Technological Advancements 1750-1900

  • Steam Engine

    Steam Engine
    Beginning in 1763, James Watt began improving the steam engine. This was extremely important because it allowed manufacturing machinery, tractors and trains to be powered and was one of the most important advancements throughout the Industrial Revolution.
  • The Spinning Jenny

    The Spinning Jenny
    The spinning jenny is a multi-spindle spinning frame. This invention was very significant because it quickened and easied the process of making yarn.
  • Electric Telegraph

    Electric Telegraph
    Georges-Louis Le Sage created one of the earliest known electric telegraphs. It was very small, only have the range of 2 rooms in his house, it was the beginning of an era and was extremly important.
  • Threshing Machine

    Threshing Machine
    Andrew Meikle invented the threshing machine. It was horse powered and greatly improved agricultural productivity; it separated grains so that people didn’t have to separate grains by hand anymore. This was significant because it saved a lot of time for laborers, especially after people found ways to power it with steam.
  • Steamboat

    Steamboat
    John Fitch made the first functioning steamboat in 1787. This step led the way for many others to follow Fitch's path, eventually leading to the creation of ocean-crossing steamships.
  • Sewing Maching

    Sewing Maching
    In 1790, the first whole sewing machine was patented. This was significant because it made sewing easier by having it done mechanically instead of by hand.
  • Cotton Gin

    Cotton Gin
    The cotton gin is a simple device that quickly seperates cotton from its seeds. This was a huge advancement in plantations and caused a boom in the United States cotton industry and slave population.
  • Railroad Steam Locomotive

    Railroad Steam Locomotive
    Richard Trevithick created the first succesful railroad steam locomotive. This was significant because it was one of the first traces of trains during the Industrial Revolution, and led the way for many advancements in the field.
  • Davy Lamp

    Davy Lamp
    The davy lamp was a mining lamp used in flammable conditions, such as the coal mines, and it reduced the danger of explosions due to methane and flammable gases.This invention saved many lives in the mines and was very useful in the field.
  • American Typewriter

    American Typewriter
    William Austin Burt pattented the Typographer, and it was the first typewriter in the United States. This was significant because it made consistent letter marks on a consistent physical paper structure and improved writing.
  • Bicycle

    Bicycle
    Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the bicycle and it allowed a person to puch pedals to transport themselves. This was significant because it was quicker than walking and was availible to lower classes instead of royalty.
  • Indoor Plumbing

    Indoor Plumbing
    Even though plumbing was around in the homes of the royals in the early 1600's, it wasn't til mid-1800's that indoor plumbing was starting to show up in some middle class homes. This was significant because indoor plumbing helped greatly increase the sanitation of cities.
  • Public Railways

    Public Railways
    In Britain during the 1840's, public railways were scattered slightly and began popping up more often. This was significant because railways are a very important form of transportation in Britain, even today, and were a huge advancement during the Industrial Revolution.
  • Transatlantic Telegraph Cable

    Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
    The cable was completly laid in 1858 and it functioned transatlantically for 3 weeks. This was significant beacuase it used to take weeks for ships to transport messages and then only took a matter of minutes.
  • Dynamite

    Dynamite
    Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, . It was very significant in mining and building railways through obstacles.
  • Light Bulb

    Light Bulb
    Thomas Edison produced the light bulb in 1879, the first long lasting electric source of light. This was important because it made it possible and easier to work once the sun went down.
  • Automobile

    Automobile
    Karl Benz invented the Bez Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, and is credited as the birth of the automobile. This was significant because it replaced the horse-drawn carriage and cars are a huge part of society today,
  • Radar

    Radar
    German physicist Heinrich Hertz invented the radar, which uses radio waves to determine different properties of certain objects, such as speed, direction, altitude, and range. This is significant because it's an important part of society today, the radar is used by militaries as an important tool to detect ships.
  • A.C. Motor

    A.C. Motor
    In 1888, Nikola Tesla created the first A.C. electric motor, after inventing the alternate current in years prior. This was significant because is used in a lot of electricly powered motors, back then and today.
  • Motion Picture Camera

    Motion Picture Camera
    Frenchman Louis Le Prince patented the first film camera. This was significant becuase it was the very beginning of an entire era of moving pictures and new forms of entertainment.