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4000 BCE
Wheel and axle
Approximately in 4000 B.C. the earliest signs of a wheel was found to be in pottery making in Mesopotamia. The technology of an axle allowing the wheel to freely spin on it came soon after, opening the doors to millions of ways to make agriculture, transportation, labor, etc., efficient. At the time, the possibilities were endless. Wheel barrows were used to transport things from point A to point B allowing for more supply to be moved as well as getting it their quicker and with ease. -
4000 BCE
Paved roads
Mesopotamia is home to the oldest constructed roads dating back to 4000 BC. Specifically in the cities of Ur and Babylon, this location offered the Sumerian people fertile soil with irrigation, crops and livestock. The Sumerians used mud bricks once they were dried to lay them in place with bitumen which was a natural adhesive we know now as asphalt. -
3000 BCE
Egyptians and paper
Ancient Egyptians produced early inventions of paper. Papyrus leaves which came of the papyrus plant, and also grew abundantly in the marsh of the Nile, were used to create paper in Egypt. Along with a thin past of wheat flour, vinegar and muddy water, sections of the tissue thin strips were laid side by side, slightly overlapping each other, thus, creating usable paper for recording. -
600 BCE
Ancient history
Map making became an important tool for humans. Marking important landmarks, and recording essential geographical areas. Maps can be dates as far back as 5,000 years ago. Later refined by the Greeks and Romans, this trade has introduced a whole new world, literally, in the eyes of humans today. -
500 BCE
Theano Pythagoras "wife"
Theano was often referred to the wife of Pythagoras. She is believed to be the first woman mathematician. Pythagoras allowed women to study at his school which was rare for the time period. It is believed that out of 300 students, around 30 were females. -
300 BCE
Mayan writing system
The photographic writing systems of the Maya may have been developed by earlier Mesoamerican civilizations. Maya writing was used on commonly on altars and elements of architectural sculpture like doorways and stairs. Pottery was also used to inscribe or draw on as well as jade, greenstone, shell, and bones. -
1514
Scientific revolution
Nicolaus Copernicus theorized the Earth revolves around the sun. He thereby created a concept if a heliocentric universe which depicted the distances from the sun correlated to their different orbits. This idea became extremely controversial but resulted in Copernicus becoming the initiator of the scientific revolution. -
1543
Scientific revolution
Andreas vesalius publishes "on the fabric of the human body." Considered a great modern work of science regarding the human body. Vesalius makes amazing observations about the structure of our body. -
Scientific revolution
Galileo Galilei and the properties of gravity. He demostrated that no matter how heavy the object, gravity had the same effect on both objects when dropped at the same time. The results revealed that both objects hit the ground first, meaning that the aristotelian system was wrong since it theorized that the wieght of the object affected its fall rate of speed. -
Scientific revolution
Galileo describes his telescopic observations of the moons surface and Jupiter. The church becomes weary of his discoveries. Ultimately forcing him to cease in spreading his theories -
Scientific revolution
Evangelista invents the barometer. This barometer allows us to measure pressures in the atmosphere, revealing that the air itself has weight. That wight also affects the oxygen content and the way we feel its pressure around us. Pressure differences in altitudes as well as below the ocean also had significant effects on people. Once could also relate pressure changes at sea level to indicate different weather systems. -
Mariaa Margarethe Winchelmann Kirch - Scientific revolution.
