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Utilitarianism
The idea that actions are justified if they are for the benefit of the majority. Utilitarian ideals aim to better society as a whole. This idea is still in place in most developed nations today. -
James Watt
James Watt found that engines of the time period were inefficient and wasted great amounts of energy. Watt devised a design for the first truly effective steam engine that was much more efficient using an enhancement he called the separate condenser.
This enhancement avoided this waste of energy and radically improved the power, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of steam engines. -
Corporations
Corporations began to emerge, specifically in the U.S., and managed manufacturing of raw materials. The Bessemer process led to America's first billion dollar corporation: steel. Corporations became key institutions in America's quickly growing economy. -
Interchangeable parts
In 1798 Eli Whitney built a firearms factory. The firearms made by his employees were the first to have uniform interchangeable parts. This allowed for the firearms to be more inexpensive and if they were to break, only the broken part would have to be replaced rather than the entire rifle. This concept began to be adapted by numerous industries. -
Socialism
Socialism is a politcal and economic theory which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be regulated by the community alone. This theory gave birth to what would become communism. -
Social Darwinism
In the late 1800s this idea began to emerge in which Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was used to justify certain views. This idea has been turned away by most of society as it has been used to justify various heinous and evil acts. -
Birth of Henry Bessemer
Henry Bessemer was an inventor and engineer who developed the first process for inexpensively mass producing steel. This helped steel become more readily available. This new availibility of steel allowed for stronger rails and metal machines as well as innovations in architectural structures such as skyscrapers. -
Karl Marx
Karl Marx was a famous advocate for communism. He cowrote The Communist Manifesto and was the author of Das Kapital. These works together formed the basis of Marxism. -
Communism emerges
Communism grew out of the socialist movement in 19th century Europe. When the industrial revolution advanced, socialists began blaming capitalism for the urban factory workers who labored under harsh conditions. -
Germ Theory
In the 1860s, French chemist Louis Pasteur developed modern germ theory. He proved that food spoiled because of contamination by invisible bacteria, not because of spontaneous generation. Pasteur used this to show that disease and infection were a result of bacteria. -
Social Gospel
Ministers began to tie salvation and good works together. They argued that people must mimic the life of Jesus Christ. One of the most important contributions of this movement was the creation of settlement houses. -
Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an italian inventor known for his invention of the first practical radio. He was able to do this by exploring radio waves. Using this exploration he revolutionized communication for the entire world by harnessing the true potential of radio waves. -
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel was best known for his invention of dynamite. This ignited the modern use of high explosives. He also founded the Nobel Prizes. -
Invention of the airplane
The airplane is undoubtedly one of the most influential inventions of the industrial revolution. Invented by Orville and Wilbur, the innovative first design of the airplane eventually became something that figuratively shrunk the world. It allowed for an unseen and amazing perspective of the world. -
Assembly line
On this day Henry Ford installed the first assembly line for the mass production of an entire automobile. This reduced the time taken to manufacture an automobile from 12 hours to less than 2. The assembly line allowed for worker specialization which produced a higher quality end product. This concept is still used today in all industries due to its extreme efficiency.