10 Most Important Inventions in History

  • The Camera

    The Camera
    The first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography was built by Johann Zahn in 1685, though first photograph wasn't until 1814 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce using a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles and Vincent Chevalier.
  • The Steam Engine

    The Steam Engine
    The first practical steam-powered 'engine' was a water pump, developed in 1698 by Thomas Savery.The first commercially successful engine did not appear until 1712. Paved the way for the Industrial Revolution.
  • The Automobile

    The Automobile
    Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is often credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769.
  • The Sewing Machine

    The Sewing Machine
    In 1791 British inventor Thomas Saint was the first to design a sewing machine. Though, a working model was never built.
  • Telephone

    Telephone
    The first bi-directional transmission of clear speech marked the invention of the elctric telephone by Alexander Graham Bell.
  • The Light Bulb

    The Light Bulb
    The electric light, something that we use every day and that is a crucial part of our daily lives, was invented in 1879 by Thomas Edison.
  • The Television

    The Television
    In 1884 Paul Gottlieb Nipkow, a 20-year old university student in Germany, patented the first electromechanical television system, though many discoveries after him led to the TVs we have today.
  • Penicillin

    Penicillin
    The discovery of penicillin is attributed to Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming in 1928.
  • The Computer (ENIAC)

    The Computer (ENIAC)
    ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) was the first general-purpose electronic computer.
  • The Wheel (8000 B.C.)

    The Wheel (8000 B.C.)
    The wheel is one of the oldest and most important technological discoveries. Though, it is a mystery as to who invented the wheel and when the wheel was invented. According to archaeologists, it was probably invented in around 8,000 B.C. in Asia. The oldest wheel known however, was discovered in Mesopotamia and probably dates back to 3,500 B.C