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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
On August 28, 1859, George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake made the first successful use of a drilling rig on a well drilled especially to produce oil, at a site on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
On May 10, 1869, 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 founded Standard Oil
American industrialist John D. Rockefeller was born July 8, 1839, in Richford, New York. He built his first oil refinery near Cleveland and in 1870 incorporated the Standard Oil Company. By 1882 he had a near-monopoly of the oil business in the U.S., but his business practices led to the passing of antitrust laws. -
Bell patents telephone
1876: Bell Patents the Telephone. American inventor Alexander Graham Bell tested his telephone in 1876, calling his assistant to say "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you." On March 7, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. -
First telephone on White House
May 10,1877, 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 in 1879. 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 timeplan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced on November 18, 1883. -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
The first commercial installation of an electric streetcar in the United States was built in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio and operated for a period of one year by the East Cleveland Street Railway Company. Trams were operated in Richmond, Virginia, in 1888, on the Richmond Union Passenger Railway built by Frank J. Sprague. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
Approved July 2, 1890, The Sherman Antitrust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
1892, Downtown Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, leading U.S. producer of steel and related products, founded in 1901. At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of businessmen were involved in the formation of United States Steel Corporation, including Andrew Carnegie, Elbert H. Gary, Charles M. Schwab, and J.P. Morgan.
