THOMAS EDISON

INVENTS THE CYLINDER

PHONOGRAPH First recording of a human voice?

“Mary had a Little Lamb”

1750 1900

A Timeline of Inventions

1769 1786

ELI WHITNEY PATENTS THE COTTON GIN

It was an important

invention because it dramatically reduced the

amount of time it took to separate

cotton seeds from cotton fiber.

17641768

RICHARD ARKWRIGHT PATENTS THE

SPINNING WATER FRAME

It was the first textile machine designed to be powered by water. Arkwright set up the first water-powered

cotton mill at Cromford, Derbyshire,

in 1771.

JAMES WATT INVENTS AN IMPROVED

STEAM ENGINE

EDMUND CARTWRIGHT

INVENTS THE POWER

LOOM Helped weavers to

catch up to the thread; now, horse, water, and steam power were used to operate a loom

GEORGES LOUIS LESAGE PATENTS THE TELEGRAPH revolutionized long-

distance communication. It

worked by transmitting

electrical signals over a wire laid

between stations.

HARIM MAXIM INVENTS THE

MACHINE GUN the Maxim could fire

600 rounds per minute

1876

1774

January 1 ALEXANDER

GRAHAM BELL

PATENTS THE

TELEPHONE

1785

1814

JOSEPH NICÉPHORE

NIÉPCE TAKES THE FIRST PIC

He took the picture by setting

up a machine called the

camera obscura in the window of his home. It took

eight hours for the camera to take

the picture

GEORGE STEPHENSON DESIGNS THE FIRST STEAM LOCOMOTIVE. People and new manufactured

goods transported

across land easily

1866

ALFRED NOBEL INVENTS DYNAMITE

revolutionized the mining, construction and military industry 1885

1877

JAMES HARGREAVES INVENTS THE

SPINNING JENNY Spinning Jenny reduced

the amount of work needed to produce cloth

August 22 JOHN FITCH INVENTS A

STEAMBOAT John Fitch

made the first successful trial of a forty-five-

foot steamboat on the

Delaware River

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1794

BARTHELEMY THIMONNIER

INVENTS A SEWING

MACHINE Although not the real first, Thimonnier’s was the first practical and widely used

sewing machine

1830

SAMUEL COLT INVENTS THE

FIRST REVOLVER

Makes life on the frontier more and less dangerous. this invention is widely used in the Civil War

1836

1. What happened earlier? A) the patent of the electric telegraph B) the invention of the power loom2. What year was the first photograph taken? __________________________________________________________________________________3. What is the span (number of years shown) on this timeline?_____________________________________________________________________4. What event happened January 1st, 1876? __________________________________________________________________________________5. Why was the power loom so significant? ___________________________________________________________________________________6. What three inventions would be most commonly used as weapons for war? ________________________________________________________7. Why was the cotton gin important? ________________________________________________________________________________________8. Which two inventions radically changed the way people communicated with each other? ______________________________________________9. What was the first picture ever taken? When?________________________________________________________________________________10. How many years did it take to invent the machine gun after the revolver was invented? ______________________________________________11. Samuel Morse invented Morse code in 1837. It would become the primary language of telegraphy in the world. It is still the standard for rhythmic

transmission of data. How many years did it take to invent Morse code after the first telegraph was invented?_____________________________12. Eli Whitney popularized the concept of identical parts for a produced item. This is called “interchangeable parts.” This made possible faster

assembly at a lower price. What else did he invent? When?____________________________________________________________________13. In chronological order, what five inventions aided the manufacture of clothing? _____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________14. What was the first recording of a human voice? _____________________________________________________________________________

Matching ___15. his steam engine contributed substantially to the Industrial Revolution a. Eli Whitney___16. he donated his fortune(made from inventing dynamite) to establish the Nobel Prize b. Richard Arkwright___17. his invention allowed for the quick transfer of people and goods across land c. James Hargreaves ___18. his invention used for making cloth, was named after his wife or daughter d. Alfred Nobel___19. his invention revolutionized the transfer of people and goods in America e. James Watt___20. his invention made possible water powered cotton mills f. George Stephenson

h. John Fitch

Analyze the timeline on the back to answer the following questions.

N a m e D a t e P e r i o d _______________________________________________________________ ___________________ ___________

A Timeline of Inventions

© 2017 All Rights Reserved.