Timeline of historic inventions

The 15th-century invention of the printing press with movable type by the German Johannes Gutenberg is widely regarded as the most influential event of the modern era.^[1]

The timeline of historic inventions is a chronological list of particularly important or significant technological inventions and the people who created the inventions.

Note: Dates for inventions are often controversial. Inventions are often invented by several inventors around the same time, or may be invented in an impractical form many years before another inventor improves the invention into a more practical form. Where there is ambiguity, the date of the first known working version of the invention is used here.

History of technology
By technological eras
Neolithic Revolution Ancient Greek and Roman technology Medieval technology Renaissance technology Industrial Revolution Second Industrial Revolution Atomic Age Jet Age Space Age Digital Revolution Information Age
By historical regions
Ancient Egypt Ancient India Ancient China Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Maya civilization Byzantine Empire Medieval Europe Medieval Islamic world
By type of technology
History of agriculture History of biotechnology History of communication History of computer hardware History of electrical engineering History of materials science History of measurement History of medicine History of nuclear technology History of transport
Technology timelines
Timeline of historic inventions Complete list
Outlines
Outline of technology Outline of prehistoric technology

Earliest inventions 1
- Paleolithic 1.1
- Neolithic 1.2
2nd millennium BC 2
1st millennium BC 3
- 8th century BC 3.1
- 7th century BC 3.2
- 6th century BC 3.3
- 5th century BC 3.4
- 4th century BC 3.5
- 3rd century BC 3.6
- 2nd century BC 3.7
- 1st century BC 3.8
1st millennium AD 4
- 2nd century 4.1
- 3rd century 4.2
- 4th century 4.3
- 5th century 4.4
- 6th century 4.5
- 7th century 4.6
- 9th century 4.7
- 10th century 4.8
2nd millennium 5
- 11th century 5.1
- 12th century 5.2
- 13th century 5.3
- 14th century 5.4
- 15th century 5.5
- 16th century 5.6
- 17th century 5.7
- 18th century 5.8
- 19th century 5.9
  - 1800s 5.9.1
  - 1810s 5.9.2
  - 1820s 5.9.3
  - 1830s 5.9.4
  - 1840s 5.9.5
  - 1850s 5.9.6
  - 1860s 5.9.7
  - 1870s 5.9.8
  - 1880s 5.9.9
  - 1890s 5.9.10
- 20th century 5.10
  - 1910s 5.10.1
  - 1920s 5.10.2
  - 1930s 5.10.3
  - 1940s 5.10.4
  - 1950s 5.10.5
  - 1960s 5.10.6
  - 1970s 5.10.7
  - 1980s 5.10.8
  - 1990s 5.10.9
See also 6
Footnotes 7
References 8
External links 9

Earliest inventions

Note that all dates refer to the earliest known evidence of an invention. Dates are often approximate and likely to change as more research is done and older examples of any given technology are found. Similarly, the locations listed are for the site where the earliest solid evidence to date has been found, but in most cases there is little certainty how close that may be to where the invention actually first took place.

Paleolithic

2.6 million years ago: Stone tools (Olduwan) in Ethiopia^[2]
1.8 million - 250 thousand years ago: Fire and then cooking^[3]^[4]
1.76 million years ago: Advanced (Acheulean) stone tools in Kenya^[5]
500 thousand years ago (ka): Shelter construction in Japan^[6]
400 ka: Pigments in Zambia^[7]
400 ka: Spears in Germany^[8]
200 ka: Glue in Italy^[9]
170 ka: Clothing^[10]
110 ka: Beads in Israel^[11]
100 ka: Burial in Israel^[12]
77 ka: Bedding in South Africa^[13]
64–61 ka: Bone tool technology in South Africa, evidenced by the find of a spearhead along with what may be an arrowhead, suggesting bow and arrow, and a sewing needle^[14]^[15]
44-42 ka: Tally sticks (see Lebombo bone) in Swaziland^[16]
40-20 ka: Cremation in Australia^[17]
36-9 ka: ^[21]^[20] The earliest actual piece of woven cloth was found in Çatalhöyük, Turkey^[19].Moravia and/or [18]
35 ka: Flute in Germany^[22]
28 ka: Rope^[23]
16 ka: Pottery in China^[24]
15 ka: Bullroarer in Ukraine^[25]
13-12 ka: Agriculture in the Fertile Crescent^[26]^[27]
13-11 ka: Domestication of sheep in Southwest Asia^[28]^[29] (followed shortly by pigs, goats and cattle)

Neolithic

7500-8000 BC: Proto-city - large permanent settlements, in Turkey (Çatalhöyük)^[30]
5th millennium BC: Lacquer in China^[31]^[32]
5000 - 4500 BC: Rowing oars in China^[33]^[34]
6000 BC: Kiln in Mesopotamia^[35]
5000 BC: Copper smelting in Serbia^[36]
3630 BC: Silk garments (sericulture) in China^[37]
3500 BC: Wheels in Mesopotamia and the Caucasus^[38]
3200 BC: Sailing in ancient Egypt^[39]^[40]
3000 BC: Writing - Cuneiform in Mesopotamia^[41] (also see proto-writing)
3000 BC: Bronze in Mesopotamia^[42]
3000 BC: Papyrus in Egypt^[43]^[44]

2nd millennium BC

2000 BC: Musical notation in Sumer^[45]
2000 BC: Chariot in Russia and Kazakhstan^[46]
1750 BC: Medicine in Iraq^[47]
1700 BC: Alphabet in Phoenicia (Modern Lebanon)^[48]
1500 BC: Coins in China, Lebanon or Lydia^[49]
1200 BC: Sword in Ancient Egypt^[50]
1000 BC: Glass in Lebanon^[51]

1st millennium BC

8th century BC

750 BC Fake Teeth in Etruria^[52]
750 BC Scissors in Europe^[53]
750 BC Lenses in Ancient Greece^[54]
750 - 700 BC Warship in Phoenicia (Modern Lebanon)^[55]
700 BC Music Notation in Ancient India^[56]

7th century BC

650 BC Windmill in Persia^[57]
600 BC Lighthouse in Egypt^[58]

6th century BC

With the Greco-Roman trispastos ("three-pulley-crane"), the simplest ancient crane, a single man tripled the weight he could lift than with his muscular strength alone.^[59]

c. 515 BC: Crane in Ancient Greece^[60]

5th century BC

5th century BC: Crank motion (rotary quern) in Celtiberian Spain^[61]^[62]
5th century BC: Cast iron in Ancient China: Confirmed by archaeological evidence, the earliest cast iron is developed in China by the early 5th century BC during the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC), the oldest specimens found in a tomb of Luhe County in Jiangsu province.^[63]^[64]^[65]
5th century BC: Crossbow in Ancient China and Ancient Greece: In Ancient China, the earliest evidence of bronze crossbow bolts dates as early as the mid-5th century BC in Yutaishan, Hubei.^[66] In Ancient Greece, the terminus ante quem of the gastraphetes is 421 BC.^[67]^[68]
5th - 4th century BC: Traction trebuchet in Ancient China between 5th - 4th century BC, appeared in the Mediterranean by the 6th century AD.^[69]
Before 421 BC: Catapult in Ancient Greece (incl. Sicily) or Phoenician Carthage^[67]^[68]
c. 480 BC: Spiral stairs (Temple A) in Selinunte, Sicily (see also List of ancient spiral stairs)^[70]^[71]
400 BC Mirror in Lebanon^[72]

4th century BC

Approximately 350 BC: Greek hydraulic semaphore system, an optical communication system developed by Aeneas Tacticus.

3rd century BC

An illustration depicting the papermaking process in Han Dynasty China.

Early 3rd century BC: Canal lock (possibly pound lock) in Ancient Suez Canal under Ptolemy II (283–246 BC) in Hellenistic Egypt^[73]^[74]^[75]
3rd century BC: Valve Tower Sluice in Sri Lanka^[76]
3rd century BC: Water wheel in Hellenistic kingdoms described by Philo of Byzantium (c. 280 – 220 BC)^[77]
3rd - 2nd century BC: Blast furnace in Ancient China: The earliest discovered blast furnaces in China date to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, although most sites are from the later Han Dynasty.^[63]^[78]

2nd century BC

The earliest fore-and-aft rigs, spritsails, appeared in the 2nd century BC in the Aegean Sea on small Greek craft.^[79] Here a spritsail used on a Roman merchant ship (3rd century CE).

2nd century BC: Paper in Han Dynasty China: Although it is recorded that the Han Dynasty (202 BC – AD 220) court eunuch Cai Lun (born c. 50 – AD 121) invented the pulp papermaking process and established the use of new raw materials used in making paper, ancient padding and wrapping paper artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC have been found in China, the oldest example of pulp papermaking being a map from Fangmatan, Gansu.^[80]

1st century BC

1st century BC: Glass blowing discovered on the Lebanese coast.
1st century BC: Segmental arch bridge (e.g. Pont-Saint-Martin or Ponte San Lorenzo) in Italy, Roman Republic^[81]^[82]
1st century BC: Arch dam (Glanum Dam) in Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Republic (see also List of Roman dams)^[83]^[84]^[85]^[86]^[87]
150 BC Astrolabe invented in the Hellenistic world.
Before 71 BC (possibly 3rd century BC^[88]^[89]^[90]): Watermill (grain mill) by Greek engineers in Eastern Mediterranean (see also List of ancient watermills)^[91]^[92]
Before 25 BC: Reverse overshot water-wheel by Roman engineers in Rio Tinto, Spain^[93]

1st millennium AD

2nd century

118 AD: Wheelbarrow was found in a tomb at Chengdu, Sichuan province during Han Dynasty China^[94]
132: Seismometer in Han Dynasty China, built by Zhang Heng. It is a large metal urn-shaped instrument which employed either a suspended pendulum or inverted pendulum acting on inertia, like the ground tremors from earthquakes, to dislodge a metal ball by a lever trip device.^[95]^[96]
2nd century: Crankshaft in Augusta Raurica, Roman Empire^[97]
2nd century: Negative numbers in Han Dynasty China.
2nd century: Law school in Beirut, Roman Empire^[98]

3rd century

Schematic of the Roman Hierapolis sawmill. Dated to the 3rd century AD, it is the earliest known machine to incorporate a crank and connecting rod mechanism.^[99]^[100]^[101]

Early 3rd century: Woodblock printing is invented in Han Dynasty China at sometime before 220 AD. This made China become the world first print culture.^[102]
Late 3rd century: Crank and connecting rod (Hierapolis sawmill) in Asia Minor, Roman Empire^[99]^[100]^[101]
Late 3rd–early 4th century: Turbine in Africa (province), Roman Empire^[103]^[104]^[105]

4th century

4th century: Field mill in Ancient China, first mentioned in the Yezhongji, or 'Record of Affairs at the Capital Ye of the Later Zhao Dynasty' written by Lu Hui in the 4th century, describing a field mill built by two engineers, Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian.^[106]
4th century: Fishing reel in Ancient China: In literary records, the earliest evidence of the fishing reel comes from a 4th-century AD^[107] work entitled Lives of Famous Immortals'.^[108]
347 AD: Oil Wells in China. Such wells could reach depths of up to 240m (790 ft).^[109]
4th century: Stirrups in Ancient China: The first dependable representation of a rider with paired stirrups was found in China in a Jin dynasty tomb of about AD 322.^[110]^[111]^[112] The stirrup appeared to be in widespread use across China by AD 477.^[113]
4th century: Street Light in Syria^[114]
4th–5th century: Paddle wheel boat (in De rebus bellicis) in Roman Empire^[115]

5th century

5th century: Horse collar in Southern and Northern Dynasties China: The horse collar as a fully developed collar harness is developed in Southern and Northern Dynasties China during the 5th century AD.^[116] The earliest depiction of it is a Dunhuang cave mural from the Chinese Northern Wei Dynasty, the painting dated to 477–499.^[117]
5th/6th century: Pointed arch bridge (Karamagara Bridge) in Cappadocia, Eastern Roman Empire^[118]^[119]

6th century

563 AD: Pendentive dome (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople, Eastern Roman Empire^[120]
589 AD: Toilet paper in Sui Dynasty China, first mentioned by the official Yan Zhitui (531–591), with full evidence of continual use in subsequent dynasties.^[121]^[122]

7th century

672 AD: Greek fire in Constantinople, Byzantine Empire: Greek fire, an incendiary weapon likely based on petroleum or naphtha, is invented by Kallinikos, a Lebanese Greek refugee from Baalbek, as described by Theophanes.^[123] However, the historicity and exact chronology of this account is dubious,^[124] and it could be that Kallinikos merely introduced an improved version of an established weapon.^[125]
7th century: Banknote in Tang Dynasty China: The banknote is first developed in China during the Tang and Song dynasties, starting in the 7th century. Its roots are in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), as merchants and wholesalers desire to avoid the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions.^[126]^[127]^[128]

7th century: Porcelain in Tang Dynasty China: True porcelain is manufactured in northern China from roughly the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, while true porcelain was not manufactured in southern China until about 300 years later, during the early 10th century.^[129]

9th century

A Mongol bomb thrown against a charging Japanese samurai during the Mongol invasions of Japan after founding the Yuan Dynasty, 1281.

9th century: Distillation in Syria^[130]

9th century: Gunpowder in Tang Dynasty China: Gunpowder is, according to prevailing academic consensus, discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality.^[131] Evidence of gunpowder's first use in China comes from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (618–907).^[132] The earliest known recorded recipes for gunpowder are written by Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du, and Yang Weide in the Wujing Zongyao, a military manuscript compiled in 1044 during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).^[133]^[134]^[135]

9th century: Algebra in Syria^[136]

9th century: University in Morocco^[137]

9th century: Numerical zero in Ancient India: The concept of zero as a number, and not merely a symbol for separation is attributed to India.^[138] In India, practical calculations are carried out using zero, which is treated like any other number by the 9th century, even in case of division.^[138]^[139]

10th century

10th century: Fire lance in Song Dynasty China, developed in the 10th century with a tube of first bamboo and later on metal that shot a weak gunpowder blast of flame and shrapnel, its earliest depiction is a painting found at Dunhuang.^[140] Fire lance is the earliest firearm in the world and one of the earliest gunpowder weapon.^[141]^[142]
10th century: Fireworks in Song Dynasty China: Fireworks first appear in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), in the early age of gunpowder. Fireworks could be purchased from market vendors; these were made of sticks of bamboo packed with gunpowder.^[143]
10th century: Hospital in Iraq^[144]

2nd millennium

11th century

11th century: Ambulance by Crusaders in Israel and Lebanon^[145]
1088: Movable type in Song Dynasty China: The first record of a movable type system is in the Dream Pool Essays written in 1088, which attributes the invention of the movable type to Bi Sheng.^[146]^[147]^[148]^[149] In the 13th century, Koreans invent metal-type movable printing.^[150] In the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg invents the modern movable type system in Europe.^[151]

12th century

1119: Mariner's compass (wet compass) in Song Dynasty China: The earliest recorded use of magnetized needle for navigational purposes at sea is found in Zhu Yu's book Pingzhou Table Talks of 1119 (written from 1111 to 1117).^[148]^[152]^[153]^[154]^[155]^[156]^[157] The typical Chinese navigational compass was in the form of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water.^[158] The familiar mariner's dry compass which uses a pivoting needle suspended above a compass-card in a glass box is invented in medieval Europe no later than 1300.^[159]

13th century

13th century: Soap in Babylonia^[160]
13th century: Rocket for military and recreational uses date back to at least 13th century China.^[161]
1277: Land mine in Song Dynasty China: Textual evidence suggests that the first use of a land mine in history is by a Song Dynasty brigadier general known as Lou Qianxia, who uses an 'enormous bomb' (huo pao) to kill Mongol soldiers invading Guangxi in 1277.^[162]
1286: Eyeglasses in Italy^[163]
13th century: Explosive bomb in Jin dynasty Manchuria: Explosive bombs are used in 1221 by the Jin dynasty against a Song Dynasty city.^[164] The first accounts of bombs made of cast iron shells packed with explosive gunpowder are documented in the 13th century in China and are called "thunder-crash bombs",^[165] coined during a Jin dynasty naval battle in 1231.^[166]
13th century: Hand cannon in Yuan Dynasty China: The earliest hand cannon dates to the 13th century based on archaeological evidence from a Heilongjiang excavation. There is also written evidence in the Yuanshi (1370) on Li Tang, an ethnic Jurchen commander under the Yuan Dynasty who in 1288 suppresses the rebellion of the Christian prince Nayan with his "gun-soldiers" or chongzu, this being the earliest known event where this phrase is used.^[167]

14th century

Early to Mid 1300s: Multistage rocket in Ming Dynasty China described in Huolongjing by Jiao Yu.
14th century: Naval mine in Ming Dynasty China: Mentioned in the Huolongjing military manuscript written by Jiao Yu (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and Liu Bowen (1311–1375), describing naval mines used at sea or on rivers and lakes, made of wrought iron and enclosed in an ox bladder. A later model is documented in Song Yingxing's encyclopedia written in 1637.^[168]
14th century: Fragmentation Bombs in Ming Dynasty China. Described in the Huolongjing.

15th century

The oldest known parachute is depicted in this anonymous Italian manuscript dated to the 1470s.^[169]

1420s: Brace in Flandres, Holy Roman Empire^[169]
1439: Printing press in Mainz, Germany: The printing press is invented in the Holy Roman Empire by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440, based on existing screw presses. The first confirmed record of a press appeared in a 1439 lawsuit against Gutenberg.^[170]
1470s: Parachute (with frame) in Renaissance Italy^[171]
1480s: Mariner's astrolabe on Portuguese circumnavigation of Africa^[172]
1494: Double-entry bookkeeping system codified by Luca Pacioli

16th century

1560 Floating dock in Venice, Venetian Republic^[173]
1569 Mercator Projection map created by Gerardus Mercator
1597: The oldest recorded example of a revolver was invented by Hans Stopler.

17th century

A 1609 title page of the German Relation, the world's first newspaper (first published in 1605)^[174]^[175]

1605: Newspaper (Relation): Johann Carolus in Strassburg, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (see also List of the oldest newspapers)^[174]^[175]
1609: Telescope: invented by Galileo Galilei in Padua, Italy
1642: Mechanical calculator. The Pascaline is built by Blaise Pascal
1643: Barometer: invented by Evangelista Torricelli, or possibly up to three years earlier by Gasparo Berti.^[176]
1650: Otto von Guericke invents the vacuum pump.

