Croatian inventors

Croatia has a rich history of inventors and innovators who have made a significant contribution in various fields – from important and great scientific discoveries and achievements to small objects that we use every day and that make our lives much easier.

Nikola Tesla is probably the most famous Croatian inventor. Born in Smiljan, Croatia, in 1856, he studied in Graz and Prague. In his lifetime, he patented countless inventions, but is known primarily for his contributions to the development of modern use of electricity. He invented the electric alternating current system, which is widely used today. Also, among his inventions are the Tesla coil (wireless power transmission mode), rotating magnetic field, induction motor, radio…

Faust Vrančić was born in Šibenik in 1551. In the world, he is known primarily as the inventor of the first parachute, which he designed, made and, most likely, tested. However, he also devised and outlined plans for the first suspension bridge and the first cable car. And in line with the time in which he lived, he was an example of a real Renaissance man: besides inventions, he was engaged in philosophy and linguistics, and in Croatia he is known primarily as the author of the first dictionary of the Croatian language, published in 1595.

Slavoljub Penkala was born in Liptovsky Mikuláš (modern Slovakia) in 1871 and is actually of Polish-Dutch origin, but he chose Zagreb as his home. He spent most of his life in Croatia and designed his widely known patents. His greatest contribution is present in the pencils of schoolchildren: he invented what is now called a technical pencil, but also the first pen with solid ink that did not require dipping the pen in ink. However, his patents did not end there, and some of the more famous ones are the thermos bottle and the rotating toothbrush.

Franjo Hanaman was a Croatian chemist and metallurgist, born in Drenovci in 1878. He was the first to use tungsten filament in the bulb, and elaborated the production process. This marked a turning point in the use of electricity for lighting, as the tungsten filament was able to withstand much higher temperatures than the materials used so far, and thus achieve much better lighting.

Ivan Vučetić, a Croatian-Argentinian policeman and criminalist, was born on Hvar in 1858, from where he emigrated to Argentina. In Argentina, he worked in the police, where he noticed the uniqueness of each fingerprint and developed the first scientific method to identify the perpetrators and victims of crime based on their fingerprints. His ten-finger identification system was used not only in Argentina but also around the world, and was later called the Vučetić system.

Mario Puratić was a fisherman born in 1917 on Brač, from where he emigrated to America in search of a better life. There he continued to practice the same profession, and in order to make the work easier for himself and other fishermen, he designed a device for easier extraction of heavy nets from the sea – the Puratić winch. His invention changed the way people fished not only in America but around the world, and is now an indispensable part of any fishing boat. For the invention of the winch, Puratić was named the inventor of the year in America in 1975.

These are just some of the many Croatian inventors, because to list all of them would be impossible. Also, many inventions and contributions to technology, medicine, engineering or everyday life were created as a product of joint work. The best way to explore Croatia’s contributions to world development is to visit the places where they originated. And when you’re done exploring, take a break at Molo Longo.