Inventions

Invention Timeline

  • Lightning Rod

    Lightning Rod
    Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod in 1752. It successfully attracted lightning bolts and channeled them into the ground. The lightning rod was placed on top of tall buildings.
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    Inventions Timeline

  • Steamboat

    Steamboat
    The steamboat was invented in 1807 by Robert Fulton. The Clermont was invented in 1807 and was a steamboat that was able to travel upstream on a river at a speed of 5mph
  • Sewing Machine

    Sewing Machine
    The first lock-stitch sewing machine was invented by Walter Hunt in 1833. He did not obtain a patent for the invention and later Elias Howe sought a patent on this invention, however, he did not continue to manufacture it or sell it. Finally, it was Isaac Singer who successfully patented the lock-stitch sewing machine and became rich.
  • Telegraph

    Telegraph
    The telegraph was invented in 1844 by Samuel F.B. Morse. He sent a message to Baltimore from Washington D.C. that stated "What hath God Wrought?" The invention of the telegraph brought on a new era of communication.
  • Incandescent light bulb

    Incandescent light bulb
    Thomas Edison invents the first incandescent light bult backed by funds from research investors at J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts. The $30,000 fund allowed for allowed for the first installation of an incandescent system in a New York printing press.
  • Zipper

    Zipper
    Although not originally named the zipper, the hook and eye device was created in 1893 by Whitcom L. Judson. His device was introduced at the World's Columbian Expo in Chicago and was later improved and named the zipper by BF Goodrich Co in 1923.
  • Model T

    Model T
    Henry Ford invented the Model T automobile which was later discontinued in 1927. His improved assembly line process is largely credited for his invention.
  • Atomic Bomb

    Atomic Bomb
    The atomic bomb was developed in 1945 in a lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico. The team, led by Oppenheimer, ran several tests on the bomb which was later dropped in Japan in two cities, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. The two bombs collectively, claimed more than 100,000 lives.
  • Personal Computer

    Personal Computer
    The first PC, or personal computer, was invented in 1983. The PC took the world by storm and continued to advance each year since it's development.
  • Hubble Telescope

    Hubble Telescope
    The Hubble telescope was sent 350 miles above Earth by the space shuttle DIscovery in 1990.This telescope helped with many space discoveries since its first mission.