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 Homeschool Curricula is owned by Denise Oliveri. Permission to republish Famous Inventions Timeline in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.