3 000 000
- 2 500 000

First manufacturing of stone tools in East Africa

1 000 000
- 200 000

The first use of fire
Hand axes
Wooden lances
Tools made of stone, wood and bones

200 000
- 10 000

Invention of numerous weapons and tools:
scrapers
gravers
knives
hammers
chisels
drills
saws
hatchets
sickles
spear throwers
bow and arrow

8000

Anatolia: first pottery
Jericho: sun-dried bricks

7000

Anatola and Iran: copper mining

6000

Anatolia: loom
Advanced use of the slingshot

5000

Egypt and Mesopotamia:
Advanced irrigation technology: dams and ditches

4000

Seagoing sailing ships
Mesopotamia:
First copper tools, nails, and weapons

3500

fast running potter's wheel

3200

Mesopotamia: scratch plough
Egypt:
scales and discovery of the papyrus

3000

Mesopotamia:
Improved plough with integrated wooden funnel
Disc wheel and cart
Egypt and Mesopotamia:
first writing
early wood lathe with a string traction as drive
Armenia:
iron processing

around 2800

Egypt:
Mirrors of polished copper
The first mastabas (precursors of the pyramids) are built.

2697

Observation of a solar eclipse in China

2634

Invention of the "magnetic cart" in China

around 2600

The great Egyptian pyramids

around 2400

Indigo used to dye cloth in Egypt

around 2300

Scooping device with leverage effect in Mesopotamia

around 2000

Copper mining in Armenia
The Egyptions brew bear and tan leather.
Silk and crimson are used for clothes.
Spokewheel in Asia Minor and Egypt

around 1800

Introduction of the horse in Egypt
Glass in Egypt

around 1700

First alphabets

1634

Cast glass figurines in Egypt

around 1600

Egypt: use of bellows to fuse metal and glass

around 1500

Blood letting

around 1400

Egypt:
Scrolls made of parchment
Dial balances equipped with yards

around 1300

Thebes:
Lightning conductors at the city gates
Steam baths become popular in Scythia

around 1250

Construction of a channel to connect Lake Timsaeh (the Nile) with the Red Sea

around 1200

China and Egypt:
First umbrellas
Egypt:
Usage of the goniometer and the potter's wheel
China:
Bells cast in bronze

1184

First telegraphy by torches from Troy to Argos

around 1150

China: Building of a zoo

around 1100

In China the obliquity of the eclipse is calculated to be 23° 52'.

around 1084

The art of cutting forms is introduced.

around 1000

East India: Calico prints by means of woodcuts.

around 800

Ships are equipped with anchors.
China: silver coins

777

23rd July: beginning of the first Olympic Games

around 700

The Chinese use iron.
Phoenician sailors reach Gibraltar. First standard coinage in Lydia

around 610

Phoenician boats sail around Africa.

around 600

Assyria: water clocks
Introduction of the Herodian numbers which remain in use up to 300 BC.
A wheel train transports goods the harbour across the isthmus of Corinth (7.4 km resp. 4.6 mi).

594

Solon:
Introduction of a leap month.

585

28th May: Thales observes an eclipse of the sun. He already knew the attraction caused by magnetic stones and amber rubbed with wool.
First trigonometric calculations.

around 550

Anaximander designs the first maps. He was also the first to use a sundial.

around 522

Eupalinos of Megara: construction of a water pipe of 1.5 km (2.4 miles) length through Mount Castro/Samos.

500

Invention of the spirit level

400 - 300

Cast iron used in China.

around 350

Flexible weapons

312

The Romans start building the Via Appia which connects Rome with Capua. Along this road they erect also their first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia with a length of 16 km (9.9 miles).

around 300

Carthage: First manufacture of a convex glass lense

300 - 200

Use of a foot-driven potter's wheel in hellenistic Egypt.

around 280

The lighthouse of Pharos is built, one of the Seven Wonders.

275

Ctesibios invents a piston pump, a water organ, and a turret operated by compressed air

263

The first sundial in Rome is erected

around 260

Archimedes builds a pulley block and a hydraulic screw.

around 250

Philon of Byzantium performs pneumatic experiments and develops new kinds of missiles and ring shackles.

around 240

Theorem of Pythagoras

187

The Romans start building the Via Aemilia, the road which connects Rimini and Piacenza.

around 180

The Greeks build the pressurized water pipe at Pergamum (estimated pressure: approx. 18 at).

144

Construction of the Roman aqueduct Marcia with a total length of 92 km (approx. 57.2 miles) 10 km (approx. 6.2 miles) of which running on arcades.

around 100

In Greece the screw press is invented.

around 89

Rome: the first hypocaustic systems (underfloor) are constructed.

100 - 0

Syria: invention of glassblowing

around 0

Rome: the first water mills are built.

0 - 100

Roman windows made of glass
Heron invents various pneumatic devices and a steam-powered toy theatre
In Western Europe the saddle comes into use.
Now the Romans also use the crossbow, which has already been developed by the Chinese about 200 years before.
Ts'ai Lun discovers in China how to manufacture paper.

