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Richard Arkwright
Richard Arkwright was an English inventor and entrepreneur. He is best known for his invention of the spinning machine. Arkwright's invention created the easiest way to spin yarn. -
James Watt
James Watt was a Scottish inventor, chemist, and mechanical engineer. Watt created the separate condenser to improve the Newcomen steam engine. This led to his "new invented method of lessening the consumption of fuel and steam in fire engines". -
Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism is the belief that actions are just if they benefit the majority. This belief is meant to maximize happiness and well-being. This idea was founded by philosopher Jeremy Bentham. -
Cotton Gin
The cotton gin efficiently separates cotton fibers from their seeds. It is credited with being a more productive way to extract cotton than manual separation. This was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. -
Henry Bessemer
Henry Bessemer was an English inventor during the Industrial Revolution. He is best known for his inexpensive process to manufacture steel. This new method of manufacturing led to the invention of the Bessemer converter. -
Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel was an inventor, entrepreneur, engineer, and scientist from Sweden. He is best known through the establishment of the Nobel Prize. Nobel is also widely known for his invention of dynamite. -
Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in several field including electric power generation. He is best known for his improvement of the light bulb -
Communism
Communism is the belief that everything is owned by the public. This supports the idea that everyone is working and compensated based on their abilities and needs. This is a political theory from Karl Maxx. -
Socialism
Socialism is a political theory that advocates for the economy to be regulated by society as a whole. This means that production, distribution, and exchange would be under the control of the community. The goal of socialism is common wealth. -
Social Democracy
Social Democracy is a philosophy that supports political and economic democracy. It has similar values to socialism within capitalist beliefs. This is the most common form of modern socialism. -
Germ Theory
Germs were discovered by Louis Pasteur. This discovery led to an increase in cleanliness and caution of contamination. Health and life expectancy saw great improvements. -
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is the theory that people are held to the same laws of natural selection as plants and animals. The belief in evolution and survival of the fittest can also be attributed to social Darwinism. This concept was founded by Charles Darwin in the 1870s. -
Automobile
The first automobile was invented in Germany by Karl Benz. This car had a gas powered engine but only three wheels. The first modern motorcar was the 1901 Mercedes. The automobile industry led to great improvements in city life. -
Assembly Line
The assembly line was created by Ransom Olds. It was originally created to increase the production rate of automobiles. It is a modern manufacturing process that breaks the production of a good into steps. -
Airplane
The airplane was invented by the Wright Brothers. They achieved the first powered flight in 1903. The first practical flight took place two years later.