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Halogen Lamp Invented
U.S. Patent 2,883,571 was granted to Elmer Fridrich and Emmett Wiley for a tungsten halogen lamp - an improved type of incandescent lamp - in 1959. A better halogen light lamp was invented in 1960 by General Electric engineer Fredrick Moby. Moby was granted U.S. Patent 3,243,634 for his tungsten halogen A-lamp that could fit into a standard lightbulb socket. During the early 1970s, General Electric research engineers invented improved ways to manufacture tungsten halogen lamps. -
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Technology Innovations of the 1960s
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First Audio Casette Invented
The Philips Company of the Netherlands invented and released the first compact audio-cassette in 1962. They used high-quality polyester 1/8-inch tape produced by BASF. Recording and playback was at a speed of 1.7/8 inches per second. -
"Space Wars" First Computer Game Invented
It was in 1962 when a young computer programmer from MIT, Steve Russell fueled with inspiration from the writings of E. E. "Doc" Smith*, led the team that created the first computer game. It took the team about 200 man-hours to write the first version of Spacewar. Steve Russell wrote Spacewar on a PDP-1, an early DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) interactive mini computer which used a cathode-ray tube type display and keyboard input. The computer was a donation to MIT from DEC, who hoped MIT's -
BASIC computer language invented
BASIC (standing for Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) was written (invented) in 1963, at Dartmouth College, by mathematicians John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtzas as a teaching tool for undergraduates. BASIC has been one of the most commonly used computer programming languages, a simple computer language considered an easy step for students to learn before more powerful languages such as FORTRAN. BASIC's popularity was spread by both Paul Allen and William Gates, in 1975. Gates a -
Soft Contact Lens Invented
Adolph Fick first thought of making glass contact lenses in 1888, but it took until 1948 when Kevin Tuohy invented the soft plastic lens for contacts to become a reality. -
Compact Disk (CD) Invented
A compact disk (cd) is a popular form of digital storage media used for computer files, pictures, and music. The plastic platter is read and written to by a laser in a CD drive. It comes in several varieties including CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW.
James Russell invented the compact disk in 1965. James Russell was granted a total of 22 patents for various elements of his compact disk system. However, the compact disk did not become popular until it was mass manufactured by Philips in 1980. -
Kevlar was invented
Stephanie Kwolek’s research with high performance chemical compounds for the DuPont Company led to the development of a synthetic material called Kevlar which is five times stronger than the same weight of steel. Kevlar, patented by Kwolek in 1966, does not rust nor corrode and is extremely lightweight. Many police officers owe their lives to Stephanie Kwolek, for Kevlar is the material used in bullet proof vests. Other applications of the compound include underwater cables, brake linings, space -
First Hand Held Calculator Invented
Jack S. Kilby, an engineer at Texas Instruments, had invented the integrated circuit (IC) at TI in 1958. A year earlier a Japanese firm had introduced the first all-transistor desktop calculator; it weighed 55 pounds and cost $2500. Kilby, Jerry D. Merryman and James H. Van Tassel, all engineers at TI, wanted to build an IC-based, battery-powered "miniature calculator" that could add, subtract, multiply and divide, yet could fit in the palm of the hand. -
Computer Mouse Invented
Douglas Engelbart changed the way computers worked, from specialized machinery that only a trained scientist could use, to a user-friendly tool that almost anyone can use. He invented or contributed to several interactive, user-friendly devices such as the computer mouse. -
First RAM Chip invented
Referered to as random-access memory or RAM, it allowed data to be accessed randomly, not just in the sequence it was recorded. -
First Artificial Human Heart Implant
first total artificial heart for human use implanted in 1969. -
First ATM
An automatic teller machine or ATM allows a bank customer to conduct their banking transactions from almost every other ATM machine in the world. As is often the case with inventions, many inventors contribute to the history of an invention, as is the case with the ATM. Read each page of this article to learn about the many inventors behind the automatic teller machine or ATM. -
First Barcode Scanner Invented
What is bar code? It is method of automatic identification and data collection. -
ARPAnet (first Internet) was invented
"The Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation." - supreme judge statement on considering first amendment rights for Internet users. On a cold war kind of day, in swinging 1969, work began on the ARPAnet, grandfather to the Internet. Designed as a computer version of the nuclear bomb shelter, ARPAnet protected the flow of information between military installations by creating a network of geographically separated computers that could exchange information.
