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Baltimore uses natural gas to light street lamps
Batlimore, Maryland, is the first city in the United States to use manufactured natural gas to light its street lamps. -
Steam Engines in the US
The first coal power steam engine is used in the United States. Running on the B&O railroad, it went a staggering 18 mph. -
America's first oil well is drilled
America's first oil well is drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania. This begins a revolution in the oil business. -
John D. Rockefeller enters the oil business
John D Rockefellar, the furure head of Standard Oil, enters the emerging oil business by investing in a Cleveland oil refinary. -
Coal first used to produce electricity
Thomas Edisonis the first person uses a steam engine connected to an electric generator to produce electricity. The electricity powers lights for Wall Street financers and the New York Times. -
First electric power plant produces energy
The Pearl Street power plant in Manhattan began toproduce electricity at 3PM on September 4, 1882. It supplied electricity to 4400 lamps in one hundred and ninety-three buildings, and would continued to operate and expand for eight years. -
Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "Atoms for Peace" Speech
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, determined to solve "the fearful atomic dilemma", gives his famous "Atoms for Peace" speech. In it, he proposes the use of nuclear technology to help society and not for military use. This speech begins a renaissance in peaceful nuclear programs for the United States. -
The silicon photovoltic cell is developed
The silicon photovoltic cell is develop at Bell Labs by Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson. The cell is capable of converting the sun's energy into usable electricity. -
First commercial nuclear power plant opens
The Shippingport Atomic Power Station, located in Bever Valley, Pennsylvania, is the first commercial nuclear power plant in the United States to produce electricity. It would run for 25 years before being decommissioned and replaced. -
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident
A cooling malfunction in the second reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant caused part of the core to melt. This released minor amounts of radiation into the ground. However, the public concern and confusion surrounding the accident would help to begin the decline in support of nuclear power in the United States. -
Sources Cited, Part 1
-http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/a-short-history-of-energy.html#.VYRqYmDbjGs -http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/tomthumb.htm -http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/research/online_documents/atoms_for_peace.html -https://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/pdfs/solar_timeline.pdf -http://www.apga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3329 -http://www.history.com/topics/john-d-rockefeller -http://learn.fi.edu/learn/case-files/edison/generator.html -
