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In 1896, Ford built a “horseless carriage,” which he called the “Quadricycle,” which means “four wheels” (others, including Charles Edgar and J. Frank Duryea, Elwood Haynes, Hiram Percy Maxim, and Charles Brady King had built earlier “horseless carriage”).
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, named after the author of the National Anthem, was born.
http://www.online-literature.com/fitzgerald/ -
Crayons were invented by Edwin Binney and Harold Smith, who owned a paint company in New York City, NY, USA. Binney and Smith invented the modern-day crayon by combining paraffin wax with pigments (colorants). These inexpensive art supplies were an instant success since they were first marketed as Crayola crayons in 1903.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
The first working airplane was invented, designed, made, and flown by the Wright brothers, Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948).
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
The popsicle was invented by 11-year-old Frank Epperson in 1905. Epperson (1894-?) lived in San Francisco, California. Epperson had left a fruit drink out overnight (with a stirrer in it), and it froze, making a new treat. His frozen treat was originally called the Epsicle.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
A prep school in New Jersey, it is here that Fitzgerald met Father Sigourney Fay. Fay encouraged his ambitions for personal distinction and achievement.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
Henry Ford (1863-1947) used the first conveyor belt-based assembly-line in his car factory in 1913-14 in Ford’s Highland Park, Michigan plant.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 - August 27, 1963), was an African-American inventor and businessman. He developed the gas mask (and many other inventions). Morgan used his gas mask (patent No. 1,090,936, 1914) to rescue miners who were trapped underground in a noxious mine.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
Fitzgerald was at a point where he was likely unable to graduate due to his intentional neglect of school. As a result, he joined the army in 1917 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
The 18th Amendment, which banned alcohol in the United States, was passed, carrying over from the previous ban of alcohol during the war as a result of the grains being used to create alcohol being necessary for food.
https://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhProhibition.php -
Convinced that he would die in the war, Fitzgerald rapidly wrote a novel, “The Romantic Egotist”. The letter of rejection from Charles Scribner’s Sons praised the novel’s originality and asked that it be resubmitted when revised.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
In June 1918 Fitzgerald was assigned to Camp Sheridan, near Montgomery, Alabama. There he fell in love with a celebrated belle, eighteen-year-old Zelda Sayre, the youngest daughter of an Alabama Supreme Court judge.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
Due to the overwhelmingly negative response from the public after the widespread ban of alcohol, the 18th Amendment was ratified and alcohol was made legal once more.
https://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhProhibition.php -
Bandages for wounds had been around since ancient times, but an easy-to-use dressing with an adhesive was invented by Earle Dickson (a cotton buyer at the Johnson & Johnson company).
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
Fitzgerald quit his job in July 1919 and returned to St. Paul to rewrite his novel as This Side of Paradise. Set mainly at Princeton and described by its author as “a quest novel,” This Side of Paradise traces the career aspirations and love disappointments of Amory Blaine.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
The publication of This Side of Paradise made Fitzgerald famous almost overnight, and a week later he married Zelda Sayre in New York. They embarked on an extravagant life as young celebrities. https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment-1 -
Because of the prohibition of alcohol through the 18th amendment, illegal bars and saloons began to open. Using the name "speakeasy" as a reference to the hidden nature of these locations, speakeasies hid their alcohol through secret knocks, handshakes, and code words required for entry.
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/ah-prohibitionspeakeasy/ -
After a riotous summer in Westport, Connecticut, the Fitzgeralds took an apartment in New York City; there he wrote his second novel, The Beautiful and Damned, a naturalistic chronicle of the dissipation of Anthony and Gloria Patch.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
The Great Gatsby, considered Fitzgerald's best work, is published; the book is a commercial failure and it is only until decades after Fitzgerald's death that the book sparks interest in the public eye and becomes a classic.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
Kool-Aid was originally a liquid called “Fruit Smack,” and was sold in a 4-ounce bottles. It was later renamed Kool-Ade (and later, Kool-Aid), and sold in powdered form in packets. The seven original Kool-Aid flavors were: Cherry, Lemon-Lime, Grape, Orange, Root Beer, Strawberry, and Raspberry. The Kool-Aid factory later moved to Chicago, Illinois, and was bought by General Foods Corporation in 1953.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
The first non-leaking ballpoint pen was invented by the Hungarian brothers Lazlo and Georg Biro. Lazlo was a chemist and Georg was a newspaper editor.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
Believing himself a failure, Fitzgerald passed away in late 1940 due to a heart attack.
https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/university_libraries/browse/irvin_dept_special_collections/collections/matthew_arlyn_bruccoli_collection_of_f_scott_fitzgerald/life_of_fitzgerald/index.php -
The microwave oven was invented as an accidental by-product of war-time (World War 2) radar research using magnetrons (vacuum tubes that produce microwave radiation). -
Bar codes (also called Universal Product Codes or UPC’s) are small, coded labels that contain information about the item they are attached to; the information is contained in a numerical code, usually containing 12 digits. UPC’s are easily scanned by laser beams. UPC’s are used on many things, including most items for sale in stores, library books, inventory items, packages, railroad cars, etc.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml -
The disposable diaper was invented in 1950 by Marion Donovan. Her first leak-proof diaper was a plastic-lined cloth diaper. Donovan then developed a disposable diaper. She was unsuccessful at selling her invention to established manufacturers, so she started her own company.
https://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/1900a.shtml