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1887, Illustration of the U.S. Patent Office (photo obtained from "The Lemelson Center" website)

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Technological Inventions, Innovations and Achievements from the 1860's to the 1920's

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Technological Inventions, Innovations and Achievements from the 1860's to the 1920's

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This padlet is an exploration of a few of the most important and inspiring technological breakthroughs and events that occurred between the 1860's and the 1920's. These are certainly not all of the inventions or achievements that occurred in that time period, but they are certainly some of my favorite. I hope you enjoy learning about them as I did!

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1869, Joining of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railways (photo obtained from "Library of Congress Blogs")

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Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads Merged into Transcontinental Railroad (1869)

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Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads Merged into Transcontinental Railroad (1869)

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On May 10th of 1869, a monumental golden spike was hammered into the railway at Promontory Summit, Utah (Shi, 746). This golden spike, connecting the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroad, marked the completion of the first ever transcontinental railroad of the U.S. and was also the culmination of about seven years of hard, grueling work to see the project to completion. Beginning in 1862 with the passing of the Pacific Railway Act, which funded the project, this daunting task was accomplished by two competing railway companies, each racing to build their half of the transcontinental railway fastest (Shi, 743). This race to complete the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads led to many corners being cut and safety becoming a very low priority. Railway workers were injured or killed daily over the course of the construction, either because of the inherent dangers of building the railroads or from the violence of the camps the men lived in. Despite the cut corners and the risks involved, the project was a success and by 1869 the U.S. had its first ever transcontinental railway, connecting the East Coast and the West Coast by thousands of miles of metal track.

I chose this historic event because it represents one of the most impressive achievements of the 19th century and the importance that railways played in American life during this time period. As with any form of transportation, railways were all about connection. Railways helped to connect cities to towns, factories to farms, and urban communities to rural ones. With the completion of the transcontinental railroad, railways could even help connect the untamed West with the well-established East. Despite the fact that modern Americans don’t utilize or appreciate trains nearly as much as our 19th century predecessors may have, railways are still an important tool for connection and transportation, and the nailing of the golden spike in Promontory Summit still remains a hallmark achievement for both American history and the history of locomotion.

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1874, Joseph Glidden and His Barbed Wire Design (photo obtained from "True West Magazine")

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Joseph Glidden Patents His Design for Barbed Wire (1874)

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Joseph Glidden Patents His Design for Barbed Wire (1874)

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In 1874, a farmer from Illinois named Joseph Glidden patented his design for the barbed wire fence. While he is sometimes credited as the inventor of barbed wire, Glidden was not the first to conceive of the idea, nor was he even the first to patent it. In fact, the first patent for barbed wire was awarded to a man named Lucien Smith in 1867, a whole seven years before Glidden patented his design (Winnerman). However, Joseph’s design stood out from the rest because it was the first one to be commercially viable, thus allowing for barbed wire to spread throughout the West like wildfire. Barbed wire massively changed the dynamics of life in the untamed West. Before barbed wire, ranchers, cowboys, and Native Americans could roam the open range and bring their livestock wherever they saw fit, oftentimes without the permission of the people whose lands they trespassed on (Shi, 811). The expectation that the West was an untamed and boundariless land was effectively killed off once Joseph’s barbed wire made fencing off properties and livestock practical and affordable.

I chose to write about Joseph Glidden’s design and patent for barbed wire because I believe that it is an invention which modernity often takes for granted, but which massively changed the world of the West and the status quo of agriculture. Barbed wire made property boundaries firm and fixed and was one of the major nails in the coffin of the “Cowboy Age,” as we might call it. The story of Joseph Glidden’s patent also shows that an invention does not have to be the first of its kind to be successful and remembered. Joseph himself must have seen what an achievement his design was because he dubbed it “The Winner” (Winnerman). This would prove quite prophetic since his design has endured the test of time, despite lots of initial resistance from ranchers and cowboys during the late nineteenth century.

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1892, Alexander Bell Makes Telephone Call Between New York and Chicago (photo obtained from "The Nation" magazine)

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Alexander Bell Receives First Telephone Patent (1876)

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Alexander Bell Receives First Telephone Patent (1876)

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On March 7th of 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received the official patent for his design of the telephone device (Library of Congress). His patent, being US Patent Number 174,465, was for an “Improvement in Telegraphy” and built upon the wired electrical communication of the telegraphs before it (The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities). Although Alexander Bell is widely credited as the first real inventor of the telephone, the idea of the telephone was not his alone and there is still debate over whether he deserves the credit for the design of the telephone that he patented. The main source of this debate comes from the fact that, on the same day as Bell applied for the patent of his telephone design, another inventor named Elisha Gray also applied for a patent for his own telephone design (Library of Congress). The two designs were remarkably similar, so the inventors and their designs were taken to court to decide who would receive the patent for the telephone. As history would have it, Alexander won the case and the first ever patent for a telephone device was awarded to him.

