Along with the telescope, steam engines, incandescent lights, modern firearms, electromagnets, pedal bicycles, electric clocks, chemical fertiliser, steam-powered ships, traffic lights, television, the jet engine, the programmable electronic computer, atomic clocks, carbon fibre, automatic teller machines, the lithium-ion battery, SMS text messaging, and animal cloning. I could go on!

Arguably, we could also claim the telephone and the world wide web, both invented by British engineers while abroad...