18th century

c. 1700: Bartolomeo Cristofori crafts the first piano
1709: Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the alcohol thermometer.
1712: Thomas Newcomen builds the first steam engine to pump water out of mines.^[177] Newcomen's engine, unlike Thomas Savery's, uses a piston.
1716: Henry Sully presented first Montre de la Mer to the French Académie des Sciences
1736: John Harrison tests his first Sea Clock, H1.
1733: Stephen Hales takes measurements of blood pressure. John Kay enables one person to operate a loom with the flying shuttle
1742: Anders Celsius develops the Centigrade temperature scale.
1745: Kleist independently develop the Leyden jar, an early form of capacitor.
1746: John Roebuck invents the lead chamber process.
1755: William Cullen invents the first artificial refrigeration machine.
1764: James Hargreaves invents the spinning jenny.
1765: James Watt invents the improved steam engine utilizing a separate condenser.
1767: Joseph Priestley invents a method for the production of carbonated water.
1769: Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invents the first steam-powered vehicle capable of carrying passengers, an early car.
1770: Richard Salter invents the earliest known design for a Weighting Scale.
1774: John Wilkinson invents his boring machine, considered by some to be the first machine tool.
1775: Jesse Ramsden invents the modern screw-cutting lathe.
1776: John Wilkinson invents a mechanical air compressor that would become the prototype for all later mechanical compressors.
1783: Claude de Jouffroy builds the first steamboat.
1785: Martinus van Marum is the first to use the electrolysis technique.
1786: Andrew Meikle invents the threshing machine.
1789: Edmund Cartwright invents the power loom.
1792: Claude Chappe invents the telegraph.
1793: Eli Whitney invents the modern cotton gin.
1795: Joseph Bramah invents the hydraulic press.
1796: Hanaoka Seishū creates tsūsensan, the first modern general anesthetic
1798: Edward Jenner develops the first successful vaccine, the smallpox vaccine.
1799: air compressor.
1799: The first paper machine is invented by Louis-Nicolas Robert.

19th century

1800s

1800: The Voltaic pile, an early form of battery, is invented by Alessandro Volta in Italy, based on previous works by Luigi Galvani.
1802: Arc lamp invented by Humphry Davy (exact date unclear; not practical as a light source until the invention of efficient electric generators).^[178]
1803: John Dalton's development of the Atomic Theory.
1804: Morphine is discovered as the first active alkaloid extracted from the opium poppy plant in December 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner.^[179]
1804: The steam locomotive is invented by Richard Trevithick^[180]
1807: François Isaac de Rivaz designs the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen.
1807: Robert Fulton expands water transportation and trade with the workable steamboat.
1807: Alexander John Forsyth invents percussion ignition for firearms.
1808: Jean Samuel Pauly, in association with François Prélat, using percussion ignition and an early form of centerfire cartridge (it lacked a percussion cap), creates the first self-contained cartridges for firearms.

1810s

1811: Friedrich Koenig invents the first powered printing press which was also the first to use a cylinder.
1814: The modern planing machine is invented by James Fox, though Matthew Murray of Leeds and Richard Roberts of Manchester have also been credited at times with its invention.
1816: The first working electric telegraph is built by Francis Ronalds using electrostatic means.

1820s

1822: The pattern-tracing lathe (actually more like a shaper) is completed by Thomas Blanchard for the U.S. Ordnance Dept. The lathe can copy symmetrical shapes and is used for making gun stocks, and later, ax handles. The lathe's patent is in force for 42 years, the record for any U.S. patent.^[181]^[182]
1822: Heliography, the first photographic process, is invented by Nicéphore Niépce.
1825: William Sturgeon invents the electromagnet.
1826: The friction match is invented by John Walker.^[183]
1828: The pinfire cartridge, one of the first and most widely-used self-contained cartridges for firearms, is invented by Casimir Lefaucheux.
1828: The hot blast process is developed by James Beaumont Neilson.
1828: Patrick Bell invents the reaping machine.
1829: The first true centerfire cartridge, one of the most widely-used cartridges for firearms, is developed by Clement Pottet. However, it would not be perfected until 1855.

1830s

1830: Edwin Budding invents the lawn mower.
1831: Michael Faraday invents a method of electromagnetic induction. It would be independently invented by Joseph Henry the following year.
1834: Moritz von Jacobi, a German-born Russian, invents the first practical electric motor.
1835: Joseph Henry invents the electromechanical relay.
1836: Samuel Morse invents Morse code.
1838: John Deere invents the first steel plow
1839: James Nasmyth invents the steam hammer.
1839: Edmond Becquerel invents a method for the photovoltaic effect, effectively producing the first solar cell.

1840s

1842: John Bennet Lawes invents superphosphate, the first man-made fertilizer.
1844: Friedrich Gottlob Keller and, independently, Charles Fenerty come up with the wood pulp method of paper production.
1845: Modern Portland cement is invented by Isaac Charles Johnson.
1845: The first rimfire cartridge, one of the first and most widely-used metallic cartridges for firearms, is produced by Nicolas Flobert. However, it lacked powder at first.
1846: The pinfire cartridge is upgraded by Benjamin Houllier to a fully metallic cartridge with powder, the first of its kind.
1847: Nitroglycerin, the first explosive made that was stronger than black powder, is invented by Ascanio Sobrero.
1849: Walter Hunt invents the first repeating rifle to use metallic cartridges (of his own design) and a spring-fed magazine.

1850s

1850: Sir William Armstrong invents the hydraulic accumulator.
1852: Henri Giffard becomes the first person to make a manned, controlled and powered flight using a dirigible.
1855: James Clerk Maxwell invents the first practical method for color photography, whether chemical or electronic.
1855: The Bessemer process for making steel is patented by Sir Henry Bessemer, with improvements made by others over the following years.
1856: Using the principle of vapour compression, James Harrison produces the world's first practical ice making machine and refrigerator in Geelong, Australia.^[184]
1859: Gaston Planté invents the lead acid battery, the first rechargeable battery.

1860s

1862: Louis Pasteur invents the pasteurization process.
1862: Alexander Parkes invents parkesine, also known as celluloid, the first man-made plastic.
1865: The Siemens-Martin process for making steel is invented by Carl Wilhelm Siemens and Pierre-Émile Martin.
1865: Gregor Mendel publishes 'Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden' ("Experiments on Plant Hybridization"), effectively founding the science of genetics, though the importance of his work would not be appreciated until later on.
1867: Dynamite, the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder, is invented by Alfred Nobel.