105

Apollodoros of Damascus builds a bridge across the Danube in Dacia.

around 130

In Rome the Pantheon with its large dome (width: 43 m/141 ft) is constructed.

around 500

Athens: overshot water wheel
China: collar harness for horses

532 - 537

Isidore of Miletus and Anthemios of Tralles build the Hagia Sophia in Byzantium. Its dome has a diameter of 31 m (101.68 ft).

600 - 700

The Chinese produce the first porcelain.
The earliest windmills are constructed in Persia.

673

Callincus of Heliopolis (Egypt) ignites a Greek fire.

700 - 800

The Arabs also start using paper.
In China a flexible aft helm is developed.

around 800

The horse collar is also used in Europe.

800 - 900

European saddles are equipped with stirrups.
Ships now sail with improved rigs.

819

The Chinese government issues the first paper money.

around 950

Block printing in China.

945

Gerbert d'Aurillac introduces the abacus.

1040

First fulling mill in France.

1045

China:
The smith Pi Sheng prints with movable types made of clay.

around 1000

The helm is now mounted aft.

1144

Papermill in Xatira near Valencia (Spain)

1146

In Regensburg they construct a stone bridge over the Danube.

1167

Oxford University is founded

1180

European ships are now equipped with a turnable aft helm.

1195

European sailors start using a compass.

around 1270

Italiy:
first reading glasses with cut lenses

around 1280

The first Western spinning wheel is mentioned in the statutes of a Geman guild.

1284

Exeter (Devon, England):
The first clock is mounted on a cathedral tower.

around 1290

South Americans build cable bridges in the Andes.

around 1300

Rocca, Syria: Discovery of alum

1308

Occcupation of Gibraltar: the first European cannons are fired

1309

Milan, Basilica San Eustorgio:
the first clock tower with a striking mechanism is put into operation.

1389

Nuremberg:
the first German paper mill is established.

1398

The Elbe-Trave-Canal is finished.

1436

Florence:
the dome with span of 42 m (137.76 ft) is built according to the plans of Filippo Brunelleschi.

1445

Johannes Gutenberg invents printing with movable types of metal.

1450

Nicholas of Cusa manufactures eyeglasses for the nearsighted.

1480

First spinning wheel with a flywheel to wind the yarn

1481

The first European lock on a canal is constructed.

around 1500

Leonardo da Vinci:
many technical concepts like a helicopter, a diving bell, a parachute

1505

A new footdriven lathe is equipped with a flywheel and a crank.

1510

Nuremberg: Peter Henlein invents the pocket watch the so-calledNuremberg egg.

1524

Spinning wheel with a pedal crank drive

1550

Tobacco cultivation in Spain

1557

Julius Caesar Scaliger mentions platinum for the first time known.

1566

C. Torelli:
Invention of a seed drill

1568

J. Besson invents a thread cutting machine.

1573

Humphry Cole develops the ship's log to keep track of the speed of a ship with reference to the water.

1589

Cambridge: William Lee constructs an automatic knitting-frame.

1590

I. and Z. Janszen develop a microscope.

1592

Galilei uses a gas thermometer.

1608

The Dutch spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey builds a telescope.

1609

C. van Drebbel:
discovery of the thermostatic principle

1619

D. Dudley:
use of pit coal for the smelting of iron ore

1620

C. van Drebbel constructs a navigable submarine that he tests in 5 m (16.4 ft) below the surface of the Thames.

1623

W. Schickard develops the first calculating machine

1629

G. Branca:
Description of a steam turbine

1635

J. Locatelli constructs a sawing machine

1637

Building of the three-decker Sovereign of the Seas
Equipped with 104 cannons, she is 38.7 m (126.9 ft) long and 14.2 m (46.6 ft) wide and is considered to be the world's largest ship at that time

1639

Galilei conceptualizes a clock with pendulum

1642

Blaise Pascal invents a calculating machine which is able to add and subtract.

1643

E. Torricelli develops a thermometer with mercury as fluid

1650

Otto von Guericke invents the piston air pump

1654

The famous experiment with the Magdeburg hemispheres is shown at the Regensburger Reichstag. Von Guericke demonstrates that even two teams of horses were not able to overcome a force holding spheres together if this force is created by a vacuum.

1658

Robert Hooke:
Watch with a regulated balance-spring

1662

In Paris the first regularly plying horse bus line is established.

1663

E. Somerset, Marquis of Worcester, gets a patent for a steam-powered pump. But it is not known whether it has ever been put into practice.

1664

D. Papin:
invention of a steam digester.

1665

England:
Writing with a graphit pen

1668

London streets are lit by petrol lamps.

1671

Leibniz invents a calculating machine which can multiply and divide.

1677

J. von Kunckel discovers an aqueous solution of ammonia.

1681

France:
- The Canal du Midi is finished.
- The water supply and pumping station of Marly is built.

1687

G. Amontons develops the hygrometer.

1690

Papin builds an atmospheric steam engine.

