locally or overseas. The list comprises people from Bulgaria and also people of predominantly Bulgarian heritage.

Education

The Cyrillic Alphabet, invented by St. Clement of Ohrid and used by most Slavic people (right). Its predecessor - the Glagolitic alphabet by Sts. Cyril and Methodius (left).

• St. Clement of Ohrid - a Bulgarian scholar and writer, the most prominent disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius and the inventor of the Cyrillic alphabet. This alphabetic writing system is employed across Eastern Europe and North and Central Asia.

Computer Science and Technology

Prof. John Atanasoff, the inventor of the computer.

• John Atanasoff - best known for inventing the first digital electronic computer. Prof. Atanasoff invented the first electronic digital computer in the 1930s at Iowa State College. Challenges to his claim were resolved in 1973 when the Honeywell v. Sperry Rand lawsuit ruled that Atanasoff was the inventor of the computer.^[1][2][3][4] His special-purpose machine has been called the Atanasoff–Berry Computer.

Physics

Prof. Georgi Nadjakov discovered the photoelectrets.

Prof. Ivan Stranski, the father of the kinetic theory of crystal growth (1940)

• Georgi Nadjakov - discovered the photoelectret state essential to modern photocopying.
• Ilia Valkov (Yull Brown) - Prof. Brown is the inventor of the Brown's gas - oxyhydrogen - a mixture of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) gases.
• Ivan Stranski - Prof. Stranski is considered the father of the kinetic theory of crystal growth research.^[5][6] The Stranski-Krastanov growth and the Kossel-Stranski model have been named after him.

Technology

• Ivan (John) Notchev designed the engines for the lunar module "Eagle" (Apollo 11 mission) used during the first landing on the Moon, solving the challenges faced at low gravity. The "Eagle" was used by the American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin.^[7][8]
• Petar Petroff - developed the prototype of the digital electronic watch, named "Pulsar".^[9]
• Assen Yordanoff - Telephone system for automatic answering, recording messages, and recording normal conversations. Assen Yordanoff invented the Jordaphone, the predecessor of the modern answering machine and tape recorder. Jordaphone Corp of America: US Patent US2539139A. Jordaphone. Jordaphone Corp of America: US Patent USD161842S. Telephone recorder cabinet

Medicine

• Stamen Grigorov - discovered Lactobacillus bulgaricus, patented bacteria used for the production of yogurt in 1905. The bacterium feeds on lactose to produce lactic acid, which is used to preserve milk.
• Ivan Mitev - discovered the sixth heart sound.^[10]
• Samuel Refetoff - discovered the Refetoff syndrome, resistance to thyrotropin (RTSH) and the inherited defect that affects the metabolism of thyroid hormones through mutations in SECISBP2 gene.^[11]

Pharmacology

Prof. Carl Djerassi, the inventor of the oral contraceptive pill.

• Carl Djerassi - a Jewish-Austrian-Bulgarian chemist, novelist, and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of oral contraceptive pills.^[12][13][14]
• Stamen Grigorov - Dr. Grigorov made a major contribution to the creation of an anti-tuberculosis vaccine.
• Dimitar Paskov - created the medicine Nivalin, used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and various other memory impairments, in particular those of vascular origin.

Astronomy

• Dimitar Sasselov - in 2002 sighted the farthest planet from the Earth discovered until then - OGLE-TR-56b.

Aircraft

Assen Jordanoff, inventor, engineer, and aviator-pioneer.

• Assen Jordanoff - Jordaphone - the predecessor of the modern answering machine and tape recorder. Frozen Gasoline System for airplanes. Reverse Thrust device for jet engines.
• Simeon Petrov - Captain Simeon Petrov, Bulgarian Air Force, invented the world's first purpose-built air-to-surface bomb in 1912. The innovations included aerodynamically stabilized x-tail and an impact detonator. The majority of aircraft bombs to date follow Petrov's design. The Bulgarian Air Force deployed the original prototype, thus becoming the first military force in the world to conduct tactical airplane bombing in a full-scale war in 1912.
• Christo Toprakchiev, a Bulgarian Air Force pilot in 1912, during the First Balkan War first proposed the use of aircraft to drop "bombs" (called grenades in the Bulgarian army at this time) and performed the mission on Turkish positions.^[15]

Automotive

• Roumen Antonov - invented a revolutionary continuously variable transmission.^[16]Antonov Transmission
• Assen Jordanoff - invented the airbag for aircraft pilots that is nowadays used in automobiles.

Literature

Elias Canetti, Nobel laureate in Literature (1981).

• Elias Canetti - Nobel laureate in Literature 1981 "for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power"^[17]

Art

• Early Renaissance - The world famous frescos in the Boyana Church from 1239 AD have been described by Andre Grabar and many scholars, as Early Renaissance or precursors of Renaissance Art well before this period started in Italy. The murals are work of the unknown Boyana Master and his disciples who are believed to have been representatives of the Tarnovo Art School in the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396 AD). The frescos have been compared to the work of Giotto who is generally considered the first in a line of great artists who contributed to the Italian Renaissance. The Boyana Church has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage site. UNESCOArcheology in Bulgaria

Culture

• Vaklush Tolev - Way of Wisdom Society Association

See also

List of Bulgarian inventions and creations

References

1. ↑ Invitation to Computer Science. Retrieved 2014-02-08. 
2. ↑ John Vincent Atanasoff. The father of the computer. (October 4, 1903 – June 15, 1995)
3. ↑ Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Retrieved 2014-02-08. 
4. ↑ Portraits in Silicon. Retrieved 2014-02-08. 
5. ↑ Sretenova, Nikolina. "Ivan N. Stranski: An Exciting Journey to the Academic Top". Union of Scientists in Bulgaria. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
6. ↑ "Iwan Nikolà STRANSKI (1897 – Sofia – 1979)" (in German). History and Foundations of Quantum Physics. Retrieved 2009-08-06. 
7. ↑ "Bulgarians That Built Modern America", Alexander Valchev, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (2003), ISBN 978-9549126136
8. ↑ Bulgarian Scientific Thought and Progress in the World, Advances in Bulgarian Science - 2-2005
9. ↑ Peter D. Petroff Dies at 83; Devised a Digital Wristwatch
10. ↑ The 6th heart sound. Mitev I. Arch Mal Coeur Vaiss. 1977 Mar; 70(3):265-72
11. ↑ SAMUEL REFETOFF, MD, Interview conducted by Michael Chappelle, June 4, 2011
12. ↑ Robert D. McFadden (January 31, 2015). "Carl Djerassi, 91, a Creator of the Birth Control Pill, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2015. Carl Djerassi, an eminent chemist who 63 years ago synthesized a hormone that changed the world by creating the key ingredient for the oral contraceptive known as 'the pill,' died at his home in San Francisco on Friday. He was 91. His son, Dale, said the cause was complications of liver and bone cancer.... 
13. ↑ Ball P (2015) "Carl Djerassi", Nature 519(7541), 34.
14. ↑ Zare, R. N. (2015). "Carl Djerassi (1923-2015)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition: n/a. doi:10.1002/anie.201501335. 
15. ↑ Capt Arthur H. Wagner Uscg (Ret), Arthur H. Wagner, Leon E. Braxton, Ltcol Leon E. (Bill) (2012). Birth of a Legend. Trafford Publishing. p. 27. 
16. ↑ Linde, Arvid, 2011, Preston Tucker & Others: Tales of Brilliant Automotive Innovations, Veloce Publishing PLC, ISBN 978-1-84584-017-4
17. ↑ "Nobel Prize in Literature 1981". Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 2008-10-17.