Inventions and Innovations

The Piano

Mar 10, 1709

It was invented by Bartolomeo Christofori in Italy. He originally called it the 'Gravicembalo col piano e forte' or 'pianoforte', meaning harpsichord with soft and loud. It is said that three of Christofori's pianos are still around today. One in New York, one in Germany, and one in Rome.

The Hot Air Balloon

Jun 5, 1783

Joseph-Michel Montgolfier and his brother Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier invented the first hot air balloon. They were paper makers. Their first invention was filled with heated air, hence the name, and ascended fro 10 minutes. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier was the first person to go up in the balloon even though it was tied down for safety. Later on November 21 1783, he an another man, ascened 300 feet over Paris and it maintained flight for 25 minutes.

Morphine

Mar 10, 1805

Friedrich W. Sertürner was a german scientist and pharmacist who isolated morphine from opium. It was named after Morpheus, the greek god of sleep. Morphine is obtained from the unripe seed capsules of opium poppy. Morphine is mostly given to people with pain from physical wounds or to patients with intense pain caused by diseases, such as cancer.

Stethoscope

Mar 10, 1816

A frenchman, Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Lannec. The word stethoscope is greek, stethos meaning chest and skopeein meaning to inspect. Lannec's version of the stethoscope was made with a hollow, wooden tube and would be later patented by Nathan B. Marsh.

Lighter

Mar 10, 1816

The first ligher was called the "Dobereiner's Lamp", after the inventor, Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner. This lighter did not use butane oil as the fuel but, highly explosive hydrogen. The lighter also used platinum as the starter rather than flint. It was also for being on the table when used instead of being handheld.

The Electromagnet

Mar 10, 1825

William Sturgeon created the first electromagnet. The electromagnet was in the shape of a horseshoe and was wound with little pieces of coiled metal. When the current ran through the coil, it magnatized the whole piece.

The Safety Pin

Apr 10, 1849

Walter Hunt was given the paten for the safety pin. The safety Pin was made from one piece of wire that had a spring at one end and a clasp at another.

The Stapler

Aug 7, 1866

The stapler was invented for King Louis XV. The Novelty Paper Fastener was patented by the by the Patent Novelty Mfg Co. This fastener was able to be loaded with one fastener at a time for manual ability to fasten multiple sheets of paper at a time. George W. McGill first patented the brass paper fastner.

The Refrigerator

Mar 10, 1877

The refrigerator was invented by Carl von Linde. The refrigerator was an electrical appliance that used refrigeration to help perserve food.

The Fountain Pen

Mar 11, 1884

The Fountain Pen was invented by Lewis Waterman. Many fountain pens had been created before this one, however they all had problems that made them impracitcle and so they didn't sell very well.

The Radio

Mar 13, 1895

The radio is closely related to the inventions of the telegraph and the telephone. First in the 1860's, physicist, James Clerk Maxwell came up with the idea of radio waves. Then 1886, German physicist, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz then followed the prediciton of Maxwell and came up with the way that radio wave work. Guglielmo Marconi was able to send and recieve the first successful message.

The Paper Clip

Nov 9, 1899

The Paper Clip was patented by William D. Middlebrook. It was used for holding several sheets of paper together using pressure, but can also be easily removed. Middlebrook also invented the machine to create the paperclip.

The Airplane

Dec 17, 1903

Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright invented the airplane. For the first attempt, it traveled 120 feet and landed 12 seconds after it landed. This set a prescedent for future inventors to better the airplane. It wasn't used for transportation and travel until 1928, when the Model 80 was invented for passenger transportation.

The Zipper

Mar 10, 1913

Gideon Sundback, who was the employee of Whitcomb Judson's, was a swedish inventor. It was called the "Hookless Fastener" when first patented in 1913. Then in 1917, it was improved and patented the "Separable Fastener". The zipper had interlocking teeth that was able to be used to hold to peices of fabric together, while being able to un-hook them as well.

Chewing Gum

Mar 10, 1928

THomas Adams Sr. invented the first chewing gum. He used chicle, which was a substitut for rubber. The first flavored chewing gum was named Black Jack.