1698

T. Savery constructs the Miner's Friend, a steam pump to remove water from a colliery.

1701

J. Hanbury rolls thin sheets.

1704

N. F. Duiller improves the clock by using rubies as bearing stones.

1708

E. W. von Tschirnhaus and J. F. Boettger manufacture the first European china (porcelain).

1711

J. C. Le Blond applies three-colour printing.
Th. Newcomen builds a serviceable atmospheric steam engine.

1716

J. N. de la Hire invents a two-way water pump.

1718

D. G. Fahrenheit uses mercury in a thermometer.

1720

G. Graham improves the clock by adding the cylinder escapement

1721

J. Palfijn applies forceps.

1726

J. Harrison constructs a clock with a gridiron pendulum.

1730

R&eaumur improves the thermometer. He uses alcohol instead of mercury.

1731

J. Headly builds a reflecting sextant.

1733

John and Paul Wyatt invent a spinning machine which drew the fibres through roller sets which turned at varying speeds.

1742

B. Huntsman succeeds in melting cast iron.

1745

J. de Vaucanson constructs an automatic weaving loom for the manufacture of silk designs.
P. vom Musschenbroek and E. G. von Kleist both discover independantly from each other the principle of the Leiden jar.

1746

J. Roebuck develops the lead-chamber process for the production of sulfuric acid
J. Montgolfier discovers the principle of the hydraulic ram

1750

J. A. von Segner builds a water wheel working on a repulsion principle
Durham, England: The first coal injection furnace is installed (height: 12 m/39 ft).

1751

B. Huntsman develops the crucible process for casting steel

1752

Benjamin Franklin invents the lightning conductor

1755

The first sewing machine is developed by C. F. Weißenthal.

1756

Glass cylinders are used for petrol lamps.

1758

Jedediah Strutt introduces the ribbing machine for the production of stockings.

1759

J. Harrison develops the marine chronometer 'Number Four'

1760

J. Merlin mounts the first roller skates.
First automatic watches

1763

J. Wedgewood gets a patent for his earthware.

1764

J. Hargreaves 'Spinning Jenny' can spin eight threads at once. Jenny was his daughter's name.

1765

James Watt low pressure steam engine is six times as effective as the Newcomen engine.

1767

J. Kay builds the 'Waterframe', a spinning machine driven by water power

1768

English machine manufacturers now use exclusively cast iron.

1769

J. Cugnot's steam carriage can travel at 3,6 km/h/2.25 mi.
R. Arkwright develops the 'Spinning Throstle', a waterframe spinning machine

1771

J. Wilkinson constructs a cupola blast furnace

1774

J. Wilkinson gets a patent for his cylinder boring machine (application: manufacturing cylinders for steam engines).

1777

D. Bushnell develops a torpedo

1779

S. Crompton's 'Mule', a cross between a spinning jenny and a water-frame spinning machine

1782

James Watt develops a double-acting steam engine, thus improving his former construction.
The first successful experiment with a hot-air balloon is publicly performed by Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier.
Jacques Charles experiments with a hydrogen balloon but succeeds only ten days later to travel in it with his team and has to leave fame to the brothers Montgolfier.

1783

Thomas Bell invents cylinder printing for fabrics.
Henry Cavendish finds out that the combustion of Hydrogen produces water.
Scheele finds glycerine.

1784

Joseph Brahmah develops an improved type of lock.

1786

In England and Germany engineers experiment with gas lighting.

1787

Friedrich Krupp starts a steel plant in Essen, Germany.

1789

Sir William Fairbairn manufactures steam boilers with the help of a riveting machine.

1790

The dental drill is first applied by John Greenwood, the dentist of George Washington.

1795

Francois Appert, France, develops a sterilization process for food by bottling or canning, heating, and sealing.

1796

Edward Jenner introduces the vaccination against smallpox.

1798

Aloys Senefelder introduces lithography.

1804

Nicolas Appert manufactures the first bouillon cube.
Richard Trevithick's steam locomotive runs on iron rails.
George Cayley invents the first instrument to measure air resistance.

1825

The first railway travels from Stockton to Darlington in England. The carriages are pulled by Stephenson's Locomotion No.1.
W. Sturgeon produces the first electromagnet.
J. G. Appolt constructs a chamber gas-producing retort to be used at the production of glass.

1826

J. Ressel develops the ship's propeller.

1827

O. Pecqueur constructs a differential gear.

1829

J. Thorp introduces a new type of spinning machine and J. Heilman a knitting machine.
J. Ressel gets his ball bearing patented.

1830

C. Sauria and J. F. Kamerer apply phosphorus, sulfur and potassium chlorate on a match which ignites when it is struck.
Now you can use a train to travel from Manchester to Liverpool.
Use of the first road roller
B. Thimounier builds a sewing machine.

1831

McCormick's reaper makes the farmer's life easier.
A steam omnibus line is opened in England

1832

J. Heathcoat develops the steam plough.
Hippolyte Pixii introduces a manually operated 'magneto-electric machine'.
The optical telegraph connection between Berlin and Koblenz (approx. 750 km/466 mi with 61 stations) is initiated.
P. Schilling von Canstadt invents the needle telegraph.
Charles Babbage has the idea of a mechanical calculating machine but does not succeed to make it actually work.

1834

J. Albert invents the steel cable.
M. H. von Jacobi builds an electric motor which is driven by a battery.
S. Colt patents his revolver.
T. Henry discovers the function of the electric relay.

1835

Charles Darwin travels to Galapagos and observes the Darwin finches.

