Timeline of Industrial Revolution By alexjhastie Oct 23, 1702 Jethro Tull invents the mechanical seed drill Oct 23, 1712 Thomas Newcomen builds the first commercially successful steam engine Oct 23, 1733 John Kay invents the flying shuttle, which speeds up the weaving process Oct 23, 1761 The bridgewater Canal, designed by James Brindley, opens near Manchester, England, to connect the coalmines to the city Oct 23, 1764 James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny Oct 23, 1764 Scottish engineer James Watt improves the steam engine to help the powering of machinery Oct 23, 1779 The first steam powered mills open Oct 23, 1785 The steam powered loom is invented by Edmund Catwright Oct 23, 1785 The cast-iron plowshare is invented in England Oct 23, 1793 Eli Whitney develops the cotton gin, a mechanical device for removing seeds from cotton Oct 23, 1796 British doctor Edward Jenner develops a vaccination against smallpox Oct 23, 1799 Eli Whitney uses an assembly line to mass produce muskets for the US Army Oct 23, 1803 Richard Trevithick builds the first steam locomotive Oct 23, 1815 Scottish engineer John McAdam makes the first paved roads, using crushed stone Oct 23, 1819 A canal for ocean-going ships connects the English city of Exeter with the sea Oct 23, 1825 The worlds first commercial railroad opens between Stockton and Darlington in England Oct 23, 1833 Britain's Factory Act restricts the use of children in industry Oct 23, 1838 The combine harvester is invented Oct 23, 1838 Isambard Kingdom Brunel's iron steamship 'Great Western' becomes the first vessel to run regular transatlantic passenger services Oct 23, 1842 Labor laws in Britain forbid women from working underground in coal mines Oct 23, 1848 German political thinkers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels write the Communist Manifesto urging a workers' revolution Oct 23, 1856 In England, Henry Bessemer invents a process for making steel more efficiently and cheaply Oct 23, 1866 The first telegraph cable to be laid across the Atlantic Oct 23, 1871 The Trade Union Act recognizes unions by law Oct 23, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone