Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation
name: label: Creator
content: Greatbatch, Wilson, 1919-
label: Creator
content: Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
label: Creator
content: Berger, Sondra
label: Names
content: Wilson Greatbatch, Ltd.
topic: label: Topic
content: Inventors -- 1950-2000
label: Topic
content: Inventions -- 1950-2000
label: Topic
content: Cardiac pacemaker industry
label: Topic
content: Heart block
label: Topic
content: Electric engineering -- 1950-2000
label: Topic
content: Cardiac pacing
label: Topic
content: Cardiac pacemakers
label: Topic
content: Slides
label: Topic
content: Photographs
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: This collection was created by the Innovative Lives Program of The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation on October 8, 1996. The Innovative Lives series brings young people and American inventors together to discuss inventions and the creative process and to experiment and play with hands-on activities related to each inventor's product.
creator: label: Creator
content: Greatbatch, Wilson, 1919-
label: Creator
content: Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
label: Creator
content: Berger, Sondra
setName: label: See more items in
content: Wilson Greatbatch Innovative Lives Presentation
abstract: label: Summary
content: This collection contains original and master videos documenting Wilson Greatbatch, inventor of the Cardiac Pacemaker. Greatbatch demonstrates the circuitry of his implantable pacemaker and discusses his life as an inventor.
bioghist: label: Biographical/Historical note
content: Wilson Greatbatch was born in Buffalo, New York in 1919. He received his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1950 and his master's degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in 1957. Greatbatch first learned of heart block in 1951. He knew that a pacemaker could cure it, but he couldn't build one small enough to be implanted with the materials then available. Conducting research and experiments in a workshop in the barn behind his house in upstate New York, Greatbatch invented in 1958, the device that has saved hundreds of thousands of lives over the years. In 1970, he founded Wilson Greatbatch, Ltd. (WGL), to develop and manufacture reliable, long lived batteries for the implantable pacemaker. WGL produced the first lithium iodine battery for implantable pacemakers in 1972. In addition to numerous honors and awards, Greatbatch was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1986.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.25 Cubic feet (3 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1996-10-08
custodhist: label: Ownership and Custodial History
content: The collection was transferred to the Archives Center on July 9, 1997.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0601
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Oral history
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Videotapes
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Collection is arranged into three series.

Series 1: Original Videos

Series 2: Master Videos

Series 3: Reference Videos

Series 4: Photographs and Slides
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Alison Oswald, July 1997.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Oral history -- 1990-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews -- 1980-2000
label: Genre/Form
content: Videotapes -- 1990-2000
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents note
content: This collection consists of approximately 2 hours of original (BetaCam SP) video recordings and reference (viewing) copies (VHS) documenting Wilson Greatbatch's presentation about the invention of the cardiac pacemaker. Dr. Greatbatch demonstrates the circuitry of his implantable pacemaker and discusses his life as an inventor.