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Giovanni Branca, an Italian architect, designs and builds an early turbine cosisting of a boiler that moves a wooden wheel by directing steam, via a spout, to the wheel's blades.
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Benjamin Franklin discovers that lightning is electricity, which opens the door for the development of electricity.
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The Industrial Revolution begins, creating a more machine-based economy, which required people to begin using more energy.
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Coal becomes the main fuel for the railway system and for homes.
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Baltimore, Maryland lights its street lights with coal and is the first city to do so.
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Michael Faraday creates the first electric motor.
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Edwin Drake first drills for oil in Pennsylvania and is successful!
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Henry Ford produces the first car that can run on either gasoline or ethanol.
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The first electric refrigerator is invented.
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The nations first modern petroleum refinery is founded by Shell in California.
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Nuclear energy becomes the second largest source of electricity in the United States.
