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First commercial coal production
Near Richmond, Virginia, the first commercial U.S. coal production began. -
Electrical Relay Invention
Joseph Henry invented the electrical relay able to send electrical currents long distances. -
First commercial well drilled
Edwin Drake drilled the first commercial well and hit oil and natural gas at 69 feet below the earth’s surface. -
Electric lights
Thomas Edison invented an incandescent light bulb that could be used for about 40 hours without burning out. -
First large windmill to generate electricity
Charles F. Brush used the first large windmill to generate electricity in Cleveland, Ohio. -
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls hydropower station opened. -
Hoover Dam and Electrification Act
Boulder (Hoover) Dam was completed. The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 was aimed at bringing electricity to farms across the country. -
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was formed in the United States to secretly build the atomic bomb for use in World War II. -
Shippingport reactor
The Shippingport reactor in Pennsylvania was the first nuclear power plant to provide electricity to customers in the USA. -
The Arab oil embargo
The Arab Oil Embargo, several Arab OPEC nations stopped selling, oil to the United States and Holland to protest their support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli “Yom Kippur” War. -
Energy Research and Development Administration
The Energy Research and Development Administration began operating -
NAPAP study began
The National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP) study began. -
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 required many changes to gasoline and diesel fuels to make them pollute less. -
Energy policy act of 2005
Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which promoted the use of coal through clean coal technologies
