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First oil well drilled
Drilled by Edwin Drake, near the banks of Oil Creek. This was the first oil well in the United States. -
Transcontinental railroad completed
The railheads of Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met at the promontory summit of Utah territory, where the last spike ceremonial spike connected their rail lines. -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
Rockefeller lowered the prices of his oil to drive other companies out of business -
Bell patents telephone
Alexander Graham Bell patented the first practical telephone in the United States -
First telephone on White House
President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House's first telephone installed in the mansion s telegraph room -
Edison perfects incandescent light bulb
Eddisons first attempt at this design results in a bulb that lasts about 13.5 hours before burning out -
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. -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia, was the first practical electric trolley system -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
A company that made and sold steal that was owned by Andrew Carnegie -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
Andrew Carnegie went a long way in creating a monopoly in the steel industry when J.P. Morgan bought his steel company and melded it into U.S. Steel
