Introduction to 13 inventions
Human progress has been driven forward throughout history by visionary thinkers who dared to invent innovative new ideas and technologies. Some inventions represent such a massive leap that they permanently alter the trajectory of our advancement as a species. The humble wheel allowed for the first carts and chariots, revolutionizing transport and mobility. The printing press enabled the rapid dissemination of information and knowledge to common people.
The telephone connected us over vast distances, transforming how we communicate. Other breakthroughs like electricity, vaccines, automobiles, airplanes, computers, and the internet ushered in modern living as we know it. Each invention opened new possibilities in science, medicine, transportation, communication, and sharing information that were scarcely imaginable beforehand. Without these key innovations, the world would look very different today. This article will explore 13 inventions that genuinely changed the course of human history and progress. By examining their origins, workings, and wide-reaching impact, we gain perspective on just how far ingenuity and creativity can take us.
The Printing Press (1440)
The printing press was invented in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg in Germany. This revolutionary device allowed books and other documents to be printed in mass quantities for the first time. Before the printing press, books were painstakingly produced by hand, often by monks or scribes. Gutenberg’s press used movable type, where each letter or character was cast individually in metal, assembled into lines and pages, inked, and pressed to paper. This hugely increased the printing speed and made it possible to quickly and cheaply print hundreds or thousands of copies of documents.
The printing press had an enormous impact on society. It allowed information and ideas to spread rapidly across Europe and beyond. More people, not just wealthy nobles and clergy, could have access to books. The printing press is credited with helping usher in the Renaissance as ancient and contemporary texts were able to disseminate more widely. It also impacted religion, with disputes within Christianity, such as Martin Luther’s 95 Theses being printed and circulated rapidly. Overall, the printing press revolutionized communication and the spread of information.
The Telegraph (1844)
The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse in 1844 and allowed long-distance communication through electric signals sent over wires. It worked by transmitting electrical signals that corresponded to a code developed by Morse (Impact of the Telegraph | Collection Highlights).
The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication by allowing near-instant transmission of messages across continents. This significantly accelerated business transactions, news reporting, and personal communications (History of the U.S. Telegraph Industry). It brought people together across distances and made the world feel smaller. The telegraph era helped unite previously disconnected communities and boosted economic growth.
Some of the significant impacts of the telegraph included quicker transmission of political and military orders, facilitating the growth of commercial news media, supporting the deployment of railroads across vast distances, and enabling the coordination of far-flung business empires. The telegraph ushered in an age of rapid communication built upon later technologies like the telephone, radio, and the internet. It paved the way for our interconnected modern world.
The Light Bulb (1879)
The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879, building upon the work of many other inventors who had worked to develop incandescent lighting. Edison and his team at Menlo Park came up with a commercially viable filament bulb that could burn for over 1200 hours. While British inventor Humphry Davy had created an early electric arc lamp in 1809, Edison’s work made a valuable and affordable incandescent light bulb for indoor lighting that genuinely paved the way for the widespread adoption of electric lighting.
Edison tested thousands of different filaments before finding one that worked well – a carbonized bamboo filament that could burn brightly for an extended period. The creation of the lightbulb enabled people to extend their days and work into the night effectively. This impacted manufacturing and industry by allowing factories to run extra shifts and enabling regular households to have more leisure time in the evening. The lightbulb transformed how we live and work and created power utilities and the infrastructure needed to power mass electrification. This simple invention that produces visible light from electricity has profoundly impacted society, culture, economics, and everyday life.
The Telephone (1876)
The telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone allowed people to communicate in real time over long distances, revolutionizing personal and business communication.
Before the telephone, telegraphy was the fastest means of long-distance communication. However, the telegraph did not allow for conversation – messages had to be kept brief. Bell’s intent was to expand upon the telegraph to transmit the human voice electronically.
After many experiments, Bell developed a simple receiver that could turn electricity into sound waves and reconvert it back into speech. This was demonstrated when his assistant famously heard Bell say over their new invention: “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you” in their famous first phone conversation.
The telephone quickly spread, allowing people separated by distance to stay in contact quickly. Businesses could coordinate over long distances, genuinely national and global businesses began to emerge, and the telephone began to be seen as an essential tool for communication and coordination in business, diplomacy, and society.
