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Alexander Graham Bell - Invention of the Telephone
In Boston, while trying to perfect a method for carrying multiple messages on a single wire he heard Watson trying to reactivate a telegraph transmitter on the wire. This gave him confidence to carry human voice over a wire. March 7, he transmitted a simple current and 5 days later a voice. In a letter to his father he wrote, "The day is coming when telegraph wires will be laid on to houses just like water or gas - and friends will converse with each other without leaving home." 1 -
Charles Brush - First Wind Turbine
in 1888 Brush, constructed the first wind turbine in the backyard of his Cleveland mansion. The December 20, 1890 edition of the Scientific American stated, this is the "only successful system of electric lighting operated by means of wind power" 2 known now. The wind turbine, an "immense wheel which drives the electric plant" 3 to light the residence of Mr. Brush's mansion. As is seen today, wind turbines are used across the United States as a great source for energy. -
George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. - The Ferris Wheel
The civil engineer's job during the World Exposition was to inspect the steel used. They were also challenged to build something bigger and better than the Eiffel Tower. He put out $25,000 of his own money to bring his vision of the Ferris Wheel to fruition. The Ferris Wheel debuted in Chicago, on June 21, and was successful. It measured 250 ft. in diameter, carried 36 cars, capable of holding 60 people 6 . It allowed people to have a 20-minute ride and see the landscape from heights unheard of. -
Ford - Installs the First Moving Assembly Line
Ford first made the Model T in 1908 as a car for all people. Even though it was a less expensive car, it was still not reachable for many Americans. He realized that the only way to lower the price on the cars was by producing the cars at a faster rate. So, Ford put the principles of interchangeable parts, continuous flow, division of labor and reducing waste into effect 4 . In 1913, these principles were used to develop the first moving assembly line ever used in large scale manufacturing 5. -
Western Electric and Warner Brothers Film Studio Introduce the Vitaphone - Talking Movies
Vitaphone from Hollywood, was a new system that would allow sound to be added to film. Although, it had difficulty caused by the film and sound needing to be aligned by hand, so Warner Bros. put $3 milliion into the project to promote it. They stated that they would provide synchronized music accompaniment for all the upcoming films.9 There were 2 successful films that used the Vitaphone in 1926 and 1927, using music and some dialogue. This was the beginning of the movies that are seen today! -
Philip Drinker, an Industrial Hygienist from Harvard School of Public Health - The Iron Lung Artificial Respirator
The first person to use this apparatus was at Children's Hospital in Boston. It was a young girl who recovered almost instantly from respiratory failure 7 . "The device used is known as a respirator and consists of a sheet metal tank equipped with a comfortable bed and mattress." 8 It is used when the muscle control for breathing has been lost, in this case from Polio. The cylindrical chamber encases the whole body, minus the head. It helps the patient breath by using regulated air pressure. -
References
1 Alexander Graham Bell Letter to Father in 1876. PBS Online (1999)
2 & 3 Scientific American. Mr. Brush's Windmill Dynamo. Dec 20. 1890. New York, vol 63, issue 25, 389
4 & 5 Ford installs first moving line 1913. PBS SoCal 1998
6. Malanauski, J. The Brief History of the Ferris Wheel. June 2015
7&8 Drinker, Philip. Prolonged Administration of Artificial Respiration. The Lancet, Vol 217, Issue 5622. 30 May 1931 p 1186-1187
9/ New sound process for films announced. History.com 1926
