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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake created the first oil well on Oil Creek, near Titusville, Pennsylvania. This led to the first major wave of investments in the oil industry. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
This railroad was built mostly by hand, taking six years to finish, and was 1,912 miles long. -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
The Standard Oil company was established in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller, and was considered a monopoly. It was the biggest oil refinery of its time period. -
Bell patents telephone
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, a revolutionary invention that permanently changed the way people communicated. The Bell Telephone Company is now modern day AT&T. -
First telephone on White House
President Hayes was the first president to have a telephone in the White House. He embraced the new technology but still rarely used the new invention. -
Edison perfects incandescent light bulb
Between 1878 and 1880, Thomas Edison and his NJ research team tested over 3,000 light bulb designs, and in 1879 he filed a patent for the electric lamp. -
Railroads set up standard time zones
In 1833 the 4 new time zones were introduced for a more unified departure and arrival schedule. The railroads needed a better way to conduct the time of the transportation so they created standard time zones. -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
The first successful electric trolley, or tram, was The Richmond Union Passenger Railway, created in Richmond, VA. Although there were several previous attempts to create an electric trolley system, this was the first one to be reliable enough to replace animal-hauled railways. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
The Sherman Antitrust Act was created to outlaw monopolistic business practices. This was the first act passed by Congress to prohibit trusts. This made sure that no company could be a monopoly and control the entire industry. -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
The Carnegie Steel company made Andrew Carnegie a very rich and successful man. It managed the steel mills in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but was eventually sold to become a part of the U.S. Steel Corporation. -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
The US Steel Corporation was founded by a number of men including JP Morgan. It was created with the combination of Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company and a few other successful steel companies.