Radio (1895)
The invention of the radio was a major technological breakthrough that changed society in many ways. Radio was invented in 1895 by Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian inventor and electrical engineer. He developed the first practical systems of wireless telegraphy using radio waves.
Marconi’s wireless telegraph transmitted Morse code signals across distances and paved the way for audio transmissions. His work revolutionized long-distance communications and led to widespread adoption of radio technology for broadcasting. The ability to instantly transmit information through the air was a massive leap forward.
Radio broadcasting exploded in popularity in the 1920s. Radios became ubiquitous in American households. They connected the public to entertainment, news, politics, music, and sports. Radio provided a sense of immediacy and community. It shaped culture and gave people a shared experience. Radio broadcasting helped grow the mass media and advertising industries.
Overall, the invention of radio communication changed society in profound ways. It enabled instant long-distance communication, provided entertainment and information to the masses, and connected people across vast distances like never before.
Automobile (late 1880s)
The automobile was invented independently by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler in the late 1880s. Benz patented the first internal combustion engine automobile in 1885, while Daimler built the first four-wheel gasoline-powered automobile in 1886. The automobile radically changed personal transportation and mobility. Walking, horseback, or horse-drawn coaches enabled people to travel farther than they could. This allowed people to conveniently commute longer distances for work and access services previously out of reach. The automobile also reshaped industries and infrastructure as roads, gas stations, motels, and related businesses expanded nationwide to serve motorists.
Mass production techniques pioneered by Henry Ford’s Model T made cars affordable for the average American by the 1920s. This democratized travel and recreation, as middle-class families could take road trips nationwide. The automobile became a symbol of independence, freedom, and self-sufficiency. However, it also contributed to urban sprawl, pollution, traffic fatalities, and ecological disruption. Overall, automobiles fundamentally reshaped society, the economy, and the landscape as cities and infrastructure bent to serve the needs of the car.
Airplane (1903)
The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, invented the airplane in 1903. This pioneering invention makes the world much smaller by drastically reducing travel times. It has allowed people to easily travel between countries and across continents in a matter of hours. Before the airplane was invented, such long-distance travel took days, weeks, or even months. The advent of flight fundamentally changed how people view geography and distance.
A trip across the Atlantic Ocean that once took steamships for over a week can now be flown in less than 8 hours. The airplane has also impacted the transportation of goods and cargo. Mail, medicine, food, and other products can be delivered rapidly to areas worldwide, Which has increased global connectivity and facilitated international trade. Militaries were also transformed with the introduction of combat airplanes and aerial warfare. The aircraft was one of the defining inventions shaping the 20th century. It has made the world more connected and accessible and opened up opportunities for development like never before.
Television (1926)
Television was invented in 1926 by Scottish inventor John Logie Baird. Before this, various attempts had been made to create mechanical and electronic televisions due to scientists wanting to transmit images over radio signals. Baird finally achieved success with his invention of the first working television system. He patented his work in 1925 and gave the first public demonstration of televised silhouette images in 1926. Baird continued to improve his television system over the next few years, demonstrating the first color image in 1928 and the first transmission of moving images between London and Glasgow in 1927.
Television transformed media and entertainment by allowing moving pictures and sound to be broadcast directly into people’s homes. Where radio could only transmit audio, television enabled audio and visual content to be sent through the airwaves. This allowed audiences to enjoy sporting events, news, sitcoms, dramas, and more. The impact of television on society and culture has been immense.
One source notes that television influences people’s thoughts about critical social issues related to gender, race, and class. It opened up new entertainment possibilities and changed social interactions and activities inside the home. Although invented in the 1920s, it took until the 1950s for television became widespread in American households. But by the 1960s, over 90% of homes had a television set. Technology has transformed the public’s communication, information, and entertainment options.
Computer (1940s)
The computer was developed in the 1940s by scientists at Bell Labs, Manchester University, and other institutions. They built upon earlier work on mechanical calculating devices and electrical switches to create the first all-electronic, programmable computers. The first computers, like the ENIAC, were enormous machines that occupied entire rooms. But they marked a massive leap forward in computing capability and ushered in the modern digital computer age.
Early computers were used primarily for scientific and military calculations. But by the 1950s and 60s, smaller and cheaper computers were being made for businesses and government organizations to handle data processing. The personal computer revolution began as computers continued improving in processing power and shrinking in size in the 1970s-80s. Computers have moved from technical/institutional uses into homes, schools, and small offices. This paved the way for the proliferation of computing technology throughout society.