Being the first woman to discover a comet while helping her husband with observations. She was a German astronomer. She published her own book about the Aurora Borealis from her own observations in 1707. Her husband had passed in 1710 and she was denied his position at the Royal Berlin Academy of Sciences because of her gender. -
Industrial revolution
Steam engine invented by Thomas Savery. It used steam as a power source. Steam creating pressure and then used mechanically to create continuous power. He had also patented a pump with hand operating valves to raise water from mines by suction created by steam. Another Englishman by the name of Thomas Newcomen developed a more efficient engine that incorporated a piston separating the condensing steam from the water. -
Elenor Coade Industrial
In 1769, Coade's father passed away, which led her to purchase an artificial stone business in Narrow Wall, Lambeth, run by Daniel Pincot. Shortly after her big purchase, she moved away from the formula Pincot had and experimented on her own. Approximately two years later, she partnered with Pincot and became the company's sole owner. -
Industrial revolution
"Spinning Jenny" invented by James Hargreaves. It was easy to operate with little skill. It turned into big development for weaving. It took over as the main industrial manufacture of cloth because of how efficient it was. -
Industrial revolution
The electric motor. In small scale, Micheal Faraday's experimentation with electromagnetism lead to the discovery of electromagnetic induction. This proved that voltage was produced by changing magnetic fields across an electrical conductor. Though his invention did work, the motor was very weak and soon after the invention of the generator came to be. It produced significantly more power and was more useful in other industries. -
Industrial revolution
Telegraph communications by William Fothergill and Charles Wheatstone. They had installed it between Euston and Camden town in London. Soon after they added a system that ranged 13 miles along the great western railway. It turned out to be the first commercial telegraph in the world. -
Industrial revolution
Dynamite invented by Alfred Nobel who was a swedish chemist. Prior to using this, it was common to use gunpowder to destroy rocks or fortifications. Dynamint proved to be stronger and safer. At first it was not meant for military purposes but because of its popularity, it spread quickly and explosive sciences were embraced by militaries around the world. -
Second Scientific Revolution
George Westinghouse, a college drop out but self taught engineer obtained a patent for an incredible system that utilized air pressure to keep train brakes released. When the engineer reduced pressure, the brakes engaged and slowed the wheels bringing the train to a halt. Westinghouse's air brakes made it possible for the booming economy by creating a safe and reliable way to transport people and goods in the late 1800's. -
Second scientific revolution
Skyscrapers have their history beginning with one of the first modern one, using a metal frame, ever built in 1885. It was Chicago's home insurance building. William Le Baron Jenney, engineer and architect, came up with the design which utilized steel I-beams that came from the Carnegie mill in Pittsburgh. Being the first steel building in the United States, it paved the way to what we see in places like New York where buildings have far exceeded heights since the 1800's. -
Marie Curie 2nd Scientific revolution
Widowed to Pierre Curie in 1906 she became the head as Professor of General Physics in the Faculty of Sciences, being the first woman to ever hold this position. She was also appointed the directer of the Curie Laboratory in the Radium, institute of the university of Paris founded in 1914. She developed methods for the separation of radium from radioactive residues to allow for its study and resulted in therapeutic medicine properties that were used during WW1. -
Second scientific revolution
A chemist by the name of William Burton invented a process in which crude oil was chemically modified to create byproducts. Burton was a chemist and an executive for the Standard Oil Co. in Indiana. The crude oil was placed into a container and heated to 700 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking it down chemically. This resulted in numerous distillates such as fuel oil, gasoline, and petrochemical basics. These scientific breakthroughs have given us access to unbelievable vehicles in present times. -
Second scientific revolution
Italian inventor and engineer Guglielmo Marconi developed the first successful long distance wireless telegraph. In 1901 he broadcasted the first transatlantic radio signal. Also, His company, Marconis radios, ended the isolation of ocean travel and saved hundreds of lives, including some from the Titanic. In 1909 he shared the Noble prize in physics for his intelligence in radios. -
Second Scientific Revolution
The invention of the tractor impacted the way farmers operated immensely. John Froelich, an inventor from Iowa, created a solution that resulted in replacing the steam apparatus, that was dangerous for farmers to use at the time, with a gasoline powered, single cylinder engine. This reduced the acreage needed to maintain/feed horses with grain. The gas powered tractors yielded extreme productivity and allowed American farmers to meet the demands of a booming population. -
Space age
Dr. Robert Hutchings Goddard, often referred to the father of modern rocketry and propulsion, successfully tested the first rocket using liquid fuel. By 1914 he received two patents, one for rocket fuel, the other for a three stage rocket using solid fuel. Goddard carried out his studies with money from his own pockets but progressed to his work titled Liquid propellant rocket development. Goddard shined light on modern missiles and modern weapons like the bazooka. -
Space age
The first turbo jet engine built by a British pilot, Frank Whittle. The Whittle engine flew successfully in 1941. The engine featured a multi-stage compressor, combustion chamber, single stage turbine, and nozzle. Air is esentially compressed until fuel is introduced and extreme temperatures keep the engine sustainable. The excess pressure is sent through the nozzle with created a stream line of pressure resulting in thrust. -
Information Technology
"Model K" George Stibits uses relays for a demonstration adder. He built this on his kitchen table hence the letter "K" in the name. This circuit provided proof of the concept for applying Boolean logic in the design of computers. It resulted in the construction of a relay-based calculator in 1939. -
Information technology
Konrad Zuse completed the Z3, an early computer consisting of 2300 relays. It had the ability to perform binary arithmetic and has 22-bit word length. It was used for aerodynamic calculations but was destroyed during a bombing in Berlin in 1943. -
Space Age
In the 1957 the space race began against the Soviet Union and the United States. the Sputnik 1 was launched by the R-7 two staged ICBM. The satellite obtained data pertaining to the density of the upper layers of the atmosphere. It was the first satellite to be placed in earths orbit. It had created a brand new world for humans to explore and it began the ultimate race which lead us to land on the moon.