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?