-
Phonograph
Invented by Thomas Edison, this device recorded and played back sound using a rotating cylinder, laying the groundwork for modern audio technology. -
Period: to
Inventions from 1877 to now.
-
Light Bulb
While Humphry Davy demonstrated the incandescent bulb in 1802, Edison perfected a practical, long-lasting version. revolutionizing indoor lighting and energy use. -
Automobile
Karl Benz patented the first gasoline-powered car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, introducing personal transportation and sparking the automotive industry. -
Motion Picture Camera
Developed by Edison and his assistant William Kennedy Dickson, the kinetograph captured moving images, birthing the film industry. -
Radio
A young Italian named Gugliemo Marconi invented what he called “the wireless telegraph” while experimenting in his parents' attic. He used radio waves to transmit Morse code and the instrument he used became known as the radio. -
Airplane
The airplane, a pivotal invention, emerged from the work of the Wright brothers, who achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. -
Television
The television, an electronic system for transmitting images with sound, evolved from early mechanical systems using spinning disks to the fully electronic systems we know today, with key contributions from inventors like Philo Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin. -
Penicillin
Alexander Fleming, a Scottish bacteriologist, accidentally discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic, when he noticed that a mold, Penicillium notatum, inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria on a contaminated Petri dish. -
Jet Engine
The jet engine, a revolutionary invention propelling aircraft at high speeds, was independently developed by Frank Whittle in Britain and Hans von Ohain in Germany, with Whittle's 1930 patent marking a key moment in its history. -
Nuclear Reactor
The first human-made, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, and thus the invention of the nuclear reactor, occurred on December 2, 1942, in a squash court under the University of Chicago's football stadium, with the reactor, Chicago Pile-1, designed and led by Enrico Fermi. -
Transistor
John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley at Bell Labs invented the first working transistor, a device that revolutionized electronics by replacing bulky vacuum tubes with smaller, more efficient solid-state components. -
Credit Card
The modern credit card, as we know it, emerged in 1950 with the launch of the Diners Club card by Frank McNamara, inspired by forgetting his wallet while dining, offering a convenient way to pay without cash. -
Polio Vaccine
The development of the polio vaccine was a monumental achievement, spearheaded by Jonas Salk's inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in 1955, followed by Albert Sabin's oral polio vaccine (OPV) in the 1960s, drastically reducing polio cases and paving the way for global eradication efforts. -
Laser
The laser, an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," was invented in 1960 by Theodore Maiman at Hughes Research Laboratories, building upon theoretical work by Charles Townes, Arthur Schawlow, and Gordon Gould, and the first working laser produced a red beam from a synthetic ruby crystal. -
Personal Computer
The personal computer revolution began in the 1970s with the development of the microprocessor, enabling smaller, more affordable computers for individual use, starting with hobbyists and eventually becoming mass-market consumer electronics. -
Mobile Phone
The invention of the mobile phone, or cell phone, is credited to Martin Cooper, who made the first call on a prototype device in 1973, and the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the first commercially available handheld cell phone, was approved in 1983. -
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), a system of interconnected documents accessed via the internet, was invented by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 to facilitate information sharing among scientists. He created the foundational technologies: HTTP, HTML, and URLs, making it a universal, easy-to-use global information system. -
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), a space-based radio-navigation system, was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for military use, with civilian access later becoming available, and is now a ubiquitous technology for navigation and location services. -
Smartphone
The first widely recognized smartphone, the IBM Simon, emerged in 1994, featuring a touchscreen and capabilities like email, calendar, and address book, paving the way for the modern smartphone era. -
CRISPR Gene Editing
CRISPR gene editing, a revolutionary technology, emerged from the study of bacterial immune systems, enabling precise and efficient DNA editing, and was co-invented by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, leading to the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.