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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.
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A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, signaling the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
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In 1870, Rockefeller formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio.
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The invention of the telephone revolutionized the way people communicate with one another. The device allowed people to instantly and effectively talk to each other over long distances.
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President Hayes embraced the new technology, though he rarely received phone calls. In fact, the Treasury Department possessed the only other direct phone line to the White House at that time. The White House phone number was “1.”
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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.
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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.
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The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia, was the first practical electric trolley system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world.
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The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices.
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Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie.
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United States Steel was built by combining ten different steel companies, including the two largest at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Carnegie Steel Company and the Federal Steel Company.
