Every profession has their standouts and pioneers, and the locksmithing industry is no exception. After all, where would our current emergency locksmith services gain their knowledge and inspiration from, if not for the individuals that paved the way for them and started it all? Let's take a closer look at some of the personalities that helped shape the locksmithing industry into what it is today.

The man credited to have patented the tumbler lock is Robert Barron. His tumbler lock in 1778 was considered a great improvement over the standard methods of lock security in place at the time. It would be several more years before another lock innovation would be made. This time, it was Joseph Bramah with his new safety lock patent back in 1784. It would not be lock-picked by anyone before someone named A.C. Hobbs picked it 67 years later—and he did it in more than 50 hours. That's how secure the safety lock was. Bramah was also the inventor of the hydraulic press.

In 1818, Jeremiah Chubb invented the detector lock. It was an amazing lock, which made any attempts to pick it futile and quite frustrating. On top of that, the lock can indicate if it has been tampered with or if anybody attempted to pick the lock.

James Sargeant then came up with the original combination lock in 1857, which was used extensively by many manufacturers of safes as well as the US Treasury Department. Sargeant also came up with a time lock system, which served as the predecessor of the mechanisms used in modern bank vaults.

Last but definitely not least is a father and son combo that sport one of the industry's most recognized names: Linus Yale Sr. and Linus Yale Jr. The elder Yale was an inventor of locks, and he made the pin tumbler lock design that was the precursor of the combination lock we know today. The pin tumbler lock, otherwise known as the Yale lock, is one of the most famous products of the Yale lock company.

Speaking of the company, it was founded by the younger Yale way back in 1868. Linus Yale Jr. also pioneered other lock types aside from improving on the pin tumbler lock design of his father. He invented the cylinder lock, for one thing. This type of key is something that locksmiths know how to unscrew so that they can easily be rekeyed. He also created the Yale bank lock, the Yale safe lock, and the Yale chilled iron bank doors and safes. Yale Jr. also invented what is the modern combination lock—that one which make use of a sequence of numbers, letters or symbols in a code in order to open the lock. Double locks and clock locks are also among Yale's inventions.

Clearly, the world can never do away with locks. They play important roles in our security and safety, and we still rely on emergency locksmiths when it comes to the various operations that involve these great inventions. If you want things under lock and key, they are the people we need to count on.