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Period: Jan 1, 1449 to
Technology and Discoveries Through the Ages
Technology and Discoveries from 1449 to 1950. We can see that the general trend is\ that as time goes on, technological advancements become more frequent. -
Jan 1, 1450
Johannes Gutenberg Invents the Printing Press
The invention of the movable-type printing press in Europe by Johannes Gutenberg made books much cheaper to make, allowing writers to more easily spread their knowledge and ideas to others. -
Sir John Harrington Invents the First Valve-Flushing Toilet
Though unpopular at first, during the Industrial Revolution, sanitation became a major concern. Thus, simply "going to the bathroom" anywhere was no longer tolerated. Water-based sewer systems were built to dispose of unwanted waste, and the toilet became a common sight. ("Toilets 383-84) -
Galileo Studies the Stars with Telescopes
With his personally-built telescope, Galileo carefully observed the moon and the planets. His discoveries of moons around Jupiter and phases of Venus challenged contemporary beliefs of the geocentric universe. He was put under house arrest by the Catholic Church for supporting the Copernican heliocentric model. ("Galileo") -
Isaac Newton is Born
Issac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, England. He invented differential calculus and made discoveries in the field of optics, motion, and gravity. ("Isaac Newton") -
van Leeuwenhoek's Discovery of "Animalcules"
Using the microscopes he had developed, van Leeuwenhoek discovered strange particles, which he theorized were tiny animals. Today, these animalcules are known as bacteria ("Antoni van Leeuwenhoek"). -
James Watt Improves the Steam Engine
James Watt dramatically improved the steam engine's efficiency by separating the condenser from the piston. By the end of the 18th century, one-fifth of all factories in Great Britain used steam power. ("Steam Engine") -
Richard Arkwright Patents the Water Frame
The water frame was a water-powered device that permitted the production of pure cotton fabric. Arkwright later lost his patent, allowing factory owners to freely prop-up factories alongside rivers to use the tool. Between 1780 and 1800, cotton output in Great Britain soared 800%. -
Michael Faraday is born
Michael Faraday is credited with the discovery of benzene. His work in the field of magnetism and electricity became the foundation for electrical motors and the generation of electricity ("Michael Faraday). -
Nicholas Appert and Canned Food
By taking containers of food, sealing them, and heating them, Nicholas Appert discovered that the food could remain fresh indefinitely. With the exception that modern containers are made of metal, not glass, we still use his basic method today. -
Edward Jenner and the Smallpox Vaccine
In 1796, Edward Jenner found through experimentation that cowpox, a mild form of smallpox contracted from cows, could be used to immunize people from smallpox. Smallpox would later be erradicated in the 20th century. (Ford 499-507) -
Robert Fulton Invents the Steamboat
Steamboats allowed Europeans to conquer more shallow coastal areas and voyage into inland rivers. Later steamships were built of iron and were nearly invincible to less technologically-advanced nations in Africa and Asia, allowing Europe exert its influence across the globe. -
Louis Pasteur is born.
Louis Pasteur was a reknowned scientist and is considered the father of the field of microbiology. He is most famous for inventing the process of pasteurization disproving spontaneous generation and inventing vaccines for rabies and anthrax. ("Louis Pasteur") -
First Steam Locomotives in Britain
George Stephenson began to use steam engines to power his trains. Soon after, the railroad exploded in popularity, with thousands of miles of track being spread across the industrialized world.
The exploding popularity of railroads allowed people to quickly travel and transport their goods across vast distances over land. ("Transportation Revolution") -
First Telegram is Sent by Samuel Morse
The telegraph, a device for sending electrical signals over wires, Allowed messages to be sent in hours or even minutes compared to before, where it was limited by the speed a person could travel. ("Samuel Morse") -
Anesthetics Used at Massachusetts General Hospital
Patients before the invention of anesthetics, patients undergoing surgery experienced extreme pain, and had to be held down for the surgery's duration.
