Telegraph messenger boy Andrew CarnegieCame to the U.S. from Scotland in 1848; adopted the Bessemer process for making steel and grew Carnegie Steel to more than $8 billion in 2026 dollars. Donated libraries to towns all around the U.S. and founded Carnegie-Mellon University. |
Oil company employee M. Stanley WhittinghamCame to the U.S. from the United Kingdom in 1972; developed lithium-ion battery; Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019. |
Amateur pianist Edward TellerCame to the U.S. from Hungary in 1935. Worked on implosions for atomic bombs. Wanted to build a 50-gigaton hydrogen bomb and lobbied against nuclear test bans. Early climate change alarmist. |
Dry goods merchant Levi StraussCame to the U.S. from Germany in 1847. Stole all the credit for (immigrant from Russia) Jacob W. Davis's invention of the modern riveted blue jean. |