Bern Dibner
Engineer
Electrical engineer who helped to electrify Cuba. He invented a new type of electrical connector and established two large technical libraries.
After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, he invented and patented the first solderless electrical connections and sold them through his Burndy Engineering Company.
As an avid student of science and technology, he not only wrote books on the history of science, but amassed a book collection containing some 50,000 volumes.
He was born in Kiev, Ukraine, which was then a part of Imperial Russia, and moved with his family to the U.S. at age seven.
Leo Theremin was another well-known Russian engineer. He created the first electronic musical instruments.