Celebrating “Fathers of” on Father’s Day
From Charles Darwin to Jack LaLanne and James Brown, these “fathers” and “godfathers” are some of the most celebrated in pop culture for being innovators in their respected fields. And while your father is probably not as well known as these men, we bet he’s known for something great. Leave us a comment below describing what your father is the “Father of” to wish him a Happy Father’s Day!”
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- Henry Ford, “Father of the 20th century American car industry” – This file photo shows Henry Ford pictured with a Model T in Buffalo, New York, in 1921. First introduced on October 1, 1908, the Ford Motor Company went on to produce close to one million Model T’s in 1921 alone. (AFP Photo/HO)
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- Sir Frank Whittle, “Father of the jet engine” – In the 1930’s and early 1940’s, Sir Frank Whittle developed the modern jet engine in England. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- Albert Einstein, “Father of Relativity” – Einstein, one of the most influential physicists of our time and is best known for his energy equals mass times the speed of light squared formula or E = mc2. “A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be,” Einstein once said. (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images)
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- James Brown, “Godfather of Soul” – Brown is known for his voice, outrageous dance moves and hits like “Sexmachine” (1970), “Papa’s got a brand new bag” (1965) and “It’s a man’s world” (1966). (AFP)
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- Momofuku Ando, “Father of instant noodles” – Instant cup noodles are on display at the Instant Ramen Museum on April 8, 2008 in Osaka, Japan for the 6th World Instant Noodle Summit. It has been fifty years since Momofuku Ando, founder of Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. first invented instant noodle “Chicken Ramen.” (Junko Kimura/Getty Images)
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- B. Brady, “Father of photojournalism” – One of America’s most prolific photographers, Brady is known is known for his portraits and documentation of the American Civil War. “My greatest aim has been to advance the art of photography and to make it what I think I have, a great and truthful medium of history,” Brady said. (Library of Congress)
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- Tim Berners-Lee, “Father of the World Wide Web” – Physicist and laureate Tim Berners-Lee is shown speaking on June 15, 2004 at a press conference in Helsinki after receiving the first ever Millennium Technology Prize, a one million euro prize, rewarding him for creating the World Wide Web (www) service on internet. (Jaakko Avikainen/AFP Photo)
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- James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” – Madison is often given this title for his role in helping to craft the Constitution and Bill of Rights. (Wikimedia Commons)
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- Chuck Brown, “Godfather of Go-Go” – Pictured is guitarist Chuck Brown performing on the final day of the 20th St. Lucia Jazz Festival at Pigeon Island in May 2011. Brown, known as the “Godfather of Go-Go,” died on May 16, 2012 at the Johns Hopkins University hospital in Baltimore, according to published reports and confirmation from his manager Tom Goldfogle. (Andrea De Silva/Files/Reuters)
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- Jack LaLanne, “Father of fitness” – The fitness guru promoted regular exercise and good nutrition for decades before it became trendy. He was 96 at the time of his death on January 23, 2011. (Ariel Hankin/AP Photo)
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- Karl Marx, “Father of socialism:” – “The Communist Manifesto,” coauthored by Karl Marx (pictured) and Frederick Engels, is consided to be the Bible of the old Soviet Union. (AP Photo/file)
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- Galileo Galilei, “Father of modern science” – Jesuit Brother and astronomer Guy Consolmagno, 50, opens a book by Italian 17th century astronomer Galileo Galilei (pictured at left) at the Vatican Observatory library on the outskirts of Rome on August 13, 2003. (AP Photo/Plinio Lepri)
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- Sigmund Freud, “Father of psychoanalysis” – By the time of his death in 1939, Sigmund Freud had left a legacy in the world of psychotherapy through psychoanalysis, a way of unlocking the causes of a patient’s problems through their unconscious mind. Pictured here is Sigmund Freud with his three sisters and mother at to grave of Freud’s father, Jacob, in 1897. (Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun)
