Section 2: Inventions

The Telegraph In 1844, Samuel Morse developed the telegraph – a device which transmitted messages by sound using “Morse Code.” By 1860, thousands of telegraph lines existed in the U.S. http://morsecode.scphillips.com/translator.html

The Telephone Alexander Graham Bell was helping hearing-impaired people learn how to speak by sending sounds of peoples’ voices through electrical wires. These sounds would be effectively carried to the other end.

The Typewriter In 1868, Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter, (at least the first one to be commercially successful) helping businesses operate more efficiently. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfxRfkZdiAQ

The Adding Machine In 1888, William Burroughs patented his own adding machine (the ancestor of the calculator).

The Box Camera In 1888, George Eastman invented a small box camera – the Kodak.

The Vacuum Cleaner In 1899, John Thurman received a patent for a newer version of vacuum cleaner. It basically shot compressed air at a carpet and then blew the dust and dirt into a receptacle – not quite the same as vacuum cleaners today. It was a little more like a leaf blower.

Thomas Edison Edison saved a child from an oncoming train while working at a railroad. He created a machine that sent automatic telegraphs so that he could sleep on the job.

The Phonograph Thomas Edison made the phonograph (basically, a very early record player) in 1877. Physical marks would record the distinct sounds on a rotating cylinder.

The Motion Picture Projector Working with George Eastman (the Kodak guy!), Edison invented a motion picture projector, taking a sequences of recorded images/photographs and turning it into a “motion” picture, the predecessor to film today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcFLrXknyjQ

The Telephone Transmitter

The Storage Battery Thomas Edison also invented the storage battery. It could store electric power for later use. Here is an alkaline storage battery from 1901. Chemical reactions inside the battery produce a release of energy.

The Electric Lightbulb Edison’s most important invention and contribution was the lightbulb, invented in 1879. The next step was to make power plants to send the electricity to those light bulbs.

Electric Transformers Not quite. George Westinghouse created transformers to send power cheaply over short distances. This powered factories, streetlights, lamps, trolleys, etc. This?

African American Inventors Lewis Howard Latimer Granville Woods Elijah McCoy Jan E. Matzeliger

Improved Lightbulb Filament The son of escaped slaves, Lewis Howard Latimer joined Edison’s company and developed an even better lightbulb filament.

Electric Incubator Granville Woods was the first post-Civil War African American electrical and chemical engineer. He made things such as the electric incubator, for incubating eggs. He was in several battles with Thomas Edison, who claimed to have already invented things that Woods invented.

Oiling Machinery Another son of escaped slaves, Elijah McCoy developed a mechanism for oiling machinery. Trains had to stop and have their parts oiled, and he developed a device which would keep the parts oiled in mid-use.

Automated Shoe-Making Machine Jan E. Matzelinger made a shoe-making machine, which was a “shoe-in” for a great invention. By having a machine perform many of the steps done previously by hand, the process was made more efficient and more consistent.

The Model T Henry Ford was an engineer in Detroit and wanted to build an inexpensive, gas-powered automobile. After some earlier attempts, in 1908 he released the Model T – a car which was inexpensive and could be mass produced. Ford’s partner, Sorenson, described it as: “…a car which anyone could afford to buy, which anyone could drive anywhere, and which almost anyone could keep in repair.”

The Assembly Line Part of why the Model T was inexpensive and efficient to produce is the introduction of the assembly line. Different workers would have different tasks and would increasingly be doing the exact same steps and using the exact same parts during their role in the process.

Mass Production A revolutionized industry was capable of producing large quantities of goods more quickly – engaging in mass production of goods so as to decrease manufacturing costs and sell cheaper goods, enabling more of the population to buy various products. If goods could be sold to a larger number of people, than the increased sales could allow for and/or offset any loss in revenue from decreased prices. So businesses could compete with one another by lowering prices and that process could actually help them make more money.