1836

Construction of a steam hammer
John Frederic Daniell finds the Daniell cell, the first reliable source of electric current.

1837

S. F. B. Morse gets his telegraph patented, which sends letters in his famous code.

1838

Michael Faraday discovers the phosphorescent glow.

1839

L.-J.-M. Daguerre introduces his method of photography called daguerreotype.
Charles Goodyear invents the process of the vulcanization of rubber
W. R. Grove builds the first fuel cell, an apparatus producing electrical energy.

1840

Christian Schoenbein (Wuerttemberg, Germany) discovers ozone.
Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel demonstrates the effect of light which can cause chemical reactions producing an electric current.

1841

J. Withworth develops the standard screw thread.

1843

Oliver Wendell tells doctors to wash their hands in order to avoid spreading childbed fever (puerperal).

1844

A. Bain introduces the punched tape in telegraphy.
To R. W. Thomson is patent issued for his tyre with a leather casing filled with air. He equips horse coaches with it.

1845

J. Fitch constructs a turret lathe.
E. Howe gets a patent issued for his lock-stitch sewing machine.

1846

R. M. Hoe builds a rotary and web printing press which is used to print the 'Times' since 1848 (wird die 'Times' auf einer solchen Maschine gedruckt (8 000 sheets per hour).
Carl Zeiss establishes a workshop for optical devices in Jena.
W. G. Armstrong develops a hydraulically operated crane.

1847

The 'Telegrafenbaufirma Siemens & Halske' starts production.
Maria Mitchell is the first woman to discover a comet.
John Herschel is the first who measures the brightness of stars with true precision.

1848

R. C. Böttger invents the safety match.
J. Foucault develops the electric arclamp.
Louis Pasteur founds the field of stereochemistry.
Rudolf Albert von Koelliker achieves to isolate cells of smooth muscle tissue.

1849

W. Hunt invents the safety pin.
R. W. Thompson patents his fountain pen.

1850

I. Porro invents prismatic binoculars.
F. Galton develops a teletype printer.

1851

W. S. V. Bauer builds a submarine.
I. M. Singer invents a continuous-stitch sewing machine.
William Armstrong's hydraulic accumulator makes hydraulic machines independent of water sources.

1852

Elisha Otis develops the first passenger lift with a safety guard that holds the elevator even when the cable is totally cut.
Henri Giffard invents and tests the first steam-powered dirigible.
James Prescott Joule and William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) discover the Joule-Thomson effect (expanding gas cools down).

1853

P. M. Fischer invents the pedal crank for bicycles.
Inspired by Chinese toy helicopters, George Cayley builds a model helicopter actually leave the ground by 27 m/90 ft.

1854

Streets are covered with asphalt.
George Boole develops the first form of symbolic logic, the Boolean algebra

1855

Henry Bessemer a process to manufacture steal at low cost.
Robert Bunsen builds an absorptiometer and applies the gas burner named for him.

1856

Wilhelm Siemens constructs a regenerative furnace.

1857

G. Someiller develops a drill operated by compressed air.
Hermann Ludwig Helmholtz introduces the resonance theory of hearing.

1858

In England the first lighthouse is equipped with electric arclamps.

1859

G. L. Drake drills the first oil well in the U.S.A.
Gaston Plante develops the storage battery.
L. Lemoine invents the steamroller.

1860

J. J. Reis builds a telephone.
Jean-Joseph-Etienne Lenoir develops the first 'horseless carriage' with an internal combustion engine.
F. Walton invents linoleum.

1861

N. A. Otto constructs a four-stroke-engine which is named for him.
Maxwell produces the first colour photograph.

1862

The first rack-railway by N. Riggenbach is taken into operation in Switzerland
A. Parkes produces the first plastic (Parkesin) later known as celluloid.
R. J. Gatling invents the machine gun

1863

W. Bullock invents the rotary printing process.
The first London Underground transports passengers.
L. Pasteur develops the conservation process known as pasteurization.

1864

The Siemens-Martin process for the production of steel is successfully applied.
F. Charlier and A. Vigon invent the CO2 fire extinguisher.
F. C. Donders finds the cause of astigmatism.

1865

Charles Proteus discovers the theory of AC current on which all modern electrical developments are based.
The 'Badischen Anilin- und Sodafabrik' (BASF) are established.

1866

W. Siemens constructs a dynamo.
R. Whitehead invents the torpedo
Cyrus W. Field lays a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland to Newfoundland.

1867

J. Monier develops ferroconcrete.
George Westinghouse invents the air brake.
Alfred Nobel introduces the dynamite.
Karl Marx publishes 'Das Kapital' (The Capital).

1868

Georges Leclanche introduces the zinc-carbon battery.

1869

J. W. Hyatt successfully produces celluloid.
Paul Langerhans finds the islets of Langerhans during a dissection of the pancreas.
John Tyndall finds the effect named after him.

1870

W. W. Lymans patents his tin opener.

1871

Max Bodenstein finds the concept of chain reactions.

1872

Henry Draper takes the first photograph of the spectrum of a star (the Vega).

1873

Schliemann claims to have found Troy.
J. C. Maxwell publishes 'Electricity and magnetism' on the basic laws of electromagnetism.