With anesthesia, surgery became much more easy for everyone involved. ("Medicine: Overview") -
Henry Bessemer and the Bessemer Process
First process in which steel could easily and inexpensively be mass-produced, invented by Henry Bessemer in the 1850's. ("Bessemer Process")
The introduction of relatively cheap steal helped to fuel the Industrial Revolution. -
Alexander Graham Bell and the Telephone
After Alexander G. Bell invented the telephone, the telephone spread rapidly throughout the Western world and by 1900, the USA and most of Europe had telephone systems in place.
The telephone allowed easy, near-instantaneous communication between people great distances apart. ("Telephone") -
Incandescent Lightbulb Invented
The invention of electric lights meant that people were no longer strictly bound to the Sun for light. The lightbulb was invented by Joesph Swan and Thomas Edison. ("Lightbulb") -
Albert Einstein is Born
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany. He is known for proving that light is both a particle and a wave and for his theory of relativity. ("Albert Einstein") -
The Internal Combustion Engine
The version of the internal combustion engine and the automobile we know today was invented by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimer. The engines were lighter and less expensive than models made by earlier inventors Nikolaus Otto and Étienne Lenoir in the mid-1880's and ran on gasoline.
They soon attached these engines to tricycles and other frames, creating the first modern automobiles. ("The Age of the Automobile") -
Nikola Tesla Patents His Alternating Current Devices
At the time, direct current was much more popular and backed by famed inventor Thomas Edison. Alternating current electricity, however, loses much less power when being transported over long distances. Today, the US electrical system uses alternating current. ("Nikola Tesla") -
George Eastman Popularizes Photography
Eastman had invented rolled film, which allowed relatively small, handheld cameras. He founded Kodak in 1888 and worked to market photography to the masses. ("George Eastman") -
Herman Hollerith's Mechanical Computer
Herman Hollerith, an American engineer, built his mechanical computer to speed up the processing of the upcoming 1890 census. Using punched cards to enter data, the 1890 census took 6 weeks to process manually, much faster than the decade spent on the 1880 census. -
The Radio is Invented
Invented by Guglielmo Marconi, the radio was a new form of communication which allowed information and entertainment to be easily transmitted in the common person's home. ("Radio") -
Henry Ford Founds the Ford Motor Company
After other different models, the famous Model T was built in 1908 to be as economical as possible. In 1913, Ford moved production onto a moving assembly line. -
Wright Brothers and the First Airplane
At Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright succeded in the first ever self-powered flying machine. With the invention of the airplane, the world became a much smaller place.
Distances that used to take days or even weeks could now be crossed in just a few hours.("Orville and Wilbur Wright") -
Fritz Haber Develops the Haber Process
The Haber Process is a way to cheaply make ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen, allowing commercial production of synthetic fertilizer (Watts). -
First Synthetic Plastic is Invented Leo H. Baekeland
Plastic is used in a huge variety of ways, ranging from bag bottles, and clothing, to cars and electronics. ("Plastic") -
General Electric Manufactures its First Refrigerator
Refrigeration meant that food could be stored for longer without spoiling and transported over longer distances. (Cumo) -
Early Televisions are Developed
Television became popular after World War II and eventually overshadowed the radio as the news and entertainment center of the home. -
Discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming
Penicillin was one of the first antibiotics discovered and lead to the development of many others. ("Penicillin") -
Practical Synthetic Rubber is Developed
Between 1945 and 1975, worldwide consumption of rubber grew 500%, two-thirds of which were synthetic. However, in recent decades, skyrocketing oil prices and the flexibility of natural rubber have equalized production amounts of natural and synthetic rubber. (Tucker 636-38) -
British Construct CHL Radar Stations
Chain Home Low stations were capable of detecting low-flying aircraft, augmenting the capabilities of the British Chain Home radar network which was already in place by the start of World War II. Radar gave the Allies a great advantage while defending during the Battle of Britain. It would later prove to be advantageous again in the Pacific theater. (Brown) -
First Atomic Bomb Explosion
The first successful atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico set off a chain reaction, leading to the total defeat of the Axis and an arms race with the Soviet Union. Smaller nations obtaining nuclear weapons is a primary concern for the US and its allies. ("Nuclear Weapons") -
The First General-purpose Computer is Built
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ENIAC is one of the first steps to the evermore powerful computers that are so integral to our lives today ("Computer Revolution")
