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Commercial production of coal begins
Commercial production of coal in the United States begins -
Baltimore becomes the first American city to have gas street lights
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The South Carolina Railroad's train, Best Friend of Charleston, is the first successful steam locomotive
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The first oil well is drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania
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Edison patents the electric lightbulb. Soon this invention will light America into the 20th century.
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The first hydroelectric plant opens in Wisconsin, supplying electricity to 3 buildings
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Henry Ford begins to mass produce the gasoline powered Model T. Gasoline would become the prevailing fuel of the automobile.
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With promises of electricity "too cheap to meter", the Shippingport Atomic Power Station was the first commercial nuclear reactor in the United States
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In 1973, OPEC proclaimed an oil embargo against the U.S, which caused high gasoline prices and shortages of other fossil fuels.
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A partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant caused a scare and the public called for a reduction of nuclear power.