I chose the story of Alexander Bell’s patenting of the telephone device because it represents two remarkable things. First is the invention of the telephone itself, which helped to drive communication technology forward by leaps and bounds and which produced a device that has changed the world forever. Second is the fact that the story of the rival patents shows how complicated it can get claiming an achievement in history as belonging to one man or woman alone. Most inventions or achievements in human history have been the combined effort of many, many people over many, many years. Even the title of Bell’s patent as an “Improvement in Telegraphy” (The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities) points to the fact that he owed much of his design to the inventors, electricians, and engineers who poured their efforts into the making and improvement of the telegraph that preceded the telephone. All and all, Bell’s Patent Number 174,465 was a huge milestone in communication technologies and a fascinating example of how complex the idea of “invention” can be.

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Date Unknown, Thomas Edison at West Orange Chemistry Lab (photo obtained from "Lemelson" website)

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Thomas Edison Builds "Invention Factory" in Menlo Park (1876)

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Thomas Edison Builds "Invention Factory" in Menlo Park (1876)

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On March 25, 1876, the construction for Thomas Edison’s “Invention Factory” in Menlo Park was completed (Thomas A. Edison Papers). This monumental and celebrated laboratory was the headquarters of Thomas Edison and his staff for many years and served as the birthplace for many notable and groundbreaking inventions, eventually earning Edison the colloquial title of the “Wizard of Menlo Park” (Bedi). Edison and his team of like-minded inventors produced hundreds of new inventions at Menlo Park, including the phonograph, the storage battery, the electric motor, the motion picture camera, and many more (Shi, 741). Most notable and remembered of Thomas Edison’s inventions, however, has to be the invention of the electric light bulb, which drastically changed the way people dealt with day and night. While working on the light bulb, Edison also gained an immense understanding of electricity and even developed a comprehensive city-wide electrical system that could deliver the electricity needed to power his light bulbs (Bedi). His work on electricity would be incredibly invaluable, though it would later come to put him at odds with rival inventors George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla.

I chose the construction of Edison’s “Invention Factory” because I believe that it was one of the most important and influential hubs of science and technology during the nineteenth century and because it helped to propel the world of electricity forward by leaps and bounds. I also wanted to write about the “Invention Factory” specifically, instead of just writing about Edison himself, because I think that one of the core aspects of what made Edison successful was his willingness and ability to work with others and surround himself with likeminded talent. Science and invention are a team sport, I believe, and Edison showed off how to do it with his “Invention Factory” at Menlo Park.

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Date Unknown, George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla Photoshopped into the Same Picture (photo obtained from "All About Circuits" website)

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George Westinghouse Buys Nikola Tesla’s Patent for Alternating Electric Current (1888)

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George Westinghouse Buys Nikola Tesla’s Patent for Alternating Electric Current (1888)

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In 1888, inventor and entrepreneur George Westinghouse obtained the patent for Nikola Tesla’s alternating current (AC) electrical system design. Up until Tesla’s design, electricity had almost exclusively been delivered using a direct current (DC) system, the type which inventor Thomas Edison had helped develop and standardized in the U.S. Direct current, for all of its achievements, had one major problem: its range was cripplingly short. Electricity delivered using Edison’s direct current system could only be delivered about two miles away from where it was generated (Shi, 741). Westinghouse saw the immense potential of alternating current, which prompted him to buy Tesla’s design and to convince him to join his Westinghouse Electric Company (Library of Congress). Edison, cautious about the safety of alternating current, began a brutal, not entirely honest smear campaign which portrayed alternating currents as extremely dangerous when compared to direct currents. Despite the opposition, Westinghouse pressed on with his alternating currents and proved them to be the superior electrical system whenever his company was able to provide power for the World’s Columbian Exchange of 1893. Edison’s company had bid that they could provide the power for the cost of $554,000, but Westinghouse’s company was able to do it for $339,000, finally proving that alternating currents had truly won the war of the currents (Lantero).

