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English scientist William Gilbert studies magnetism and the corresponding attraction of rubbed amber and various rubbed jewels. He modifies the Greek and Latin terms for amber to produce the English word electric as a noun describing a material that behaved like amber.
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Thomas Newcomen in collaboration with Thomas Savery build the first practical steam engine to use a piston and cylinder, bringing the steam engine out of the lab. It drives a pump in a mine and produces about 5.5 horsepower.
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Benjamin Franklin describes in a letter his discovery that a pointed conductor can draw off electric charge from a charge body. This is the basis for Franklin's lightning rod, even before Franklin proves the connection between electricity and lightning.
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The match is first discovered by Robert Boyle who rubbed phosphorus and sulfur together.
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Captain Samuel Morey of Oxford, N.H., received a patent for an internal-combustion engine. The engine had 2 cylinders 180- degree cranks, poppet valves, a carburetor, an electric spark, and a water cooling device. The engine was powered by spirits of turpentine vapor.
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Benoit Fourneyron builds the first enclosed water turbine of modern design. It develops 6 horsepower.
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George Stephenson's steam locomotive The Rocket is chosen over three competitors to open the Liverpool to Manchester railway in England. This is considered the start of the railroad boom.
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Joseph Henry invents the electrical relay, which enables a current to travel long distances from its origin.
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John Frederic Daniell invents the Daniell cell, the first reliable source of electric current. It uses interaction of copper and zinc.
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Kirkpatrick MacMillan, in Scotland, develops a bicycle powered by treadles and driving rods that does not require the rider's feet to touch the ground. It is called a velocipede.
