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?
