Important Technological Advances By josephm Jul 13, 1907 Leo Baekeland develops Bakelite, the first popular synthetic plastic. Oct 1, 1908 American industrialist and engineer Henry Ford launches the Ford Model T, the world's first truly affordable car. Jun 15, 1938 Laszlo and Georg Biro pioneer the modern ballpoint pen. Oct 4, 1957 Soviet Union (Russia and her allies) launch the Sputnik space satellite. Jan 1, 1964 Douglas Engelbart develops the computer mouse. Jan 1, 1965 Stephanie Kwolek patents a super-strong plastic called Kevlar. Jun 20, 1969 Astronauts walk on the Moon. Apr 3, 1973 Martin Cooper develops the first handheld cellphone (mobile phone). Jun 26, 1974 First grocery-store purchase of an item coded with a barcode. Apr 11, 1976 Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs launch the Apple I: one of the world's first personal home computers