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First oil well is drilled, Pennsylvania
The most important oil well ever drilled was in the middle of quiet farm country in northwestern Pennsylvania in 1859. For this was one of the first successful oil wells that was drilled for the sole purpose of finding oil. -
Transcontinental railroad is completed
The whole project stretched from Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California over 1,800 miles of track. It took about six years to build the Transcontinental Railroad and the golden spike was hammered into the ground when it was completed -
Rockefeller founds Standard Oil
he co-founded Standard Oil Company and actively ran it until he officially retired in 1897. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil as an Ohio partnership with his brother William -
Bell patents telephone
Alexander Graham Bell's telephone patent drawing was issued this day -
First telephone on White House
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
Edison had built his first high resistance, incandescent electric light. meaning that it could eventually mean small electric lights suitable for home use -
Railroads set up standard time zones
The need for continental time zones stemmed directly from the problems of moving passengers and freight over the thousands of miles of rail line that covered North America by the 1880s -
First electric trolley line, Richmond, VA
was the first practical electric trolley (tram) system, and set the pattern for most subsequent electric trolley systems around the world -
Sherman Antitrust Act is passed
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act was the first Federal act that outlawed monopolistic business practices. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. -
Carnegie Steel Company is formed
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area -
J.P. Morgan forms U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe.
