-
Thomas Newcomen invents the first steam engine. It is not very useful yet, but the idea of using steam to make machines go will be imported to the industrial revolution.
-
He invents the telegraph, which allows messages to be sent quickly over a wire.
-
At a time when people had to make their own clothes at home or pay someone else to sew them by hand, Elias Howe invents the sewing machine.
-
Henry Bessemer invents a process for making steel out of iron. Having a way to make steel more quickly and more sharply helps the productions of building and leads to the growth of cities.
-
Which is a safer way to blast holes in mountains or the ground than simply lighting black powder.