George Klein, Canadian engineer, invented the motorized wheelchair (b. 1904)
George Johann Klein, (August 15, 1904 – November 4, 1992) was a Hamilton, Ontario-born Canadian inventor who is often called the most productive inventor in Canada in the 20th century. Although he struggled as a high school student, he eventually graduated from the University of Toronto in Mechanical Engineering. His inventions include key contributions to the first electric wheelchairs for quadriplegics, the first microsurgical staple gun, the ZEEP nuclear reactor which was the precursor to the CANDU reactor, the international system for classifying ground-cover snow, aircraft skis, the Weasel all-terrain vehicle, the STEM antenna for the space program, and the Canadarm.
Klein worked for forty years as a mechanical engineer at the National Research Council of Canada laboratories in Ottawa (1929–1969).In 1968, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 1995, he was inducted to the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.
1992Nov, 4
George Klein (inventor)
Choose Another Date
Events on 1992
- 1Feb
Bhopal disaster
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case. - 1Mar
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. - 2Mar
United Nations
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations. - 27Apr
International Monetary Fund
The Russian Federation and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. - 23Jul
Pope Benedict XVI
A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.