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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
The first oil well drilled in Pennsylvania, was the most successful oil wells drilled for the sole purpose of finding oil. It began an international search for petroleum, and in many ways eventually changed the way we live. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
The Transcontinental railroad completed made the American West easily accessible, creating a boon of trade, business and population. It brought the country together. -
Bell Patents Telephone
The invention of the telephone revolutionized the way people communicate. The device allowed people to instantlytalk to each other over long distances. -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
Rockefeller became one of the world's wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. He built his first oil refinery near Cleveland and in 1870 incorporated the Standard Oil Company. The company was renamed Standard Oil Company, after which Rockefeller decided to buy up all the other competition and form them into one large company. -
First Telephone on White House
President Hayes embraced the new technology. The Treasury Department possessed the only other direct phone line to the White House at that time. The White House phone number was “1.” -
Edison Perfects incandescent light bulb
Edison used a carbonized bamboo filament could last over 1200 hours. This was the most successful thing he used for his lightbulbs. He then began manufacturing commercial lamps using carbonized Japanese bamboo as filaments. -
Railroads set up standard time zones
Operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Therefore the standard time zones were created -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
The first practical electric trolley system. It set the sequence for most electric trolley systems around the world. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
The first measure passed by the congress to forbid trusts. The Sherman Antitrust Act was based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce. -
Carnegie steel company is Formed
Carnegie seemed ways to make the steel mill better. He turned his company, the Carnegie Steel Company, into one of the most efficient steel producing companies,, which resulted in huge profits. -
J.P Morgan forms U.S Steel
The company dominated the steel market during the first half of the twentieth century. The U.S. Steel was the largest corporation in the United States at one point. It eventually sold off old businesses, added new ones, and struggled to keep up with foreign competition.
