Luther George Simjian

Luther George Simjian was an Armenian-American inventor and entrepreneur who was born in Aintab, Ottoman Empire (now Gaziantep, Turkey) on January 28, 1905. He fled to the United States in 1920 after surviving the Armenian genocide. He developed a keen interest in optics and photography and worked as a medical photographer at the Yale School of Medicine. He later moved to New York City and founded his own company, Reflectone, to manufacture and license his inventions. He was a prolific and professional inventor, holding over 200 patents, mostly related to optics and electronics. His most significant inventions were a pioneering flight simulator, arguably the first ATM and improvement to the teleprompter. He also invented a self-photographing camera, a color X-ray machine, an automatic postage metering machine, and an indoor golf practice range. He was a private and modest person who avoided publicity and fame. He died of natural causes at his beachfront apartment in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on October 23, 1997 at the age of 92.