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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
Edwin Drake drilled the first big mechanical oil well in Titusville, Pa. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
a golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, signaling the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. The transcontinental railroad had long been a dream for people living in the American West. -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
Standard Oil Co. Inc. was an American oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established by John D. Rockefeller as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refinery in the world of its time. -
Bell patents telephone
American inventor Alexander Graham Bell tested his telephone calling his assistant to say "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. -
First telephone on White House
President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House's first telephone installed in the mansion's telegraph room. President Hayes embraced the new technology, though he rarely received phone calls. -
Edison perfects incandescent light bulb
Thomas Edison perfects the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb. Using a filament of carbonized cotton thread, his first attempt at this design results in a bulb that lasts about 13.5 hours before burning out. He later extends the life of the bulb to 40 hours. -
Railroads set up standard time zones
Operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced. -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia, was the first practical electric trolley (tram) system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates, to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
J.P. Morgan created the United States Steel Corporation. The company dominated the steel market during the first half of the twentieth century, and for a time, U.S. Steel was the largest corporation in the United States,
