Who invented what?
Glasses (1280's, Italy)
Mechanical clock (1335, Italy)
Viol (viola da gamba) and Cello (late 15th and 16th century, Italy)
Pocket watch (1510, Germany)
Invented by Peter Henlein.
Violin (Early 16th century, Italy)
Thermometer
- 1593 : Invented by Galileo (Italy)
- 1714 : Mercury thermometer invented by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (Poland/Netherlands)
Invented by Galileo Galilei.
Microscope (1595, Netherlands)
Invented by Zacharias Janssen.
Telescope
- late 11th century : astronomical lenses (Sweden)
- 13th century : experimental telescopes built by Francis Bacon (UK)
- 1595/1608 : refracting telescope (Netherlands)
- 1609 : improved by Galileo (Italy)
Newspaper (1605, Belgium/France/Germany)
The world's first printed newspapers were the Relation aller fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien published in Strasbourg (Germany at the time, now France), and the Nieuwe Tijdingen, published the same year in Antwerp (part of the Spanish Netherlands at the time, now Belgium).
Calculator
- 1623 : automatic calculator invented by Wilhelm Schickard (Germany)
- 1642 : adding machine invented by Blaise Pascal (France)
- 1954 : electronic calculator invented by IBM (USA)
Barometer (1643, Italy)
Invented by Evangelista Torricelli.
Daily newspaper (1645, Germany)
The Einkommende Zeitungen in Lepizing.
Pendulum clock (1657, Netherlands)
Invented by Christiaan Huygens.
Clarinet (1690, Germany)
Invented by Johann Christoph Denner.
Steam engine (1698, UK)
Invented by Thomas Savery in 1698, and improved by James Watt in 1769.
Piano (early 1700's, Italy)
Invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence.
Magazine (England, 1731)
The Gentleman's Magazine was the world's first general-interest magazine.
Hot air balloon (France, 1782-83)
Invented by the brothers Josef and Etienne Montgolfier.
Parachute (1785, France)
Invented by Jean Pierre Blanchard
Steam boat (1786, USA)
First built by John Fitch.
Engine
- 1791 : Gas turbine patented by John Barber (England).
- 1826 : Reciprocating internal combustion engine patented by Samuel Morey (USA)
- 1867 : Petrol engine developed by Nikolaus Otto (Germany)
- 1892 : Diesel engine invented by Rudolph Diesel (Germany)
- 1924-57 : Rotary engine developed by Felix Wankel (Germany)
- 1936-39 : Jet engine developed simultaneously by Frank Whittle (England) and Hans von Ohain (Germany).
Submarine (1800, USA/France)
Invented by American Robert Fulton commissioned by Napoleon. First launched in France.
Ambulance service (early 1800's, France)
Modern method of army surgery, field hospitals and the system of army ambulance corps invented by Dominique Jean Larrey, surgeon-in-chief of the Napoleonic armies.
Refrigerator
- First refrigerator invented in 1805 by Oliver Evans (USA)
- World's first practical refrigerator invented by James Harrison (Australia) in 1856.
Railway (1820, UK)
The idea of the railway dates back to Roman times, 2000 years ago, when horse-drawn vehicles were set on cut-stone tracks. In 1802, the first modern horse-drawn train appeared in England, and the first steam powered train was however launched in 1820, also in England.
Comic strips (1820's, Switzerland)
Swiss Rodolphe Toepffer was probably the first modern cartoonist.
Photography
- First photograph => 1825, France
- Silver photo => 1840, France
- Negative => 1840, UK
- Colour photography => 1861 by James Clerk Maxwell (Scotland)
Gas stove/cooker (1826, England)
First patented and manufactured by James Sharp.
Tramway :
- first horse-drawn carriage on rail in 1828 in Baltimore, USA.
- first cable-car in 1868 in New York.
- first steam-powered tram in 1873
- first electric tram in 1880 in St. Petersburg, Russia, and in 1881 in Berlin, Germany.
Saxophone (1840's, Belgium)
Invented by Adolphe Sax.
Telegraph (1844, USA)
Invented by Samuel Morse
Telephone (1849, Italy)
The invention of the telephone has long been credited to the Scot Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. However, the Italian Antonio Meucci is now recognised to have invented the device as early as 1849.
Dishwasher (1850-1886, USA)
Steam-powered airship (1852, France)
- Invented by Henri Giffard.
Light bulb (1854, Germany)
The first practical light bulb was invented in 1854 by Heinrich Goebel.
Metro/Subway (1863, Britain)
The London Underground was the first rapid transit network in the world.
Vacuum cleaner (1865, USA)
Wrist watch (1868, Switzerland => Patek Philippe & Co.)
Radio
d - Radio waves => 1874, Scotland
- Radio Transmission => 1893-96, USA
Phonograph (1877, USA)
Invented by Thomas Alva Edison, although based on France-born Leon Scott's 1857 phonautograph.
Cash register (1879, USA)
Invented by James Ritty.
Television
- First TV => 1884, Germany
- TV tube => 1907, Russia
- Electronic TV & Broadcast => 1927, USA
Motorcycle (1885, Germany)
First designed and built by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach
Car/Automobile (1886, Germany)
Developed independently and simultaneously by Carl Benz in Mannheim, amd Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in Stuttgart.
Animation (1892, France)
First animated film created by Emile Reynaud.
Cinema (1894, France)
Cinematograph invented by the Lumiere brothers.
Electric stove/cooker (1896, USA)
First patented by William S. Hadaway.
Traffic lights (1914, USA)
Parking meter (1935, USA)
Helicopter (1939, Russia)
Developed by Igor Sikorsky
Microwave oven (1947, USA)
Invented by Percy Spencer.
Atomic clock (1949, USA)
Charge/credit card (1950, USA => Diner's Club)
Video Games (1951-58, USA/UK)
Invention disputed between 3 people, 2 Americans and a Briton.
Laserdisk (1958, USA; commercialised by MCA and Philips in 1972)
Photocopier (1959, USA => Xerox)
Soft contact lenses (1961, Czech)
Invented by Otto Wichterle.
Cassette tape (1967, Netherlands => Philips)
LCD screen (1968, Germany)
Quartz watch (1969, Japan => Seiko)
Video tape (1972, Netherlands - Philips, later replaced by JVC's VHS)
Walkman (1977, Germany => commercialised by the Japanese Sony from 1979)
Compact Disk (1982, Netherlands/Germany - Philips)
CD-ROM (1985, Netherlands/Japan => Philips/Sony)
Minidisk (1991, Japan => Sony)