I chose the story of Westinghouse and Tesla’s AC system versus Edison’s DC system because it’s an intriguing battle of minds and because the invention of alternating currents massively changed the scope and range of commercial electricity. It’s hard to tell whether or not Thomas Edison actually believed that alternating current was too dangerous to be trusted, but his bull-headedness in fighting AC turned out to be something of a low point for the celebrated inventor. Edison’s own electric company, poetically, would eventually switch from DC to AC, showing that, despite even the most hard-headed resistance, the facts spoke for themselves and AC was the truly superior system. Thanks to Tesla and Westinghouse, electrical power can be made readily available practically anywhere in the U.S., and for that I am certainly grateful.

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1903, Wright Flyer Taking Off for First Flight (photo obtained from "Wikipedia")

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Wright Brothers Fly First Biplane (1903)

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Wright Brothers Fly First Biplane (1903)

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On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made aviation history whenever Orville became the first person to pilot a powered airplane (Leishman). The Wright brothers, owners of a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, conducted their first flight in Kittyhawk, North Carolina (Shi, 1029). Their plane, dubbed the Wright Flyer, was the product of years of testing, designing, and building. The Wright brothers not only designed the Wright Flyer, they also built all of the core components for it: the engine, the propellers, and the frame of the aircraft (Leishman). Their first flight was, by today’s standards, a short and unassuming one, lasting only twelve seconds and letting Orville travel 120 feet and reach a top speed of about six miles per hour (Uri). Despite the humble nature of the Wright brothers’ first flight, the event was still an amazing feat of engineering and science that helped lay the groundwork for the budding aviation sciences and industries.

I chose the first flight at Kittyhawk because I believe it was one of the most important and memorable moments in aviation history. The breakthrough invention of the Wright Flyer and the determination and ingenuity of the Wright brothers to see it airborne served as crucial stepping stones towards later breakthroughs in flight. The airplane, as a mode of transportation, has massively changed what is possible when it comes to travelling the globe. In time, it even changed the scope of travel to beyond the globe, since the invention of the airplane helped lay the groundwork for the many spacecraft to follow. The Wright Flyer’s first flight, though unassuming, helped pave the way for the awe-inspiring aviation feats of the later twentieth century, as well as the many aviation feats that are yet to come.

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1921, Albert Einstein in Vienna (photo obtained from "Wikipedia")

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Albert Einstein Publishes Four Seminal Papers (1905).

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Albert Einstein Publishes Four Seminal Papers (1905).

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In 1905, at the age of twenty-six, Albert Einstein graduated from the University of Zurich with his PhD. This year of his life would come to be known as his “annus mirabilis” or “miracle year” (Burnham) because he would publish four seminal papers that would change our understanding of the universe and set the groundwork for modern physics and chemistry as we know them today. In his first paper, Albert explained the photoelectric effect and established that light should be thought of as particles, which he called “quanta” but which are now known as “photons” (“Albert Einstein”). His second paper examined the random movement of particles and helped to establish the understanding that matter is made up of atoms. His third and fourth papers were where he established two of his most famous discoveries: the special theory of relativity, which established the direct connection between time and space, and the mass-energy equivalence formula, or “E = mc²” as it is more commonly known, which established that energy and mass are interchangeable (Burnham). Albert would go on to publish even more papers that would continue to make waves, including one in which he proposed the general theory of relativity, which built on special relativity and explained how gravity is the bending of time and space (U.S. Department of Energy).

I chose to include Albert Einstein’s miracle year because I believe that the discoveries he made drastically enhanced our understanding of the physical universe. Whether or not we realize it, many of the topics that university students have to study today were majorly influenced by the career of Albert Einstein, such as chemistry, physics, and mathematics. Even topics such as U.S. History were majorly influenced by Einstein because he played an important role in spurring on the Manhattan Project during World War II (Shi, 1149). Though he wasn’t an American, Albert Einstein’s life and career would impact the U.S. in many incalculable ways and his discoveries are still making waves even to this day.

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1921, Henry Ford with Model T (photo obtained from "Voice of America")

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On September 27, 1908, the first ever Model T car was produced in Henry Ford’s Piquette Avenue factory in Detroit (Tomac, 33). Produced from 1908 to 1927, the Model T would prove to be one of the most influential and successful car models ever produced. The major goal behind Henry Ford’s Model T was to make it affordable enough for every American family to buy (Shi, 1031). To achieve this monumental goal, he and his team at Ford Motor Company would experiment extensively with both the materials and designs of his cars and the processes used to put those cars together. Perhaps the most important innovation that Ford and his company utilized over the course of refining their Model T production was the assembly line method of production. Instead of hiring only highly skilled workers that knew how to do many of the tasks required to build a car, Ford’s company decided to divide the steps of building a Model T into many small, distinct steps and train workers on how to do one specific step (Tomac, 37). This division of labor greatly improved the efficiency of Ford’s factories and made the Model T much more affordable. In fact, when the Model T was first put on the market in 1908 it cost about $850, but by 1924 it had gone down to only $290, almost a third of its original price (Shi, 1031).

