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The first practical steam engine is invented by Thomas Newcomen. Steam would become an important source of power for the Industrial Revolution
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The First Industrial Revolution begins around 1760 in the textile industry in Great Britain. Over the next decade, manufacturing will move from hand production in the home to machine production in factories.
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James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny allowing a worker to produce multiple spools of thread at the same time.
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The spinning mule is invented by Samuel Crompton, a device invented in the 18th century that spun textile fibers into yarn by an intermittent process: in the draw stroke, the roving is pulled through and twisted; on the return, it is wrapped onto the spindle.
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James Watt patents an improved steam engine making it useful as a power source in factories and other applications such as steam boats and trains.
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The Industrial Revolution spreads to the United States when Samuel Slater opens the first textile mill in Rhode Island.
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The Cotton Gin is invented by Eli whitney increasing the production of cotton massively
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Robert Fulton starts the first successful steamboat operation with his boat the Clermont.
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The Luddites were a secret oath-based organization of English textile workers in the 19th century, a radical faction of which destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest.
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Trade unions are legalized in Great Britain.During the 18th century, when the industrial revolution prompted a wave of new trade disputes, the government introduced measures to prevent collective action on the part of workers.
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The Erie Canal is completed opening a water route from the Great Lakes to New York City and the Atlantic Ocean.
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The mechanical reaper is invented by Cyrus McCormick.This machine was used by farmers to harvest crops mechanically. For hundreds of years, farmers and field workers had to harvest crops by hand using a sickle or other methods, which was an arduous task at best.
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A blacksmith named John Deere invents the steel plow. The steel plow was used by farmers to break up soil very quickly, and easily
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The telegraph is invented by Samuel Morse. This changes the way people can communicate from long distances.
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Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanized rubber. Vulcanization makes rubber much stronger, more flexible, and more resistant to heat and other environmental conditions.
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The sewing machine is invented by Elias Howe. The electric sewing machine is invented, its helps rapidly produce clothing
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Elisha Otis invents a safety break for elevators making them practical and safe for the first time. This allows for tall buildings and skyscrapers to be built.
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The Bessemer Process for making steel is invented by Henry Bessemer. This allowed for the mass production of inexpensive steel.
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The Transcontinental Railroad is completed. The Pacific Railroad Act chartered the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, and tasked them with building a transcontinental railroad that would link the United States from east to west.
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Around this time the Second Industrial Revolution begins. This phase of the Industrial Revolution is characterized by rapid expansion of new technologies such as the telephone, railroads, and electrical power.
