Every invention has a person behind it. Most of their stories end differently than you think.

Inventor Files tells the true stories of the inventors and scientists who changed the world. Who were they, how did they come up with their ideas, and what happened to them afterwards? Tesla lit up the world and died alone in a hotel room. Turing helped win a war and was punished for who he loved. Marie Curie's notebooks are still radioactive.

There are two kinds of files. Shorts tell one life and one twist in about two minutes. Full stories are longer documentaries that follow a life from the first idea to the very end.

How we work

• Research first. Before a script exists, the story is researched and the strongest real moment is chosen, not the most sensational one.
• Real archives. The photos and film come from museums, national archives and Wikimedia Commons. We never use AI-generated images of real people.
• Checked facts. The key claims of every episode are checked against the sources. Where sources disagree, the episode uses the careful version.
• Legends labelled. If a famous story is only the inventor's own account or a legend, the narration says so.
• Credit where it's due. Photos under a Creative Commons licence are credited on the episode page and in the video description.
• No gore. Accidents and deaths are told in words. The camera cuts away before the fall.

Spotted a mistake?

History is messy and we get things wrong sometimes. If you know a better source, tell us. Corrections are welcome and taken seriously.