1870s

1873: The rotary kiln is invented by Frederick Ransome.
1873: The Crookes radiometer is invented by the chemist Sir William Crookes as the by-product of some chemical research.
1874: Gustave Trouvé invents the first metal detector.
1876: Gasoline engine invented by Nikolaus August Otto.
1876: A patent for the telephone is granted to Alexander Graham Bell. However, others inventors before Bell had worked on the development of the telephone and the invention had several pioneers.^[185]
1877: The first working phonograph is invented by Thomas Edison.^[186]
1878: Henry Fleuss is granted a patent for the first practical rebreather.^[187]
1879: Thomas Edison produces the first practical bulb, based on a patent by Joseph Swan, and is granted a U.S. patent.
1879: James Paris Lee invents the first true box magazine for firearms.

1880s

1884: Hiram Maxim invents the recoil-operated Maxim gun, ushering in the age of fully automatic and portable machine guns.
1884: Paul Vieille invents Poudre B, the first smokeless powder for firearms.
1884: Modern steam turbine invented by Sir Charles Parsons.
1886: Carl Gassner invents the zinc-carbon battery, the first dry cell battery, making portable electronics practical.
1886: Heinrich Hertz conclusively demonstrates the existence of radio waves. However, the effects of electromagnetic waves had been independently observed by many people before and after him, with the earliest observation dating back to experiments conducted by Luigi Galvani in the late 18th century.
1886: Process for economically producing aluminum invented by Charles Martin Hall and independently by Paul Héroult in 1886.
1886: Karl Benz invents the first petrol or gasoline powered auto-mobile (car).^[188]
1887: James Blyth invents the first wind turbine used for generating electricity.

1890s

1893: Rudolf Diesel invents the diesel engine (although Herbert Akroyd Stuart had experimented with pressurized fuel injection before Diesel).
1895: Wilhelm Röntgen discovers X-rays. However, the effects of X-rays had been independently observed by others before him, with the earliest observation dating back to experiments conducted by Ivan Puluj in 1881.
1896: Radioactivity discovered by Henri Becquerel.

20th century

1900: Human voice transmitted wirelessly (by radio) for the first time by Roberto Landell de Moura. The first AM radio factory is opened in 1912.
1903: The first successful gas turbine is invented by Ægidius Elling.
1903: First manually controlled, fixed wing, motorized aircraft flies at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina by Orville and Wilbur Wright. First modern fixed wing aircraft. Gustave Weisskopf (Whitehead), a German-American immigrant, is credited with motorized aircraft flight in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1901. Flights are witnessed by citizens and other associates and recorded in the Bridgeport Herald, a local newspaper, but were not mentioned in a 1904 article in Scientific American.^[189]
1904: The Fleming valve, the first vacuum tube and diode, is invented by John Ambrose Fleming.
1907: The first free flight of a rotary-wing aircraft is carried out by Paul Cornu.
1909: Fritz Haber invents the Haber process.
1909: The first instantaneous transmission of images, or television broadcast, is carried out by Georges Rignoux and A. Fournier.

1910s

1915: The tank is invented by Ernest Swinton,^[190] although the British Royal Commission on Awards recognised a South Australian named Lance de Mole who had submitted a proposal to the British War Office, for a 'chain-rail vehicle which could be easily steered and carry heavy loads over rough ground and trenches' complete with extensive drawings in 1912.^[191] Additionally, an Austrian by the name of Günther Burstyn designed a tank in 1911 and a Captain Levavasseur of the French army proposed a design in 1903.
1916: The Czochralski process, widely used for the production of single crystal silicon, is invented by Jan Czochralski.

1920s

1926: The Yagi-Uda Antenna or simply Yagi Antenna is invented by Shintaro Uda of Tohoku Imperial University, Japan, assisted by his colleague Hidetsugu Yagi. The Yagi Antenna was widely used by the US, British, and Germans during World War II. After the war they saw extensive development as home television antennas.
1928: Penicillin is first observed to exude antibiotic substances by Nobel laureate Alexander Fleming. Development of medicinal penicillin is attributed to a team of medics and scientists including Howard Walter Florey, Ernst Chain and Norman Heatley.

1930s

1933: FM radio is patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong.
1938: Z1 built by Konrad Zuse is the first freely programmable computer in the world.

1938, December: Nuclear fission discovered in experiment by Otto Hahn (Nazi Germany), coined by Lise Meitner (fled to Sweden from Nazi-occupied Austria) and Fritz Strassman (Sweden). The Manhattan Project, and consequently the Soviet atomic bomb project were begun based on this research, as well as the German nuclear energy project, although the latter one declined as its physicists were drafted into Germany's war effort.

1940s

1942: The V-2 rocket, the world's first long range ballistic missile, developed in Nazi Germany during World War II.

July 1945: The atomic bomb is first successfully developed by the United States, Britain and Canada as a part of the Manhattan Project and swiftly deployed in August 1945 in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively causing the end of World War II.

December 1947: The transistor, used in almost all modern electronic products is invented in December 1947 by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain under the supervision of William Shockley. Subsequent transistors became steadily smaller, faster, more reliable, and cheaper to manufacture, leading to a revolution in computers, controls, and communication.

1947 Floyd Farris and J.B. Clark (Stanolind Oil and Gas Corporation) invents hydraulic fracturing technology.^[192]

1950s

December 20, 1951: First use of nuclear power to produce electricity for households in Arco, Idaho^[193]^[194]
1952: The first Thermonuclear weapon is developed by the United States of America.
1954: Invention of Solar Battery by Bell Telephone scientists, Calvin Souther Fuller, Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson capturing the sun's power. First practical means of collecting energy from the sun and turning it into a current of electricity.
1955: The intermodal container is developed by Malcom McLean.
1957: The first PC used by one person and controlled by a keyboard, the IBM 610 is invented in 1957 by IBM.
1958-59: Co-creation of the integrated circuit by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce.

1960s

1960: The first functioning laser is invented by Theodore Maiman.
1964: The Shinkansen or Bullet Train is invented in Japan.
1969: ARPANET first deployed via UCLA, SRI, UCSB, and The University of Utah.
1969: Unix is invented.