1874

A. Mitscherlich develops a method to produce cellulose from wood.

1875

Sidney Thomas develops a technique to remove phosphorus from iron.

1876

A. G. Bell invents the first fully working telephone.
P. Jablotschkow constructs the 'electric candle'.
Robert Koch grows microorganisms responsible for cattle anthrax in culture.
C. von Linde produces the first practical refrigerator with liquid ammonia as coolant.
Wilhelm F. Kühne finds the enzyme trypsin in pancreatic juice.

1877

T. A. Eddison invents the phonograph carbon microphone.
Otto Lilienthal builds his first glider with arched wings.
Cailletet manages to liquefy oxygen.
First contact lenses made of glass

1878

Heinrich Schliemann reports to have found Agamemnon's tomb in Mycenae (Greece)
In New Haven (USA, Conn.) a commercial telephone exchange is established.

1879

W. Siemens constructs an electric locomotive (3 HP) and shows it at the Berlin Trade Fair.
T. A. Edison and J. Swan both invent the carbon-thread electric lamp each without knowing the other's work
J. R. Ritty introduces his cash register.

1880

H. Hollerith constructs a calculating machine that works with punched cards.
W. Siemens develops an electrically operated lift.
The first electric generation station is built according to plans by T. A. Edison.

1881

Berlin-Lichterfelde: the first electric streetcar transports passengers.
Theodore von Karman develops the science of aerodynamics.
J. Dewar invents the thermosbottle.
F. E. Ives takes the first colour photographs.

1882

In New York the Pearl Street power station starts operation (plans: Edison)
Robert Koch finds the bacterium responsible for tubercolosis which proves the idea that germs can cause human diseases.
First hydro-electric power plant in Appleton (Wisconsin)
H. Maxim invents the machine gun
H. W. Weely patents his electric flat-iron.

1883

G. Daimler and W. Maybach invent the first high-speed internal combustion engine. They apply it on the first true motorboat.
Robert Koch discovers the cholera bacterium and demonstrates that this disease is often transmitted by drinking infectuous water.
First controllable dirigible by A. and C. Tissandier

1884

St. H. de Chardonnet produces rayon of nitrocellulosis.
J. B. Dunlop develops the pneumatic tyre.
Friedrich Loeffler finds the bacillus responsible for diphtheria.

1885

D. Felt invents the 'Comptometer', the first key-driven calculating machine.
Carl Benz baut constructs a three-wheel automobile.
G. Daimler invents the motorbike
C. Auer von Welsbach invents the gas mantle.
C. S. Tainter builds a dictaphone.
T. W. Nordenfelt constructs a submarine.
P. A. Regnault invents the press button.

1886

G. Daimler invents the motorboat.
N. Benardos applies the technology of electric welding.
J. Cochrane develops the dishwasher.

1887

E. Berliner produces the first disc for recording sound.
O. Anschuetz introduces his 'Quickviewer' (precursor of the cinematograph).
H. W. Goodwin presents the first celluloid photographic film.
Gottlieb Daimler builds the first four-wheeled automobile.

1888

J. B. Dunlops pneumatic tyre is equipped with a valve.
G. Eastman develops the first commercial roll-film camera.
Heinrich Hertz discovers radio waves.
O. Schallenbergers constructs an electric meter for alternating current.
N. Tesla and G. Ferraris build an alternating current induction motor.

1889

A. Strowger adds a dial to the telephone.
The Eiffelturm is built according to the plans of Gustave Eiffel.
In San Francisco people listen to the first juke box
T. A. Edisons cinematograph makes the cinema possible.
Edison also helped U.S. prisons to apply alternating current for the electric chair. William Kemmer is the first to be executed this way.

1890

A. Michelin pneumatic bicycle tyres are exchangeable.
Lilienthal flies with the help of a glider.
Clement Adler builds the 'Eole', to first aircraft to leave the ground under its own power.

1891

N. Tesla develops the Tesla coil. It can produce high voltage at high frequency.
Messrs Morris and Salomon (U.S.A.) manufacture an electric automobile.
Edison invents the film camera.

1892

R. Diesel invents the motor named after him.
It is now possible to produce artificial caoutchouc from isoprene.

1893

J. Elster and H. Geitel develop the selenium cell.
W. Judson invents the zipper.
Wilhelm Maybach constucts a carburettor.
G. Knorr discovers a new technology for brakes: the pneumatic brake (Knorr brake)

1894

Marconi invents his radio equipment, which can make a bell ring that is 10 m (30 ft) away.

1895

The liquefaction of air is successfully performed according to the reverse flow principle by C. von Linde.
American trains are pulled by electric locomotives.
Lilienthal and his brother manage to build and fly a glider which can soar above ground higher than its height of takeoff.
A. S. Popow experiments in wireless telegraphie lead him to the invention of the antenna.
W. Fein invents an electric power drill.
W. C. Roentgen discovers and applies X-rays.
Automobiles are equipped with pneumatic tyres.

1896

An electric head lamp makes the miners' life easier.
H. Holleriths Tabulating Machine Company starts production and becomes famous under the name of International Business Machines Corporation IBM.
In France selective weed killers are applied.
S. P. Langley constructs a steam-driven aircraft which actually flies 1,2 km (0.75 mi) before it crashes.
A. S. Popow transmits the first radio message.

