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Jan 1, 1000
Carrier Pigeon, 990 BC
Carrier Pigeons have been around as early as 3 000 years ago. They were used by the Egyptians and Persians. Carrier pigeons were also used to proclaim the winner of the Olympics. They were also used in World War I and II to deliver messages. The only downside of a carrier pigeon is that it only flies one way, home. They have to be manually transported back to make another flight. -
Electrical Telegraph
Samuel F. B. Morse invented the first electrical telegraph in 1832 that could successfully send messages across wires utilizing electricity. He gave a public demonstration of his telegraph in 1838. Five years later congress gave $30,000 to construct a telegraph line from Washington to Baltimore. The total distance was 40 miles. -
Signal Flare
Martha Coston was the inventor of the signal flare and patented it in 1871. They were invented to help ships communicate with other ships and people on the shore. She sold her system to the U.S. Navy for $5 000 and then later sold the parents right for $20 000 to the Navy. The idea of the flare had come from her husband, and when he died she needed a way to make money so she finished her husband’s plans for flares. -
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone. On March 7th, 1876 he became the first to receive a patent for this device. Bell was experimenting on improving the telegraph so that you could send multiple messages at one time. He was also working on the idea that speech could be transmitted electronically. -
Radio System
Guglielmo Marconi invented the first radio system. It transmitted a signal of Morse code over the Atlantic Ocean on December 12th 1901. The transmission was the letter S in Morse code, repeatedly. This was viewed as a great scientific advance. The distance between the two points was approximately 3 500km. -
Mechanical-Electric Television System
John Logie Baird invented the first successful mechanical-electric television system. On 2 October 1925 Baird transmitted the first television picture. To publicize his invention he went to the daily express newspaper. This TV only worked at 5 pictures per second. -
ENIAC
The ENIAC is widely regarded as the first fully functional electronic general-purpose computer. It was invented in 1946, and the press referred to it as the great brain by the press. The design and construction of the ENIAC were financed by the United States Army during World War II. -
Smoke Detector
Duane D. Pearsall invented the first affordable home smoke detector in 1965. It was the first smoke detector to feature a battery powered that could be easily replaced. The first company to make units to be mass produced came from Duane D. Pearsall’s company. -
Practical Typewriter
Christopher Latham Sholes constructed the first practical typewriter in his Milwaukee shop in 1867. His first typewriter was made with a piano keyboard, it was a minor improvement from previous models. His second model of typewriter in 1868 was the first model to be able to write faster then pen. -
Laser Printer
Laser printers were invented by Xerox in 1969. Gary Starkweather is credited with its development and research. The first commercial laser printer was avaliable by Xerox in 1977. It was named the The Xerox 9700 Electronic Printing System . It was the IBM model 3800. It was mainly used by business to print high volume items such as mailing labels and invoices. -
Portable Phone
Dr. Martin Cooper is credited with the invention of the first portable phone. He made the first cell phone call in April of 1973. The first cell phone that he invented was called the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X. It was a foot long, weighed two pounds and was almost $400. -
Portable Computer
Adam Osborne is known for creating the first commercially available portable computer. It was released in April of 1981. The computer was known as “The Osborne 1”. It weighed 24.5 pounds and was $1795.