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- Ed Headrick, “Father of the frisbee” – The frisbee was first sold in 1964 while its inventor “Steady” Ed Headrick worked for the toy company Wham-O. Pictured is “Poe,” a Border Collie/ Springer mix from Chesapeake Beach, catching a frisbee during the DogFest 2010 Extreme Distance frisbee catch sponsored by the Baltimore Humane Society. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
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- Willis Carrier, “Father of air conditioning:” – Carrier’s “Igloo of Tomorrow” opened April 25, 1939 in 90 degree heat with scantily clad “snow bunnies” scooping manufactured slush under the benevolent supervision of thermometer-wielding company founder Willis Haviland Carrier. (Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution/AP Photo)
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- Jacques Cousteau, “Father of scuba diving” – The underwater adventurer, filmmaker, author, environmentalist and aqualung co-inventor Jacques Cousteau opened the mysterious world beneath the seas to millions of landlocked readers and viewers until his death in 1997. (The Cousteau Society/AP Photo)
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- J.R.R. Tolkien, “Father of modern fantasy literature” – The beloved author is considered by some as the “father of modern fantasy literature” with works like “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” which have been reintroduced to audiences through film. This is a 1967 photo of author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose previously unfinished and unpublished, “The Children of Hurin,” was published April 17, 2007. (AP Photo)
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- George Washington Carver, “Father of chemurgy” – The term “chemurgy” describes the production of raw agricultural material into refined industrial products. It was first named by chemist William J. Hale when he published “The Farm Chemurgic” in 1934. However, the concept of chemurgy entered the scientific spotlight through the work of George Washington Carver during the years to come. Pictured is Dr. George Washington Carver in his lab at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1940. (Wide World Photo/file)
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- Hippocrates, “Father of Western medicine” – Hippocrates is known as the first person in recorded history to believe that illness and disease were not punishments from the gods, but rather consequences of the natural world. Pictured is Makis Petridis examining a bust of the Greek physician Hippocrates that was for sale at the Agora Street festival at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Annunciation in November of 1999. (Larry C. Price/Baltimore Sun)
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- Mark Twain, “Father of American literature” – American author and humorist Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, wrote his most well-known works in the late 19th century. His books “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” plowed through the new field of American literature. (The Mark Twain House & Museum/AP Photo)
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- Sir Isaac Newton, “Father of modern physics” – Issac Newton, one of the most influential scientists in modern history, published numerous laws and theories in the 17th and 18th centuries, including his now ubiquitous three laws of motion. (Baltimore Sun file)
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- Arkus Duntov, “Father of the Corvette” – The Belgian-born engineer is said to have saved the Chevrolet Corvette and paving its way into sports car history. (Hugh Grannum/Reuters)
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- George Clinton, “Godfather of funk” – Clinton aka Dr. Funkenstein is the architect of P-Funk and is the leader of the Parliament/Funkadelic collective. He continues to spread his philosophy of funk today. Here he performs at the main stage during the second day of the Paleo Festival, in Nyon, Switzerland on July 20, 2005. (Laurent Gillieron/AP Photo/Keystone)
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- Charles Darwin, “Father of evolution” – The great naturalist is considered the “Father of Evolution” for his theories on evolution and natural selection, which were popularized works including “On the Origin of Species” and “The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle.” Photo circa 1854. (File)
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- Martin Cooper, “Father of the mobile phone:” Martin Cooper is credited to developing the cellular phone. Meanwhile, his wife and business partner Arlene Harris has been called the “first lady of wireless.” “People want to talk to other people – not a house, or an office, or a car. Given a choice, people will demand the freedom to communicate wherever they are, unfettered by the infamous copper wire. It is that freedom we sought to vividly demonstrate in 1973,” Cooper has said. (Erin Lubin/Great Call/AP Photo/HO)
Related reading: Father’s Day: Gifts for the go-go-gadget dad, Pictures: Must-have gifts for sporty dads
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