INVENTOR

Les Paul

1915 - 2009

Photo of Les Paul

Icon of person Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, made numerous recordings, selling millions of copies. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Les Paul is the 71st most popular inventor (up from 72nd in 2019), the 950th most popular biography from United States (down from 754th in 2019) and the 23rd most popular American Inventor.

Les Paul is most famous for inventing the solid-body electric guitar.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of Les Paul by language

Loading...

Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Les Paul ranks 71 out of 426. Before him are Louis Renault, Isaac Singer, Alberto Santos-Dumont, John Deere, Henry Fox Talbot, and Josephine Cochrane. After him are Ruth Handler, Claude Chappe, George Eastman, Léon Theremin, Jacques Piccard, and James Naismith.

Most Popular Inventors in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1915, Les Paul ranks 34. Before him are Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., Jerome Bruner, Stanley Matthews, Fred Hoyle, Robert Hofstadter, and Curd Jürgens. After him are Henry Taube, Geraldine of Albania, Paul Tibbets, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Albert O. Hirschman, and Helmut Schön. Among people deceased in 2009, Les Paul ranks 23. Before him are Abdurrahman Wahid, Mercedes Sosa, Farrah Fawcett, Amin al-Hafiz, Vitaly Ginzburg, and Omar Bongo. After him are Karl Malden, Raúl Alfonsín, Milorad Pavić, Robert F. Furchgott, João Bernardo Vieira, and Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Others Born in 1915

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2009

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, Les Paul ranks 950 out of 20,380. Before him are Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930), Nancy Pelosi (1940), Alvin York (1887), Thomas A. Steitz (1940), Matt Damon (1970), and John Gavin (1931). After him are Jared Diamond (1937), Ed McBain (1926), Mel Brooks (1926), Jada Pinkett Smith (1971), Andrew Tate (1986), and Barry Nelson (1917).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among INVENTORS In United States

Among inventors born in United States, Les Paul ranks 23. Before him are William G. Morgan (1870), Willis Carrier (1876), Theodore Maiman (1927), Isaac Singer (1811), John Deere (1804), and Josephine Cochrane (1839). After him are Ruth Handler (1916), George Eastman (1854), John Browning (1855), Ray Tomlinson (1941), Raymond Damadian (1936), and Leo Fender (1909).

American born Inventors

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous