Vulcanized Rubber Charles Goodyear 1844 Process of refining rubber and other
polymers into a useable form Made it retain elasticity and withstand
lower temperatures
Bessemer Steel Making Process Henry Bessemer 1855(56) First inexpensive industrial process for
refining and mass producing steelPig iron must be refined before it is strong
enough to be of useThe Bessemer process removes impurities
Dynamite Alfred Nobel 1867 Discovered a way to combine nitroglycerin
with a stabilizing agent- made it into a paste- gave the previously volatile substance industrial applications
Nobel left his vast fortune to sponsor awards for advances in the sciencesNobel peace prizes
Induction Motor and Alternating Current Nikola Tesla 1888 Originally worked with Edison but broke
off to follow his own lines of experimentation
Induction motor enabled the mass production of machinery
Steam Engine James Watt 1769 Did not create the steam engine- but
saw the inefficiency Improved condensing chamber so as to
lose less energy
Steam Boat Robert Fulton 1807 Did not create the first steam boat, but
perfected it for commercial uses The Clermont- 150 miles in 32 hours
Bicycle Baron von Drais 1817 Invented to help him get around the
royal German gardens faster Pushed with your feet Followed by the Velocipide had pedals Became a practical, inexpensive method
of transportation
Dirigible Henri Giffard 1852 French engineer Connected a small steam powered
engine to a large propeller, topped at 5 mph
Elevator Elisha Otis 1853 Did not invent the first elevator First freight elevator and braking system
that eventually made skyscrapers possible
Airplane Orville and Wilber Wright Dec. 17, 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North
Carolina 12 second flight First powered, controlled flight
Ford’s Model T Henry Ford 1909 Did not invent the automobile or the
assembly line, but created cars affordable to the masses
First gasoline engine 1885 Karl Benz
Telegraph Samuel Morse 1837 Developed from crude, earlier models-
submitting electrical current over wire Morse code in 1838
Photography Louis Daugerre 1839 Captured images by exposing plates to
mercury and silver nitrate- decreased exposure time from previous attempts
Typewriter Christopher Sholes 1868 Wisconsin newspaper man Improved after initial patent and
manufactured starting in 1871 Easier for mass production of media-
magazines, newspapers, etc.
Phonograph Thomas Alva Edison 1878 Came from his work with the telegraph
and telephone Recorded sound waves onto a metal
cylinder
Telephone Alexander Graham Bell 1876 Vast potential far exceeded that of the
telegraph
Wireless Telegraph Guglielmo Marconi 1897 Goal was to use radio waves to transmit
Morse code signal as used for conventional wired telegraphs
Received a Nobel prize in 1909
Canning Process Nicholas Appert 1810 Won the French prize for discovering a
new method for preserving food
Sewing Machine Elias Howe 1846 New apparatus made stitches uniform
and increased output- industrialized textile industry
Light Bulb/Electric Light Thomas Alva Edison 1879 Tested 3,000 different methods for
developing an incandescent light bulb
Kinetescope Thomas Alva Edison 1891 Ribbon of pictures run at speed through
a camera opening One of many attempts at moving
pictures of the day
Discussion What do you think is meant by the
phrase “Necessity is the Mother of Invention?”
Why do you think these inventions came about at these specific times?
