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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
On August 28, 1859, George Bissell and Edwin L. Drake made the first successful use of a drilling rig on a well drilled especially to produce oil, at a site on Oil Creek near Titusville, Pennsylvania. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
In 1850, more than 9,000 miles of track covered the United States. By 1860, the number had risen to over 30,000 miles, more miles of rail than the rest of the world altogether. -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
On May 15, 1911, the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of Standard Oil Company, ruling it was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Ohio businessman John D. Rockefeller entered the oil industry in the 1860s and in 1870, and founded Standard Oil with some other business partners. -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates, in order to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. -
Bell patents telephone
On this day in 1876, 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his revolutionary new invention–the telephone. -
First telephone on White House
1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes has the White House’s first telephone installed in the mansion s telegraph room. President Hayes embraced the new technology, though he rarely received phone calls. -
Edison perfects incandescent light bulb
October 21, 1879 Using a filament of carbonized cotton thread, his first attempt at this design results in a bulb that lasts about 13.5 hours before burning out. He later extends the life of the bulb to 40 hours. -
Railroads set up standard time zones
Operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced on November 18, 1883. -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
In February 1888, the electric street railway system. Richmond system became the lasting prototype for electric street railways because of its large-scale practicality and operating superiority. -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. It was named for Senator John Sherman of Ohio, who was a chairman of the Senate finance committee and the Secretary of the Treasury under President Hayes. -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
One of the most powerful bankers of his era, J.P. (John Pierpont) Morgan (1837-1913) financed railroads and helped organize U.S. Steel, General Electric and other major corporations.
