Famous Inventions Timeline

A Homeschooling Unit Study and Activities

Jul 31, 2007 Denise Oliveri

Because people are willing to create and test products, we all benefit from inventions. Learn when some popular inventions were discovered and how to research them more.

It has taken many inventions and lots of wisdom to come as far as we have today. Just when it seems like everything has been invented that is imaginable, something new comes along. Use this timeline to see how inventions have progressed over the years. The list below is just some of the inventions that have been over many years.

Paper

• Year: 105
• Inventor: Ts'ai Lun

Magnifying Glass

• Year: 1250
• Inventor: Roger Bacon

Moveable Type

• Year: 1447
• Inventor: Johann Gutenberg

2-Lens Microscope

• Year: 1590
• Inventor: Zacharias Janssen

Telescope

• Year: 1608
• Inventor: Han Lippershey

Mercury Thermometer

• Year: 1714
• Inventor: Gabriel Fahrenheit

Lightning Rod

• Year: 1752
• Inventor: Benjamin Franklin

Parachute

• Year: 1785
• Inventor: Jean Pierre Blanchard

Electric Battery

• Year: 1800
• Inventor: Alessandro Volta

Steam Locomotive

• Year: 1829
• Inventor: George Stephenson

Refrigeration

• Year: 1834
• Inventor: Jacob Perkins

Telegraph

• Year: 1837
• Inventor: Samuel Morse

Anesthesia

• Year: 1842
• Inventor: Crawford Long

Sewing Machine

• Year: 1846
• Inventor: Elias Howe

Elevator Brake

• Year: 1852
• Inventor: Elisha Otis

Typewriter

• Year: 1867
• Inventor: Christopher Sholes

Telephone

• Year: 1876
• Inventor: Alexander Graham Bell

Light Bulb

• Year: 1879
• Inventor: Thomas Edison

Automobile (gasoline)

• Year: 1886
• Inventor: Karl Benz

Escalator

• Year: 1891
• Inventor: Jesse Reno

Submarine

• Year: 1891
• Inventor: John Holland

Moving Picture Viewer

• Year: 1893
• Inventor: Thomas Edison

Diesel Engine

• Year: 1895
• Inventor: Rudolf Diesel

X-ray Machine

• Year: 1895
• Inventor: Wilhelm Roentgen

Tape Recorder

• Year: 1899
• Inventor: Valdemar Poulsen

Windshield Wipers

• Year: 1903
• Inventor: Mary Anderson

Propeller Airplane

• Year: 1903
• Inventors: Wilbur and Orville Wright

Vacuum Ice Cream Freeze

• Year: 1912
• Inventor: Beulah Henry

Modern Radio Receiver

• Year: 1913
• Inventor: Reginald Fessenden

Insulin

• Year: 1922
• Inventor: Sir Frederick Banting

Television

• Year: 1923
• Inventor: Vladimir Zworykin

Rocket Engine

• Year: 1926
• Inventor: Robert Goddard

Penicillin

• Year: 1929
• Inventor: Alexander Fleming

Jet Airplane

• Year: 1939
• Inventor: Hans van Ohain

Electric Computer

• Year: 1942
• Inventors: John Atanasof and Clifford Berry

Microwave

• Year: 1946
• Inventor: Percy Spencer

Fiber Optics

• Year: 1955
• Inventor: Narinder Kapany

Laser

• Year: 1958
• Inventors: A. L. Schawlow & C. H. Townes

Word Processor

• Year: 1965
• Inventor: IBM

CAT Scanner

• Year: 1973
• Inventor: Godfrey Hounsfield

Space Shuttle

• Year: 1977
• Inventor: NASA

Artificial Heart

• Year: 1978
• Inventor: Robert Jarvik

Cellular Phone

• Year: 1979
• Inventor: Ericsson Company

Laptop Computer

• Year: 1987
• Inventor: Sir Clive Sinclair

Digital Camera

• Year: 1994
• Inventor: Apple Computer, Kodak

DVD

• Year: 1995
• Inventor: Matsushita

Robot Vacuum

• Year: 2002
• Inventor: iRobert Corporation

How do you get an invention out on the market?

In order to get your new and great invention into the hands of millions of customers, you need to file for a patent (the exclusive right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years). You can find the proper forms at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There is a lot of work that goes into getting an invention patented. You have to have specific details clearly explained, along with illustrations of how your invention works. The patent examiner will also want to know why you think your invention is of benefit to others and will determine if it is a unique invention, unlike anything else already on the market. Sometimes people will even hire lawyers to make sure that they have filled out the paperwork correctly and that they have followed all of the instructions needed to apply for a patent. Once your invention is approved, you will have the sole rights to market and sell your product. It is a very exciting process.

Apply this information

To help students understand more about inventions, assign them to a report to learn all they can about a specific invention and about the person who invented it. Ask them things like when was it invented, why was it invented, did this person invent anything else, and what would you like to invent?

The copyright of the article Famous Inventions Timeline in Homeschooling is owned by Denise Oliveri. Permission to republish Famous Inventions Timeline in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Typewriter