caption death_date death_place years_active birth_place birth_date article_title birth_name occupation
'' his hand-made violins ` john dopyera '' ' holding one of 1988 -lrb- aged 94 -rrb- los angeles , california , usa 1926 -- 1988 dolná krupá , slovakia -lrb- former austro-hungarian empire -rrb- 1893 john dopyera
 ján dopjera inventor and entrepreneur
john dopyera

john dopyera -lrb- born `` ján dopjera '' ; 1893 -- 1988 -rrb- was a slovak-american inventor and entrepreneur , and a maker of stringed instruments .
his inventions include the resonator guitar and important contributions in the early development of the electric guitar .