1897

K. F. Braun constructs the first cathode ray tube.
In Dresden X-rays are now used in hospitals.

1898

Marie Curie and her husband discover polonium and radium. They also find the principle Marie later names 'radioactivity'.
C. Auer von Welsbach invents the incandescant lamp with a luminous filament of osmium.
In England the first icebreaker is launched and sold to Russia.
A. Santos-Daroundont experiments with an airship.

1899

M. J. Owens constructs an automatic machine to blow glass bottles.
F. A. Kjellin builds an induction furnace.

1900

First takeoff of a zeppelin.
In Germany the first payphones are installed.
Karl Landsteiner discovers that there are at least three different blood types (A, B, and 0).

1901

M. R. Hutchinson designs the first hearing aid.
H. C. Booth invents the vacuum cleaner.
K. Gillette patents the safety razor.
Marconi receives the first transatlantic radio message.

1902

F. Lanchester develops the disc brake.
G. Gauthier builds the first motor scooter.
W. H. Carrier invents air condition.

1903

In Wuppertal, Germany an electrically driven suspension railway is taken into operation.
W. and C. Graaff design a fire extinguisher.
The brothers O. and W. Wright successfully undertake the first motor flight.
E. Benedictus invents safety glass.

1904

C. Huelsmeyer discovers radar.
J. A. Fleming constructs the first vacuum tube.
A. Korn successfully telegraphs photographs from Munich to Nuremberg.
J. W. Rubel improves offset printing.

1905

Guglielmo Marconi designs the directional radio antenna.
Launching of the first German submarine.
The first airplane manufacturing plant is started in France by G. Voisin, E. Archdeacon, and L. Bleriot.
J. E. Brandenburger invents 'Cellophane'.

1906

Thomas Alva Edison designs the 'cameraphone'.
The tungsten-filament light bulb is launched.
A. d'Arsonval and F. Bordas invent freeze-drying.

1907

L. Cornu takes off in a helicopter (1,5 m/4.92 ft).
L. Lumiere invents color photography.

1908

H. Anschuetz-Kaempfe designs the gyroscopic compass.
The Holt Company (California) builds the first tractor.

1909

Henry Ford's 'Model T', also called 'Tin Lizzy' is the first automobile a greater number of people can afford to buy.
L. Bleriot flies across the English Channel.
General Electric introduces the first electric toaster.
E. Forlanini builds the first hydrofoil ship.

1910

G. Claude invents neon light.
H. Fabre builds a hydroplane.
E. Ruhmer shows a TV-set at the World's Fair in Brussels.

1911

The German scientist P. Monnartz discovers stainless steel.

1912

Sidney Russell develops the heating pad.
Automobiles are now equipped with an electric starter.

1913

A. Behm discovers the echo-sounder.
In the U.S. the first home refrigerator is sold.
Henry Ford is the first manufacturer to use a true assembly line.
Hans Geiger develops a radiation detector for alpha particle.
I. Sikorsky designs a multi-engine airplane.

1914

E. Kleinschmidt introduces the teletyper.
In Cleveland, Ohio the first traffic lights are installed.
H. Junkers builds the first airplane all of metal ('J1').
Fokker fighters equipped with machine guns synchronized with the rate of revolutions which can fire through the propeller circle are used in World War I.

1916

American cars are equipped with windshield wipers.
John Fisher introduces the first modern washing machine.

1917

S. D. Black and A. G. Decker invent the electric hand drill.

1918

E. H. Armstrong introduces the superheterodyne radio receiver.

1919

W. Bauersfeld builds the first planetarium.
The electric beater to mix food is invented.
H. Junkers builds the 'F13', the first regular passenger airplane.

1920

John T. Thompson develops his submachine gun known as 'tommy gun'.
The first hair dryers are sold in the U. S.
Regular broadcasting is the first time licensed.

1921

J. A. Larson constructs the polygraph (lie detector)
Hull's magnetron is an electron tube which can produce microwaves.

1922

The Italian J. de la Cierva invents the 'Autogiro', a rotary plane.
They start talking in the movies.

1923

The motor developed by Diesel drives automobiles.
The first photoelectric cell is manufactured.
The the caterpillar bulldozer is invented.

1924

Kimberley Clark presents 'Celluwipes', the first Kleenex.
The 'Leica', the famous German camera is produced in series.
In Switzerland they manufacture automatic watches.

1925

John Watson publishes his famous book 'Behaviorism', a landmark in psychology.

1926

R. H. Goddards develops the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket.
The New Yorkers can now iron their shirts with the help of steam.
G. Latil invents the all-wheel drive

1927

C. A. Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic Ocean.
G. Ebert produces synthetic caoutchouc (Buna).

1928

Joseph Schick develops the electric razor.
J. W. Horton and W. A. Morrison invent the quartz crystal clock.

1929

W. Bauer produces perspex.
FM radio becomes a broadcasting standard.
Dunlop manufactures foam rubber.
F. von Opel launches a rocketdriven airplane.
P. Drinker invents the 'Iron Lung'
Felix Wankel develops a rotary engine.

