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Japan begins the first recorded use of waste paper for the making of new paper.
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As a result of the Arab invasion of Spain, the industrial art of distillation of petroleum products into illuminants became available in western Europe by the 12th century.
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Earliest written record of a windmill's existence in England is a rental note for a mill in Weedly, Yorkshire
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The first successful passenger coach, a four-wheeled wagon with a strap suspension, is built in Kocs, Hungary.
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Hugh Platt discovers coke, a charcoal-like substance produced by heating coal.
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The first attempt is made to harness ocean energy in the Bay of Fundy where there are huge tidal changes. Small mills are successfully powered by the tides.
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The scientific method of reasoning was explained by English philosopher Francis Bacon in his book Novum Organum.
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Joseph Cugnot builds a steam carriage that can carry four people at speeds of up to 3.6 km per hour (2.25 mph). This is considered the first true automobile.
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George Leclanche invents the zinc-carbon battery, a precursor to the dry cell and flashlight battery.
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Chernobyl nuclear reactor number 4 near Kiev, USSR explodes at 1:23 a.m. local time leading to a catastrophic release of radioactivity.