I chose the production of Ford’s Model T because it marked a great advance in the availability of automobiles to the working public. Before the Model T pioneered efficient assembly line production, automobiles were only truly available to those of the upper class who could afford them. Henry Ford and his team’s dedicated and scientific work on designing and producing the Model T helped open up the possibility of owning a car drastically and would change American transportation forever.

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1920, KDKA Broadcasts Results of Harding-Cox Election (photo obtained from "Radio World")

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KDKA Starts First Commercial Radio Broadcast (1920)

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KDKA Starts First Commercial Radio Broadcast (1920)

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On November 2, 1920, the KDKA became the first licensed radio station to broadcast a commercial radio program (Davis). This broadcast and the station that transmitted it would help to establish radio as a powerful cultural tool for communication and connection, pushing American mass media forward by leaps and bounds. Before the November 2 broadcast, radio technology had largely been confined to military use as a means of long distance communication–essentially as just a form of wireless telegraphy (Shi, 1029). However, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh saw the great potential in radio as a means of mass communication to the public (Davis). Thus, the Westinghouse company created the KDKA, which received the first commercial radio license on October 27, 1920, allowing them to transmit their fateful first broadcast on November 2 that same year (Davis).

I chose the November 2 KDKA broadcast because it marked the beginning of the age of radio for America and the world. Though radio had been around for decades before the KDKA’s first broadcast (the first radio patent was issued in 1896 (“1890s – 1930s: Radio”)), its potential as a means to connect large numbers of people over long distances had not yet been realized. After the November 2 broadcast, radio would rapidly rise in popularity in the U.S. and would be used as a tool for marketing, politics, entertainment, education, journalism, and more. Though the KDKA’s first broadcast was a humble start for commercial radio, it nonetheless proved that radio was a viable and valuable way of connecting the masses.

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1927, Excited Mobs Surround "The Spirit of St. Louis" After Lindbergh Lands in Le Bourget Aerodome (photo obtained from "This Day in Aviation" website)

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Charles Lindbergh Crosses Atlantic Solo in "The Spirit of St. Louis" (1927)

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Charles Lindbergh Crosses Atlantic Solo in "The Spirit of St. Louis" (1927)

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On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Long Island, New York and set off towards Paris in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis (Ward, 3). This incredible flight, the first ever solo transatlantic flight, would prove to be a gruelling and dangerous journey. Flying through fog and storms, Charles took off at 7:52 am on May 20 and was in the air for thirty-three hours and thirty minutes, landing in Paris the next night on May 21 (Ward, 3). His flight would span 3,610 miles and would take him through unforgiving cold, storms, and fog, pushing him both mentally and physically (“Charles Lindbergh”). According to the pilot himself, though, the most dangerous part of his journey was the landing at Le Bourget Aerodrome–not because of the technical challenges of landing the plane, but because of the “human sea” of people who were there on the landing strip to greet him (Lindbergh, 516). As he touched down, people swarmed him and his plane to celebrate his achievement, as well as to snatch souvenirs of the event by taking bits of The Spirit of St. Louis for themselves (Lindbergh, 516). The rowdy and ecstatic reception at the Le Bourget airfield showed how monumental an achievement Lindbergh’s transatlantic flight truly was and proved him to be quite the celebrity for it.

I chose the historic flight of The Spirit of St. Louis because it shows how far aviation technology had progressed since the fateful first flight of the Wright Flyer in 1903. In a little over two decades, airplanes had progressed from only being able to travel about 120 feet and stay airborne for twelve seconds (Uri) to being able to travel over 3,000 miles and stay airborne for an entire thirty-three hours (“Charles Lindbergh”). Charles Lindbergh’s tremendous transatlantic flight was not only a win for the pilot himself, but was a major win for aviation at large and helped to prove that airplanes had become an invaluable form of transcontinental travel. Aviation would never be the same after Lindbergh’s celebrated touchdown at Le Bourget Aerodrome on May 21, 1927.