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Parachute Invented
source André-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute jump about 3,200 ft in the air. He first got the idea as a prisoner during the French Revolution. He wanted to know if air resistance could be used to slow down a fall. When he got out in 1797, he made a canopy 23 ft in diameter attached to a basket with suspension lines. In 1802, he went up about 8,000 ft. However, he died in 1823 in a parachute accident. -
Trancontinental Railroad invented
source The Pacific Railroad Act hired two companies: Central Pacific and Union Pacific to build a railroad across the country. From Sacramento to Omaha, the railroad's making was full of danger. They could get attacked by Native American tribes scared by the Iron Horse. However, they were moving faster than their rivals, Central Pacific. The two companies connected in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. -
Four-Stroke Cumbustion Cycle invented
source The four-stroke combustion cycle, also called the Otto cycle, was invented by Nikolaus Otto. This invention is important because it converted gasoline to energy. This engine is in our present day cars, too. If it wasn't for Otto, we wouldn't have cars, airplanes, helicopters, or motorcycles. It put fuel in a small place, and ignited it. This would create a large amount of energy in the form of expanding gas. -
Igor Sikorsky is born
source Igor Sikorsky made many contributions to air travel. In 1913 he made the first aircraft capable of a loop. Also in 1913, he flew 500 km in 5 hours. He also went an altitude of 3,680, a record at the time. 1913 was very decorative with Igor's achievments and firsts. He flew one of the first successful four-enginge planes. In 1939, he produced the first single rotor helicopter. -
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Wright Bros. First Flight
source The Wright Bros. (Wilbur and Orville) completed their first flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flighlt lasted for about a minute using a concept they called wing warping. They traveled about 852 ft in a controlled plane. However, some flight experts didn't believe them. So they travelled to France where they were able to sell their airplanes. They became wealthy, and started the Wright Company. -
Titanic invented
source The RMS Titanic was a large luxury passenger ship. The ship was the largest man made movable object at the time. Its two steam engines were powered by 29 boilers. It could carry more to 3,300 people (2,435 passengers and 900 crewmembers). However, there were some major design flaws. A bulkhead on the Titanic was water-tight, but they could spill from one to another. Also, there were only 16 lifeboats, that could only fit 1,178 people. -
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Henry Ford massproduces the Ford Model T
Source Henry Ford makes the Ford Model T using assembly lines, and was popular due to the low cost, durability, ease of maintenance, and the versatility. It had more than 15 million copies made during 1913-1927. It's engine generated 20 horsepower, and it's top speed was around 45 mph. It was sold for about $600 ($8,000 for inflation. Most cars would be hand cranked to power up. Gasoline went into the engine using gravity. -
First Traffic Light Installed
source On the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street Cleveland, OH, the first traffic light is installed. There had to be a way to control traffic flows, and maintain safety. James Hoge patented this invention in 1918. It featured the words STOP and MOVE displayed electrically. There was a buzzer noise to warn when the signal would change. -
Boeing 247 built
source The Boeing 247 is the first modern passenger airliner. It was built fully with metal, and had a twin-engine. It took the 247 20 hours to fly from New York to Los Angeles. It flew at 189 mph, and its flight time was faster than the previous airliners. 75 were made in total. 60 went to Boeing Air Transport, ten to United Aircraft Corp., and the rest went to Lufthansa and China. -
Hindenburg launches
source The Hindenburg was a long airship that carried about 1,000 people. It was filled with flammable hydrogen rather than helium. It was scheduled to make 10 trips from Germany to the United States of America. It had a maximum speed of 84 mph, and a cruising speed of 74 mph. The Hindenburg was infamous for blowing up on air, and caused the famed words by Herbert Morrison, "Oh the humanity!". -
Federal-Aid Highway Act signed.
source Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. This created a 41,000 mile National System of Interstate and Defense Highways that would eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes, traffic jams, and other issues. Incase of an atomic attack, this would make a quick evacuation from major cities. This would also implement overpasses and underpasses. They were four lanes wide, and were designed to be speedy. -
Three-Point Lap & Shoulder Seat Belt invented
source The Three-Point Seat Belt is a major step from the Two-Point Seatbelt. Two-Point belts were mostly only used for racers. Nil Bholin was involved in the making of ejection seats in Saab fighter jets as well. These seatbelts were first introduced in Volvo cars, until it became a standard in 1964. Seat belts save more than 11,000 lives each year according to NHTS. -
The Vostok I launches
source The Vostok I is the first manned spaceship. Yugi Gagarin, the pilot, had only one hour of travel time in space. Its controls weren't unlocked, so the pilot couldn't use them. He could only use it using a code in a sealed envelope for emergencies. However, the FAI said you'd have to land with a spacecraft to make it an official flight. Yugi actually ejected from the spacecraft. -
Space Shuttle Columbia built
source Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space shuttle in space, not the first space ship. Its first flight happened on April 12,1981. The flight was called STS-1, and had a two person crew of John Young and Bob Crippen. The spacious cargo bya could hold large military satellites.The shuttle was only partially reusable and not fully, which would increase the cost of flights.