kids encyclopedia robot

George Klein (inventor) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
George Johann Klein

OC, OBE
George J. Klein
Born (1904-08-15)August 15, 1904
Died November 4, 1992(1992-11-04) (aged 88)
Education University of Toronto
Known for Invention of the Canadarm, power wheelchair, microsurgical staple gun, ZEEP nuclear reactor
Awards Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame inductee, Order of Canada, Order of the British Empire
Klein Drive Chair 1953
George Klein (back) and his electric wheelchair in 1953

George Johann Klein, OC MBE (August 15, 1904 – November 4, 1992) was a 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.

kids search engine
George Klein (inventor) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.