Inventions

From the earliest stone tools of the Paleolithic era to the latest digital advances, human beings have created new inventions and technologies that have shaped civilizations and transformed life on earth. Humankind’s ability to innovate was particularly apparent during the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, which ushered in significant developments in mass production, transportation, industry and communication. These sweeping changes paved the way for the technological leaps and bounds of the 20th and 21st centuries. The world of invention is never static: Expectations and capabilities evolve with every step forward, and each new generation boasts its own set of innovative thinkers.

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The U.S. Patent Office has issued over 7.5 million patents since 1836, and there are over 700,00 new patent applications on file awaiting review.

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Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution, which took place in the 18th and 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. The iron and textile industries, along with the development of the steam engine, played central roles in the Industrial Revolution, which also saw improved systems of transportation, communication and banking. While industrialization brought about an increased volume and variety of manufactured goods and an improved standard of living for some, it often resulted in grim employment and living conditions for the poor and working classes.

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Transportation Inventions

Advances in transportation have continuously transformed the way humans live, work and travel. The earliest innovation came as early as 8000 B.C. with the invention of the dugout canoe, and by 4000 B.C. the ancient Mesopotamians had crafted the first sailboats. Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., after millennia of relying on the quickness of their own feet, people began domesticating horses, which increased the distance they could cover over land. The horse-drawn carriage and boat underwent numerous improvements over the centuries but remained the primary vehicular modes of transportation until the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. The invention of the steam engine and internal combustion engine in the 19th century radically altered the transfer of goods and passengers, while the advent of the automobile and airplane in the 20th century further revolutionized transportation.

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Technology and Communication Inventions

Today information flows almost instantaneously around the globe, but for the majority of human history the exchange of news and ideas from place to place was limited by the speed people could travel in order to relay messages. In the 16th century the ability to disseminate information improved dramatically with the invention of the printing press, and by the 17th century the first modern newspapers were beginning to appear in Europe. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the successive invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, television, computer and Internet transformed the communication landscape, making individual connections more immediate and access to news and other information more efficient than ever before. In the realm of technology, recent decades have seen a trend toward developing increasingly compact electronic devices that are affordable and convenient for a growing segment of the world’s population.

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Inventors

Throughout history, humans have experienced breakthroughs large and small that brought new technology to life. Some inventors, like Leonardo da Vinci, were so far ahead of their time that it would take hundreds of years for the devices and techniques they imagined to see the light of day. During the Industrial Revolution, inventors gained access to new materials and energy sources that enabled them to translate their ideas into new products and technologies. They included Thomas Edison, creator of the first working light bulb, and the Wright brothers, who finally proved that human flight was possible. More recent innovators such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Tim Berners-Lee expanded the computer science field, transforming numerous industries—as well as our daily lives—with the personal computer and Internet.

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