Important Musicians and Innovators (by date of birth).
| Who | Born | Died | What | Article Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio de Torres Jurado | 1817 | 1892 | The shape of the modern guitar evolves from experimentation by Torres. | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1850 – Torres |
| Orville H. Gibson | 1856 | 1918 | Development of the archtop guitar. | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1902 – The Archtop Guitar |
| Joseph Kekuku | 1874 | 1932 | Invention of the Hawaian Steel Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1889 – Hawaiian Steel Guitar |
| Lloyd Loar | 1886 | 1943 | First F-Hole Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1922 – F-hole Archtop Guitar |
| John Dopyera | 1893 | 1988 | Tricone Resonator Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1927 – Tricone Resonator Guitar |
| Lonnie Johnson | 1894 | 1970 | Guitarist | Lonnie Johnson |
| George Beauchamp | 1899 | 1941 | Invention of the Single Cone Biscuit Bridge Resonator Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1928 – Single Cone Biscuit Resonator Guitar |
| George Beauchamp | 1899 | 1941 | First Electric Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1934 – First Electric Guitar |
| Mario Maccaferri | 1900 | 1993 | Design of Selmer Maccaferri "Gypsy Jazz" Guitars | Selmer plus Maccaferri equals Gypsy Jazz Guitar |
| T-Bone Walker (Aaron Thibadeaux "T-Bone" Walker) | 1910 | 1975 | Guitarist | T-Bone Walker |
| George Van Eps | 1913 | 1998 | Modern Seven String Guitar | Modern Guitar Innovations – 1937 – The Seven String Guitar |
| Mary Osborne | 1921 | 1992 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Mary Osborne |
| Herb Ellis | 1921 | 2010 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Herb Ellis |
| Johnny Smith | 1922 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Johnny Smith | |
| Neal Hefti | 1922 | 2008 | Musician (trumpet), composer, arranger, bandleader. Composed Lil' Darlin, Girl Talk, The Batman Theme. Also music for movies including The Odd Couple. | Neal Hefti |
| Barney Kessel | 1923 | 2004 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Barney Kessel |
| Wes Montgomery | 1923 | 1968 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Wes Montgomery |
| Charlie Byrd | 1925 | 1999 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Charlie Byrd |
| Bucky Pizzarelli | 1926 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Bucky Pizzarelli | |
| Joe Pass | 1929 | 1994 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Joe Pass |
| George Benson | 1943 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – George Benson | |
| Jimmy Bruno | 1953 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Jimmy Bruno | |
| Russell Malone | 1963 | Guitarist | Jazz Guitarists – Russell Malone |