1970s

1970: The pocket calculator is invented in Japan.
1972: The first video game console, used primarily for playing video games on a TV, is the Magnavox Odyssey.^[195]
1973: The first commercial graphical user interface is introduced in 1973 on the Xerox Alto. The modern GUI is later popularized by the Xerox Star and Apple Lisa.
1973: VHS is invented by Yuma Shiraishi and Shizuo Takano.
1975: Altair 8800 is the spark that ignited the microcomputer revolution.
1973-75: The Internet protocol suite is developed by Vinton Cerf and Robert E. Kahn for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ARPANET, creating the basis for the modern Internet.

1980s

1980: Flash memory (both NOR and NAND types) is invented in Japan by Dr. Fujio Masuoka while working for Toshiba. It is formally introduced to the public in 1984.
1981: MS-DOS is invented by Microsoft.
1982: A CD-ROM contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 Yellow Book standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data.^[196]
1984: The first commercially available cell phone, the DynaTAC 8000X, is invented by Motorola.
1986: The first modern Disposable camera is invented by Fujifilm.
1989: The MP3 file is invented by Karlheinz Brandenburg.

1990s

1990: The World Wide Web is first introduced to the public by English engineer and computer scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee.^[197]^[198]
1993: MOSAIC, the first popular web browser is introduced
1995: DVD is an optical disc storage format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions.

