Some technological inventions and enterprises from 1780 to 1980
1780 - The Epsom Derby takes its name from the 12th Earl of Derby, who establishes the rules of the race: one and a half miles for three-year-old horses.
1788 - The first diving-suit is made for under water use.
1788 - The first issue of 'The Times' is printed.
1790 - False teeth are made of hippopotamus ivory. American president George Washington had a set.
1792 - Central heating is installed in the Bank of England in London.
1799- Domestic gas lighting brought to the people.
1801 - The Jacquard Loom automatically weaves patterns into cloth or carpets.
1804 - The steam locomotive is used to pull wagons in coal mines in South Wales. link3 link4
1805 - A French doctor R. Laennec invents the stethoscope. link2
1807 - Danish inventor Bertel Sanders, invents the push button. Push buttons are used all over the world now.
(Information about this man is hard to find, here is a link to a Spanish web site of inventors, see if you can find him.)
1824 - Matches are invented in England. link2
1829 - Louis Braille, designs the Braille alphabet.
1830 - The first sewing machine can make 200 stitches a minute. Link
1834 - The harvester was built in America.
1836 - American Samuel Colt, invents the revolver.
1849 - The safety pin is re-invented by Walter Hunt to pay back a debt. His design was based on the design Greeks and Romans used.
1851 - American James T. King builds a
washing machine.
1860 - The invention of the combination lock.
1879 - The cash register is invented. link2
1884 - The first fountain pens are in use. link2
1889 - The building of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
1890 - The first air conditioners are installed.
1891 - The invention of the periscope for submarines.
1895 - Wilhelm Roentgen develops the X-Ray
machine ( Link)( Link).
1906 - Disc-brakes are designed for cars. Link2
1910 - Neon lighting first in use. link2
1914 - The first traffic lights of red and green appear in Cleveland, Ohio.
1928 - Erik Rotheim of Norway invented the first aerosol spray can.
1940 - Radar is used by Britain.
1942 - The development of nuclear power. link2
1945 - First atom bomb is tested in July in the New Mexico desert.
1946 - Weighing 30 tonnes and using 18.000 valves, the Eniac electronic computer is in use.
1947 - Instant photographic prints become possible with the Polaroid camera.
1947 - The American aeroplane Bell X-1 breaks the sound barrier.
1957 - The USSR launches the Sputnik, the first man-made satellite.
1958 - High-fidelity stereo on record.
1958 - A Pan Am Boeing 707 airliner begins regular service between New York and Europe.
1963 - The Dutch firm Philips invents the mini cassette and the portable cassette recorder. Using high-quality polyester 1/8-inch tape produced by BASF, which allowed recording and playback at a speed of 1.7/8 inches per second or approximately 47.8 millimetres a second.
1969 - The first men are sent to the moon. link3
1971 - The microprocessor is dubbed the 'miracle chip'. Used in pocket calculators, computers, video games and industrial machinery.
1978 - The first test-tube baby is born in England. link2
1979 - Laser compact discs start replacing LP records.
1980 - The nuclear Magnetic Resonance body scanning machine in use. link 2, link 3
Your task
- Find out some of the inventions and enterprises that have been undertaken over the last 20 years.
- List them in order and give a short description as the list above.
- Choose one of the inventions or enterprises from your list. Write a detailed explanation of it, find pictures of the invention or enterprise to paste on your pages.
You may also like to visit about.com's invention page
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