TIMELINE OF MAJOR SCIENTIFIC INVENTIONS

(Ancient Period - 19th Century)

First tools
Ancient Humans
FIRE
Ancient Humans

10 million years ago

1 -2 million years
ago

CLOTHING
Ancient Humans

BOAT
25,000 – 50,000 BCE Ancient Humans

-10,000 BCE

SETTLEMENT &
AGRICULTURE
Ancient Humans
CONSTRUCTION
8000 – 9000 BCE WITH BRICKS
Ancient Humans

6000 – 7000 BCE

USAGE OF IRON
Ancient Humans

GLASS
-4000 BCE
Ancient Humans

3500-5000 BCE
 WHEEL
Ancient Humans

-3500 BCE

WRITTEN
LANGUAGES
Sumerian People

-3000 BCE PAPYRUS

-2500 BCE

IRRIGATION
DEVICES
Ancient Egyptians

-2000 BCE
ALPHABET
Semites of the
Mediterranean

-1700 BCE
STATIC
ELECTRICITY
Thales

-600 BCE LIGHTHOUSE

-250 BCE
MAGNETIC

DIRECTION FINDER
Chinese
SCREW PUMP
300 – 200 BCE
Archimedes

-250 BCE
 PRECISION
CLOCKWORK
MACHINES
Unknown

50 – 100 BCE

VERTICAL
WATER
WHEEL
Roman Vitruvius
STEAM
50 BCE
POWER
Greek Scientist

62 CE

PAPER
Ts’ai Lun

105 CE
BASIC
CONCRETE
Romans

27 BCE – 395 CE
WINDMILLS

Unknown
GUNPOWDER &
-600 BCE FIREWORKS
Chinese

700 - 900

EYEGLASSES
Chinese FLUSHING
HAND-WASHING
300 – 200 BCE
MACHINE
AI - Jaz
1206
 METAL LETTERS
IN PRINTING
PRESS
Johannes Gutenberg
1450
FIRST
PARACHUTE
SKETCH
Unknown
BASIC
1470s THERMOMETER
Galileo Galilei

-1600

MERCURY
BAROMETER
Evangelista
Torricelli
1643
MICROSCOPES
Leeuwenhoek
and Hooke

1650s
PENDULUM
CLOCK
Christian Huygens
THREE LAWS
1650s
OF MOTION
Isaac Newton

1687

PIANO
Bartolomeo
Cristofori
HORSE-DRAWN
1700s SEED DRILL
Jethro Tull
1701
 BINARY
NUMBER
SYSTEM
Ancient Humans
1703

FIRST
PRACTICAL
STEAM ENGINE
Thomas
Newcomen LARGE-SCALED
ZINC
1712 EXTRACTION
Ancient
Egyptians
1737

NICKEL
ISOLATION
Axel Cronstedt

1751
ZEOLITES
Axel Cronstedt

1756

CHRONOMETERS
John Campbell
MECHANICAL
SPEAKING
1757
MACHINE
Wolfgang von
Kempelen
1769

IRON BRIDGE

CONSTRUCTION
Abraham Darby III
FIRST PRACTICAL
1770s
HOT-AIR BALLOON
Montgolfier Brothers
1783
 TITANIUM
Reverend
William Gregor

1791

BATTERY
Alessandro Volta

1800
AUTOMATED CLOTH-
WEAVING LOOM
Joseph-Marie
Jackquard

1801

PAPERMAKING
MACHINE
Henry and Sealy
Fourdrinier
LONG-RANGE
1803
MILITARY
ROCKETS
William
Congreve

1806
ELECTRIC
ARC LAMP
Humphry Davy

FIRST PRACTICAL
1807 STEAM
LOCOMOTIVE
George Stephenson
1814

STIRLING
ENGINE ELECTRIC
Robert Stirling
GENERATORS
1816 AND MOTORS
Michael Faraday

1820s – 1830s
 MODERN
PHOTOGRAPH
Ancient Humans

1827

ELECTRIC
MOTOR
William Sturgeon

1830s ELECTRIC
TELEGRAPH
Wheatstone, Cooke
and Morse
1830s -1840s
PROPELLERS
WITH BLADES
Petit-Smith and
Ericsson
1836 PRIMITIVE FAX
MACHINE
Alexander Bain

1840s

WATER TURBINE
James Francis

1849 PASTEURIZATION
Louis Pasteur

1850s
MECHANICAL FAX

MACHINE
INTERNAL
Giovanni Caselli
COMBUSTION
1850s ENGINE
Lenoir and
Nikolaus Otto
1860s
 ELEVATOR
WITH BUILT-IN
SAFETY BRAKE
Elisha Graves Otis
1861
REINFORCED
CONCRETE
Joseph Monier

1867 TYPREWRITER
& QWERTY
Christopher
Latham Sholes
1868

WIND TUNNEL
Frank Wenham

1871
PHONOGRAPH
Thomas Edison

1870s
SOUND -
RECORDING
MACHINE
Thomas Edison

1877 FLARE GUN

1877
PIEZOELECTRIC
EFFECT
Pierre and Paul-
Jacques Curie
POWER PLANTS
1880
Thomas Edison

1880s
 AUTOCLAVE
Charles
Chamberland

1880s

PLASTIC
PHOTOGRAPHIC
FILM
George Eastman STEAM
1883 TURBINE
Charles Parsons

1884

GASOLINE-
ENGINED CAR
Karlz Benz

1885
DISHWASHER
Josephine
Cochran

1886
LIQUID
CRYSTALS
Friedrich Reinitzer
MOVIE
1888 PROJECTORS
Joseph and Louis
Lumiere

1890s
FIRST RADIO
MESSAGE
Oliver Lodge
X-RAYS
1894
Wilhelm Rontgen

1895
 ELECTRIC
BICYCLE
Ogden Bolton Jr.

1895

RADIO-
CONTROLLED
BOAT
Nicola Tesla

1898