Footnotes

^ See People of the Millennium for an overview of the wide acclaim. In 1999, the A&E Network ranked Gutenberg no. 1 on their "People of the Millennium" countdown. In 1997, Time–Life magazine picked Gutenberg's invention as the most important of the second millennium; the same did four prominent US journalists in their 1998 resume 1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ranking The Men and Women Who Shaped The Millennium. The Johann Gutenberg entry of the Catholic Encyclopedia describes his invention as having made a practically unparalleled cultural impact in the Christian era.
^
^ Harvard Gazette, Invention of cooking drove evolution of the human species
^
^ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v477/n7362/abs/nature10372.html
^ Hadfield, Peter, Gimme Shelter
^ Earliest evidence of art found
^ Kouwenhoven, Arlette P., World's Oldest Spears
^
^ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110106164616.htm
^
^
^
^
^
^ Francesco d’Errico et al. (2012) Early evidence of San material culture represented by organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(33): 13214-13219. It is called a notched bone, illustrated in Fig. 1, 12
^
^ http://www.sciencemag.org/content/325/5946/1359
^ http://www.academia.edu/875886/Pavlov_VI_an_Upper_Palaeolithic_living_unit
^ http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/centuries-old-fabric-found-in-catalhoyuk.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61883&NewsCatID=375
^
^
^
^ "Chinese pottery may be earliest discovered." Associated Press. 2009-06-01
^ Gregor, Thomas. Anxious Pleasures: The Sexual Lives of an Amazonian People. University Of Chicago Press (1987). p. 106 "Today we know that the bullroarer is a very ancient object, specimens from France (13,000 B.C.) and the Ukraine (17,000 B.C.) dating back well into the Paleolithic period. Moreover, some archeologists, most notable Michael Boyd—notably, Gordon Willey (1971,20) and Michael Boyd (Leisure in the Dreamtime 1999,21) —now admit the bullroarer to the kit-bag of artifacts brought by the very earliest migrants to the Americas."
^ http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2013/07/farming-was-so-nice-it-was-invented-least-twice
^ https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/
^
^
^ http://citiesnow.in/blog/2015/07/09/worlds-ever-first-know-town-catalhuyuk/
^
^ Loewe (1968), 170–171
^ Deng, Gang. (1997). Chinese Maritime Activities and Socioeconomic Development, c. 2100 B.C.-1900 A.D. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29212-4, p. 22.
^
^
^ http://www.academia.edu/1957412/On_the_origins_of_extractive_metallurgy_new_evidence_from_Europe_Radivojevic_et_al_2010_JAS_37_
^
^ Jared Diamond "The Third Chimpanzee"
^
^ The sea-craft of prehistory, p76, by Paul Johnstone, Routledge, 1980
^
^
^
^
^ Kilmer & Civil 1986,.
^ David S. Anthony, The Horse, The Wheel and Language: How bronze age riders from the Eurasian steppes shaped the modern world (2007), pp. 397-405.
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/inventions-2nd-millennium-bc-2000-bc-to.html.
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/inventions-2nd-millennium-bc-2000-bc-to.html.
^ http://www.michaelppowers.com/prosperity/coins.htm.
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/inventions-2nd-millennium-bc-2000-bc-to.html.
^ http://www.historyofglass.com/glass-invention/who-invented-glass/.
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ Hans-Liudger, Dienel; Wolfgang, Meighörner (1997): "Der Tretradkran", Technikgeschichte series, 2nd ed., Deutsches Museum, München, p. 13
^ Coulton, J. J. (1974): "Lifting in Early Greek Architecture", The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 94, pp. 1–19 (7, 16)
^ Frankel, Rafael (2003): "The Olynthus Mill, Its Origin, and Diffusion: Typology and Distribution", American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 107, No. 1, pp. 1–21 (17–19)
^ Ritti, Tullia; Grewe, Klaus; Kessener, Paul (2007): "A Relief of a Water-powered Stone Saw Mill on a Sarcophagus at Hierapolis and its Implications", Journal of Roman Archaeology, Vol. 20, pp. 138–163 (159)
^ ^a ^b Wagner (2001), 7, 36–37, 64–68. 335.
^ Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 30.
^ Pigott (1999), 177.
^ Wagner (1993), 153, 157–158.
^ ^a ^b Campbell, Duncan B. (2003): Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC–AD 363, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84176-634-8, pp. 3ff.
^ ^a ^b Schellenberg, Hans Michael (2006): "Diodor von Sizilien 14,42,1 und die Erfindung der Artillerie im Mittelmeerraum", Frankfurter Elektronische Rundschau zur Altertumskunde, Vol. 3, pp. 14–23 (18f.)
^
^ Beckmann, Martin (2002): "The 'Columnae Coc(h)lides' of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius", Phoenix, Vol. 56, No. 3/4, pp. 348–357 (354)
^ Ruggeri, Stefania (2006): "Selinunt", Edizioni Affinità Elettive, Messina, ISBN 88-8405-079-0, p. 77
^ http://whoinvented.blogspot.com.au/2008/05/1st-millennium-bc-encompasses-iron-age.html
^ Moore, Frank Gardner (1950): "Three Canal Projects, Roman and Byzantine", American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 97–111 (99–101)
^ Froriep, Siegfried (1986): "Ein Wasserweg in Bithynien. Bemühungen der Römer, Byzantiner und Osmanen", Antike Welt, 2nd Special Edition, pp. 39–50 (46)
^ Schörner, Hadwiga (2000): "Künstliche Schiffahrtskanäle in der Antike. Der sogenannte antike Suez-Kanal", Skyllis, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 28–43 (33–35, 39)
^ B. H. M. W. Bohingamuwa (2000): "The water regulation technology of ancient Sri Lankan reservoirs: The Bisokotuwa sluice", p164.
^ Oleson, John Peter (2000): "Water-Lifting", in: Wikander, Örjan: "Handbook of Ancient Water Technology", Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-11123-9, pp. 217–302 (233)
^ Pigott (1999), 183–184.
^ Casson, Lionel (1995): "Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World", Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-5130-8, pp. 243–245
^ Buisseret (1998), 12.
^ O’Connor, Colin: Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-39326-4, p. 171
^ Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995): "I ponti romani", Vol. 1, Edizioni Canova, Treviso, ISBN 88-85066-66-6, pp. 429–437
^ Smith, Norman (1971): "A History of Dams", Peter Davies, London, ISBN 978-0-432-15090-0, pp. 25–49 (33–35)
^ Schnitter, Niklaus (1978): "Römische Talsperren", Antike Welt, Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 25–32 (31f.)
^ Schnitter, Niklaus (1987): "Verzeichnis geschichtlicher Talsperren bis Ende des 17. Jahrhunderts", in: Garbrecht, Günther (ed.): Historische Talsperren, Verlag Konrad Wittwer, Stuttgart, Vol. 1, ISBN 3-87919-145-X, pp. 9–20 (12)
^ Schnitter, Niklaus (1987): "Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Bogenstaumauer", Garbrecht, Günther (ed.): Historische Talsperren, Vol. 1, Verlag Konrad Wittwer, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-87919-145-X, pp. 75–96 (80)
^ Hodge, A. Trevor (2000): "Reservoirs and Dams", in: Wikander, Örjan: Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-11123-9, pp. 331–339 (332, fn. 2)
^ Wikander, Örjan (2000): "The Water-Mill" in: Wikander, Örjan (ed.): Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-11123-9, pp. 371–400 (396f.)
^ Donners, K.; Waelkens, M.; Deckers, J. (2002): "Water Mills in the Area of Sagalassos: A Disappearing Ancient Technology", Anatolian Studies, Vol. 52, pp. 1–17 (11)
^ Wilson, Andrew (2002): "Machines, Power and the Ancient Economy", The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 92, pp. 1–32 (7f.)
^ Wikander, Örjan (1985): "Archaeological Evidence for Early Water-Mills. An Interim Report", History of Technology, Vol. 10, pp. 151–179 (160)
^ Wikander, Örjan (2000): "The Water-Mill" in: Wikander, Örjan (ed.): Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-11123-9, pp. 371–400 (396)
^ Davies, Oliver: Roman Mines in Europe, Oxford (1935)
^ Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 4, Physics and Physical Technology, pt. 2, Mechanical Engineering (Cambridge, 1965), p. 265
^
^
^ Schiöler, Thorkild (2009): "Die Kurbelwelle von Augst und die römische Steinsägemühle", Helvetia Archaeologica, Vol. 40, No. 159/160, pp. 113–124 (113f.)
^ http://www.duhaime.org/LawMuseum/LawArticle-1538/250-The-First-Law-School.aspx
^ ^a ^b Ritti, Tullia; Grewe, Klaus; Kessener, Paul (2007): "A Relief of a Water-powered Stone Saw Mill on a Sarcophagus at Hierapolis and its Implications", Journal of Roman Archaeology, Vol. 20, pp. 138–163 (140, 161)
^ ^a ^b Grewe, Klaus (2009): "Die Reliefdarstellung einer antiken Steinsägemaschine aus Hierapolis in Phrygien und ihre Bedeutung für die Technikgeschichte. Internationale Konferenz 13.−16. Juni 2007 in Istanbul", in: Bachmann, Martin (ed.): Bautechnik im antiken und vorantiken Kleinasien, Byzas, Vol. 9, Ege Yayınları/Zero Prod. Ltd., Istanbul, ISBN 978-975-8072-23-1, pp. 429–454 (429)
^ ^a ^b Grewe, Klaus (2010): "La máquina romana de serrar piedras. La representación en bajorrelieve de una sierra de piedras de la antigüedad, en Hierápolis de Frigia y su relevancia para la historia técnica (translation by Miguel Ordóñez)", in: Las técnicas y las construcciones de la Ingeniería Romana, V Congreso de las Obras Públicas Romanas, pp. 381–401
^
^ Wilson, Andrew (1995): "Water-Power in North Africa and the Development of the Horizontal Water-Wheel", Journal of Roman Archaeology, Vol. 8, pp. 499–510 (507f.)
^ Wikander, Örjan (2000): "The Water-Mill" in: Wikander, Örjan (ed.): Handbook of Ancient Water Technology, Technology and Change in History, Vol. 2, Brill, Leiden, ISBN 90-04-11123-9, pp. 371–400 (377)
^ Donners, K.; Waelkens, M.; Deckers, J. (2002): "Water Mills in the Area of Sagalassos: A Disappearing Ancient Technology", Anatolian Studies, Vol. 52, pp. 1–17 (13)
^ Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 159–160, 256–257.
^ Hucker (1975), 206.
^ Ronan (1994), 41.
^ ASTM timeline of oil
^ Dien, Albert. "THE STIRRUP AND ITS EFFECT ON CHINESE MILITARY HISTORY"
^ UNESCO Courier, October, 1988"The stirrup - history of Chinese science."
^ "The invention and influences of stirrup"
^ Hobson, John M. The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation. Cambridge University Press,2004, p. 103 ISBN 978-0-521-54724-6, ISBN 0-521-54724-5
^ http://www.krysstal.com/display_inventions.php?years=1+AD+to+1%2C000+AD
^ De Rebus Bellicis (anon.), chapter XVII, text edited by Robert Ireland, in: BAR International Series 63, part 2, p. 34
^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 28.
^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 322.
^ Galliazzo, Vittorio (1995): "I ponti romani", Vol. 1, Edizioni Canova, Treviso, ISBN 88-85066-66-6, p. 92
^ Warren, John (1991): "Creswell's Use of the Theory of Dating by the Acuteness of the Pointed Arches in Early Muslim Architecture", Muqarnas, Vol. 8, pp. 59–65 (61–63)
^ Heinle, Erwin; Schlaich, Jörg (1996): "Kuppeln aller Zeiten, aller Kulturen", Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-421-03062-6, pp. 30–32
^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 123.
^ Hunter (1978), 207.
^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 607–609
^ Theophanes & Turtledove 1982, p. 52
^ Roland 1992, p. 657; Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 608
^ Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 156.
^ Bowman (2000), 105.
^ Gernet (1962), 80.
^ Wood (1999), 49.
^ http://thaqafamagazine.com/2014/12/05/inventions-arab-middle-east/
^ Jack Kelly Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics: The History of the Explosive that Changed the World, Perseus Books Group: 2005, ISBN 0465037224, 9780465037223: pp. 2-5
^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 8–9, 80–82.
^ Needham (1987), Volume 5, Part 7, 70–73, 120–124.
^ Gernet (1996), 311.
^ Day & McNeil (1996), 785.
^ http://thaqafamagazine.com/2014/12/05/inventions-arab-middle-east/
^ http://thaqafamagazine.com/2014/12/05/inventions-arab-middle-east/
^ ^a ^b Bourbaki (1998), page 46
^ Britannica Concise Encyclopedia (2007). algebra
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 224–225, 232–233, 241–244.
^
^
^ Gernet (1962), 186.
^ http://www.krysstal.com/display_inventions.php?years=1+AD+to+1%2C000+AD
^ http://www.krysstal.com/display_inventions.php?years=1+AD+to+1%2C000+AD.
^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–202.
^ Gernet (1996), 335.
^ ^a ^b Bowman (2000), 599.
^ Day & McNeil (1996), 70.
^
^ Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved November 27, 2006, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD—entry 'printing'
^ Gernet (1962), 77.
^ Sivin (1995), III, 21–22.
^ Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 279.
^ Elisseeff (2000), 296.
^ Gernet (1996), 328.
^ Day & McNeil (1996), 636.
^ Kreutz, p. 373
^ Frederic C. Lane, "The Economic Meaning of the Invention of the Compass," The American Historical Review, Vol. 68, No. 3. (Apr., 1963), p.615ff.
^ http://thaqafamagazine.com/2014/12/05/inventions-arab-middle-east/
^
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 175–176, 192.
^ Vincent Ilardi, Renaissance Vision from Spectacles to Telescopes (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Philosophical Society, 2007), page 5.
^
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170–174.
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 171.
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 293–294.
^ Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205.
^ ^a ^b White, Lynn (1962): "Medieval Technology and Social Change", At the Clarendon Press, Oxford, p. 112
^ Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1998. (pp 58–69) ISBN 0-471-29198-6
^ White, Lynn (1968): "The Invention of the Parachute", Technology and Culture, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 462–467 (462f.)
^ Stimson, Alan (1985): "The Mariner's Astrolabe. A Survey of 48 Surviving Examples", UC Biblioteca Geral, Coimbra, p. 576
^ Isis, Vol. 36, No. 3/4, pp. 153–154 (153f.)
^ ^a ^b World Association of Newspapers: "Newspapers: 400 Years Young!"
^ ^a ^b Weber, Johannes (2006): "Strassburg, 1605: The Origins of the Newspaper in Europe", German History, Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 387–412 (396f.)
^
^
^ http://archives.theiet.org/about/Arclamps/arclamps.htm
^
^ http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/trevithic_loco/
^
^ Hounshell 1984, p. 35
^
^
^
^
^
^ DRP's patent No. 37435 (PDF, 561 kB, German)
^
^
^ Coulthard-Clark, Christopher D., Australian Dictionary of Biography, online edition, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080298b.htm retrieved on 26 August 2008
^
^ Experimental Breeder Reactor 1 factsheet, Idaho National Laboratory
^ Fifty years ago in December: Atomic reactor EBR-I produced first electricity American Nuclear Society Nuclear news, November 2001
^ "The World’s Technological Capacity to Store, Communicate, and Compute Information", Martin Hilbert and Priscila López (2011), Science (journal), 332(6025), 60-65; free access to the article through here martinhilbert.net/WorldInfoCapacity.html
^ EP 689208 "Method for block oriented addressing" – for block layouts see columns 1 and 2
^
^