1930

H. Junkers develops the retractible undercarriage for and a new type of motor for airplanes.
The Postum Company starts selling frozen foods.
M. von Ardenne succeeds in an all-electric phototelegraphy.-
Vannevar Bush invents an analogue computer, the differential analyzer.
The tape recorder is introduced in Germany.

1931

Opening of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River with a span of 1 066 m/ 3 497 ft
The Bell Laboratories introduce the telex system.
A. Picard launches a stratosphere balloon which rises up to 15 700 m/ 51 496 ft

1932

RCA presents a television receiver with a cathode-ray picture tube.

1933

E. Ruska invents the electron microscope.

1934

Wernher von Braun invents a liquid-fuel rocket which reaches a height of 2.4 km (1.5 mi).

1935

In New Jersey the first beer cans are sold.
J. Gibbon and his wife develop the prototype of the heart-lung machine.
R. A. Watson-Watt invents the first radar.
H. Focke builds the first usable helicopter.

1936

Konrad Zuse builds his first computer
I. G. Farben produces contact lenses of perspex.
Some people can watch the Olympic Games in Berlin on TV.

1937

C. Carlson develops xerography.
G. Reber invents the radio telescope.
Dornberger is responsible for the development of the V-2 rocket.
First flight of the 'Fieseler Storch'

1938

L. Biro invents the ball pen.
Wernher von Braun produces a rocket which travels 18 km /11 mi.
Konrad Zuse constructs the Z1, a computer with binary coding.
Ferdinand Porsche presents the first Volkswagen beetle.
P. Schlack invents the synthetic fiber 'perlon'.

1939

W. C. Huebner invents a photo setter.
P. H. Mueller produces the first DDT.

1940

In the U. S. freeze drying is applied for the first time to preserverve food.

1941

Konrad Zuse develops the programmable computer 'Z2' for which he uses 3000 electromagnetic relays
A. Fleming, H. W. Florey and E. B. Chain discover penicillin and try it on human beings.

1942

W. von Braun develops the liquid-fuelled rocket-propelled bomb 'A 2' ('V 2').
Kodak produces infrared-sensitive films.
The first nuclear power plant is built.

1943

The Dutch physician W. J. Kolff invents the kidney dialysis machine.
J. Cousteau and E. Gagnan develop a device for scuba diving, the 'aqua lung'.
The British engineer A. Turing builds the 'Colossus', the first all-electronic calculator.

1944

The 'V 1', a flying bomb propelled by a jet engine and controlled by an autopilot is used against Great Britain.
The rocket-powered airplane 'Me 163 B' is launched for the first time.

1945

The first atomic bomb is dropped over Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

1946

The ENIAC, the first all-purpose, all-electronic computer, is developed by Eckert and Mauchly.
W. F. Libby discovers the radioactive carbon-14 method which helps to date artefacts in archeology.

1947

The rocket-powered airplane 'Bell XS-1' is the first to fly at supersonic speed.
The microwave cooker is introduced in America.
Goodyear invent the tubeless tyre.
P. M. Goldenmark invents the long-playing record.

1948

G. Gabor invents holography.
J. Bardeen, W. Brattain, and W. Shockley build the first transistor.
G. de Mestral develops the velcro fastener.
Thanks to the polaroid camera developed by E. H. Land it doesn't take much patience now to check the quality of a photograph.
Norbert Wiener presents the new science of cybernetics.

1949

The BINAC (Binary Automatic Computer), the first electronic computer with a program storage is built in the U.S.A.

1950

The Diner's Club issues the first charge cards.

1951

Chrysler equip cars with power steering.
Erwin W. Mueller constructs a field ion microspcope.
J. Andre-Thomas and John Gibbon build a heart-lung machine.

1952

Sony produces the pocket-sized transistor radio.
P. M. Zoll uses the first cardiac pacemaker.

1953

Series production of the first supersonic jet ('F 100 Super Sabre').
Michelin and Pirelli apply radial-ply tyres.
Townes invents the maser, precursor of the laser.

1954

The 'Nautilus', the first atomic-powered submarine, is taken into operation.
The first nuclear reactor for the use in a power plant is built in Obminsk in the Soviet Union.
G. L. Pearson, C. S. Fuller, and D. M. Chaplin invent the solar cell.
F. Wankel constructs the first rotary-piston engine which is named after him.

1955

C. Cockerell builds a practical hovercraft.
N. S. Kapary manufactures the first optical fibres.

1956

Installation of the first transatlantic telephone cable.
R. Johnson builds the first computer hard disk for IBM.
John Backus and his team develop FORTRAN, the first computer programming language at IBM.
M. Sater and J. Mazzitello invent the video tape.
Ampex Corporation produce the first video recorder.

1957

The Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 is the first human-built rocket to travel around the earth, which produces a great shock in America.
In the same year the Soviets launch the first atomic-powered icebreaker.

1958

The stereo record is introduced.

1959

The programming language COBOL is developed.
Lunik is the name for a Soviet series of lunar orbiters which take photographs of the rear side of the moon.

