This was an interesting prompt that I could not say I knew too many people off the top of my head. I decided to do some research, and the following are some of my findings.

• John Snow – he advanced anesthesia through precise dosing methods and devices.
• Malcolm McLean – was responsible for the idea and implementation of standardized and stackable cargo containers.
• Alexander Fleming – an antibiotics pioneer, as he discovered penicillin.
• Lise Meitner – she contributed to the theory of nuclear fission.
• Norman Borlaug – was innovative in the agricultural field, leading to the Green Revolution.
• Claudette Colvin – young African American teenager who was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on the bus at the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
• Henrietta Lacks – her cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, or the first immortalized human cell line, instrumental in medical research today.
• Willis Carrier – designed the first air conditioning unit. Known as the Father of Modern Air Conditioning.
• Harvey Hubbell – created the US electrical plug and pull chain light socket, instrumental in modern day electricity.
• Grace Hopper – pioneered machine-independent programming languages and developed the first compiler, a pioneer for computer programming.

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There are literally so many lesser known, or even unknown pioneers throughout history, it is insane.