3. The accidental life-saver
In 1958, circuitry enthusiast Wilson Greatbatch was on a mission to mend hearts that wouldn’t pump properly. While building an oscillator to record heart beat sounds, he accidentally installed the wrong transistor in the device. When he turned it on he heard the rhythmic lub-dub of a healthy heart, making it ideal for pulsating signals to the heart. The pacemaker was born.
Greatbatch profited handsomely from his invention and invested in other projects. He went on to found his company, Greatbatch Inc, in 1970 which went on to become a leading power-component supplier for the entire medical device industry and later expanded into related businesses.