Robert Kearns

Kearns's intermittent-wiper system addressed the familiar irritation of blades sweeping too often in light rain. His 1967 patent built on existing motors and circuitry, while his notebooks also document engineers and family members who worked with him. The later disputes with car manufacturers make the commercial story inseparable from the technical one. He earns a place through a small, widely used improvement whose value is clearest when the weather changes.