References

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Bowman, John S. (2000). Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-11004-9.
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Ebrey, Walthall, Palais, (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Elisseeff, Vadime. (2000). The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce. New York: Berghahn Books. ISBN 1-57181-222-9.
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Gernet, Jacques. (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Translated by J.R. Foster and Charles Hartman. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-49781-7.
Kreutz, Barbara M. (1973) "Mediterranean Contributions to the Medieval Mariner's Compass", Technology and Culture, 14 (3: July), p. 367–383
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Loewe, Michael. (1968). Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period 202 BC–AD 220. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd.; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
Needham, Joseph, Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.,1986 ISBN 0-521-07060-0
Needham, Joseph (1962). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology; Part 1, Physics. Cambridge University Press., reprinted Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. (1986)
Needham, Joseph and Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin. (1985). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing. Cambridge University Press., reprinted Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. (1986)
Needham, Joseph. (1987). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic. Cambridge University Press.
Pigott, Vincent C. (1999). The Archaeometallurgy of the Asian Old World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. ISBN 0-924171-34-0.
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Stark, Miriam T. (2005). Archaeology of Asia. Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub. ISBN 1-4051-0213-6.
Wagner, Donald B. (1993). Iron and Steel in Ancient China: Second Impression, With Corrections. Leiden: E.J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-09632-9.
Wagner, Donald B. (2001). The State and the Iron Industry in Han China. Copenhagen: Nordic Institute of Asian Studies Publishing. ISBN 87-87062-83-6.
Wang, Zhongshu. (1982). Han Civilization. Translated by K.C. Chang and Collaborators. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-02723-0.
Wood, Nigel. (1999). Chinese Glazes: Their Origins, Chemistry, and Recreation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3476-6.

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Timeline of historic inventions