Timeline Description: The latter half of the nineteenth century became known as the second Industrial Revolution. Many inventions came into play which would change the way people lived.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1800 | Starting off with a bang The 1800's are known as the nineteenth century, and the beginning of the century started off with an impressive invention. Count Alessandro Volta invented the battery, and his name is partly why we now measure power in "volts." |
| 1814 | Choo choo While an earlier model invented by Richard Trevithick had failed, George Stephenson didn't give up on the idea of a steam powered train. He designed the first successful steam engine in 1814. |
| 1814 | Pretty as a picture Joseph Nicephore Niepce invented one of the first machines capable of producing a likeness, or a picture. He photographed the nature surrounding his home, and it took several hours. |
| 1824 | Cement is patented The idea of pouring liquid rock that would harden into stone was a dream that had been played with by inventors for years. Joseph Aspdin was successful in creating a formula for cement that would change the way builders built. |
| 1829 | The typewriter Printing presses had been using typesetting for many years, but it was a long, hard task to print even one book. W.A. Burt invented the typewriter, which would allow writers to create writing in a much quicker fashion. |
| 1829 | Reading for the blind Louis Braille invented a type of raised lettering for the blind. It was a series of dots which would be called Braille. |
| 1834 | An early refrigerator Up to this point in time, when families needed to keep food cool for preservation, they had to bury it in the ground. Jacob Perkins invented a cooling machine that used ice; it was an early refrigerator. |
| 1837 | Samuel Morse(1837-38) An inventor named Samuel Morse invented the telegraph, which allowed people to communicate via wires over long distances. The next year he invented the Morse Code, which is still used today. |
| 1839 | Cameras and bicycles Frenchman Louis Daguerre created a better way to take pictures, called the Daguerreotype. Bicycles were also created in this year, by Kirkpatrick Macmillan. |
| 1847 | Antiseptics and other medical inventions A Hungarian named Ignaz Semmelweis invented antiseptics which would aid in cleanliness. Another medical invention during this time was the use of anesthesia for dental work by Dr. William Morton. |
| 1856 | Pasteurization Louis Pasteur invented pasteurization. Through this process, he boiled milk at a high temperature to kill harmful bacteria; this allowed the milk to stay fresh longer, and it's a process still used today. |
| 1866 | Dynamite is invented Alfred Nobel would be the first person to invent dynamite. The use of this explosive would pave the way for large mining projects such as the Panama Canal. |
| 1876 | The telephone The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. It allowed people to speak across distances, but it was expensive and only the richest families could afford them for a very long time. |
| 1877 | Moving pictures The moving picture was the earliest type of our modern day movies. It was invented by Eadweard Muybridge. |
| 1886 | Coca Cola Soda and soda fountains had been invented earlier in the century, but a man named John Pemberton invented Coca Cola, a drink that would grip the country. Also invented this year was the first 4-wheeled vehicle with a motor engine, created by Gottlieb Daimler. |
| 1888 | Electricity A battle went on between several inventors to come up with the first electric light bulb. Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Sir Joseph Wilson Swan all participated in this race. |
| 1893 | The zipper and more W.L. Judson invented the zipper in 1893, and it would go on to be used for generations until present day. Other famous inventions throughout the 1800's were plastic, dishwashers, the roller coaster, the vacuum cleaner, and more! |