1960

T. H. Maimen constructs the first laser by applying a ruby cylinder.
'Echo 1', the first passive communications satellite, takes off.
J. Piccards 'Trieste' dives down to a depth of almost 1,100 m/3,608 ft.

1961

The Russian Jury A. Gagarin becomes the fist man in space.
First stereo broadcasting in the U.S.

1962

At General Motors the first industrial robots start work.
Nick Holonyak invents the LED.

1963

Philips starts selling audio tapes.
W. Bruch invents the color TV system PAL.

1964

First use of home kidney dialysis.
The first container ships are built.

1965

R. Moog builds the first synthesizer.
J. Giordmaine and R. Miller develop the programming language BASIC (beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code).

1966

A tidal power plant is put into operation in France.
'Luna 9' lands on the moon.
R. M. Dolby presents his method to eleminate background sound in recordings.

1967

G. Amdahl proposes to build a computer with parallel processors.

1968

The Soviet 'TU-144' is the first supersonic jet to transport passengers.

1969

N. Armstrong and E. Aldrin are the first human beings on the moon. Thanks to TV this can be witnessed by the whole world.
M. E. Hoff invents the microprocessor (chip).
The ARPAnet, precursor of the internet, is introduced.

1970

The floppy disk starts a new era of data storage.
AEG-Telefunken introduces the optical disc.
'Luna 16' collects stones on the moon and takes them to earth.
'Luna 17' takes 'Lunochod' to the moon and 'parks' it there.
B. Abbott develops the RAM for INTER.
The first 'jumbo jet' (Boeing 747) takes up regular service.
Philips introduces the home video recorder.

1971

Texas Instruments present the first pocket calculator ('Pocketronic').
The 'chip', the first microprocessor is introduced by Intel.
The Soviet platform 'Saljut 1' is working in space.
Niklaus Wirth works out the programming language PASCAL

1972

A. M. Cormack and G. N. Hounsfield invent computer tomography.

1973

G. N. Hounsfield invents the scanner.
In the U.S.A. they develop GPS (Global Positioning System).
Skylab enables scientists to research in space.

1974

Hewlett Packard introduces a programmable pocket calculator.

1975

Clocks and pocket calculators are equipped with LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).
Computer-coded labels are used in supermarkets.

1976

IBM introduces the ink-jet printer.
First passenger flight of the French supersonic jet 'Concorde'.

1977

'Voyager 1' and 'Voyager 2' are launched.
The Californian telephone system uses fibre optics.
The PC 'Apple II' conquers the market with its user-friendlyness.

1978

Apple PCs are equipped with floppy disk drives.

1979

Sony presents the 'Walkman'.
The world is shocked by a reactor accident on auf Three Miles Island (USA).

1980

Uwe Fink discovers a thin atmosphere on Pluto.
Introduction of the video camera

1981

First flight of the Space Transportation System 'Columbia'.
'Solar One', a large solar-power station is taken into operation.
DOS (Disk Operating System) is introduced by IBM.

1982

Introduction of the CD (Compact Disc) player
Bosch present ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) for cars.

1983

A German-American team of scientists invents the 'wet' solar cell.
IBM introduces the PC-XT, the first personal computer with a hard-disk drive.
Apple equips PCs with a mouse and a pull-down menu.

1984

IBM presents a megabit RAM memory chip.
The Deutsche Bundespost (German Federal Postal services) introduces Btx, an early precursor of the internet.

1985

AT&T Bell Laboratories reaches a new record: they manage to send the equivalent of 300.000 telephone conversations at once via a single optical fibre.

1986

Compac beats IBM when presenting an advanced 32-bit chip, the Intel 80386.
The Soviet space station 'Mir' is launched.
The catastrophy of Chernobyl, a terrible accident in a nuclear power plant, kills many people.

1987

The Japanese digitize the 'genetic finger print': Digital Audio Tape (DAT)

1988

'Ariane 4' is launched.
The ICE (InterCity Express train) achieves a new speed record at 406.9 km/h/ 252.8 mi/h.
Start of ISDN
The Transrapid leaps the ICE on a test track by reaching 412.6 km/h/ 256.4mi/h.

1989

Particle accelerator LEP is discovered at CERN.
The cordless telephone is introduced.
Digital Satellite Radio (DSR) begins to broadcast.

1990

The German satellite ROSAT is launched.

1991

In Germany the first micromotor is presented.
The CD-ROM is introduced.
Digital cordless telephones are sold in Germany.

1992

Mobile radio transmission is introduced in Germany with networks D 1 and D 2.

1993

Display camcorders are now available in the shops.

1994

The Channel tunnel between England and France is inaugurated.
Audi builds cars with an aluminium body.
In the USA the first genetically manipulated vegetables are sowed.
Siemens builds the first European eurocomputer 'Synapse-1'.

1995

ARD and ZDF, the two great German broadcasting stations, transmit a programme from a virtual studio.
Introduction of a traffic guidance system for cars.
First docking of the American 'Space Shuttle' at the Russian station 'Mir' is successful.
The 'Pont de Normandie', a large bridge over the Seine, is inaugurated.

1996

Introduction of the Digital Video Disc (DVD) with a storage capacity of 17 GB
The first hydrogen-powered cars are built in Germany.