The advent of electronic computing is one of the most significant technological achievements in history. Computers have enabled incredible advances in science, communication, commerce, transportation, and countless other fields. Today, billions of people globally have access to inexpensive computing power that early computer pioneers could hardly have imagined. The digital world, made possible by modern computers, touches almost every aspect of human life. Computers will continue propelling humanity into new technological frontiers for the foreseeable future.
Internet (1960s)
The Internet was created in the 1960s by scientists including Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who developed the TCP/IP protocols that serve as the foundation of the Internet. The earliest networked precursor to the internet was created in the 1960s and is called ARPANET. The Internet started as a U.S. military research network before expanding to universities and eventually becoming commercialized in the 1990s, allowing billions of people globally to communicate and access information online.
The invention of the internet has profoundly impacted global society. It created the information age and digital revolution, transforming how we communicate, work, conduct business, access information, learn, and play. The internet enabled the rise of online commerce, social media, streaming media services, and more. It provides unprecedented access to information and entertainment, which can improve education and quality of life. However, it has also disrupted industries, increased isolation for some, and created challenges around cybercrime, privacy, and misinformation. The internet is considered one of the most important and transformative technologies ever created.
Mobile Phone (1973)
Invented by Martin Cooper at Motorola, the mobile phone revolutionized communication by allowing people to make calls and send messages wirelessly from anywhere. On April 3, 1973, Motorola researcher and executive Martin Cooper made the first handheld mobile phone call in public, calling his rival at Bell Labs.
The mobile phone made portable communication possible, freeing people from being tethered to landlines. Initially large and heavy devices, mobile phones evolved into compact and lightweight gadgets carried by billions worldwide today. They enabled people to be reachable anywhere and transformed business, society, and culture. Mobile phones brought convenience but also some challenges around distracted driving and overuse. Nevertheless, they have become an integral technology, facilitating modern life through instant communication, information access, navigation, entertainment, and more.
MRI Scanner (1970s)
Raymond Damadian invented the MRI scanner in the 1970s. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a medical imaging technique that uses strong magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the inside of the human body. It is a non-invasive imaging technique that produces high-quality images of soft tissue, the brain, the spinal cord, and other internal organs.
The MRI scanner represents a massive breakthrough in diagnostic medicine as it allows doctors to see inside the body in intricate detail without performing exploratory surgery or exposing patients to ionizing radiation like C.T. scans or X-rays. MRI scans have become a crucial tool in detecting and diagnosing conditions such as brain tumors, torn ligaments, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, and strokes. They have dramatically improved doctors’ ability to detect disease and injury early, leading to faster diagnosis and treatment.
One of the significant impacts of the MRI scanner has been enabling far better neuroimaging used to map the human brain. This has led to substantial progress in understanding neurological disorders and improving patient outcomes through earlier detection. MRIs are now indispensable in modern medicine with over 25 million procedures performed in the U.S. each year . While there are some risks, like any medical procedure, the benefits have greatly outweighed them. The MRI scanner revolutionized diagnostic medicine and remains one of the most important medical innovations of the 20th century.
GPS (1970s)
The Global Positioning System, commonly known as GPS, was created by the United States Department of Defense in the 1970s for military applications. However, it was soon opened up for civilian use as well. GPS works through a network of satellites that continuously transmit signals. GPS receivers use these signals to calculate their precise location anywhere on Earth. Some key facts about GPS:
- The first GPS satellite was launched in 1978. By 1993, the system was fully operational with 24 satellites.
- GPS was initially designed for and funded by the U.S. military. It provided positioning and timing capabilities for military units.
- In 1983, after the Soviet Union shot down a Korean passenger plane that had accidentally strayed into Soviet airspace, President Reagan made GPS freely available for civilian use.
- GPS has become an invaluable technology for navigation, mapping, and tracking. It is used in cars, mobile phones, drones, wearable devices, and more.
- GPS enables various location-based services like driving directions, package tracking, ride-sharing, geotagging, and emergency response.
- Highly accurate GPS has enabled surveying, geography, agriculture, construction, and more advances. It provides precise location data.
- Today, over 4 billion GPS devices are in use globally. Technology has transformed how we navigate, commute, farm, do business, and more. It has become integral to the modern world.
Conclusion
The 15 inventions this post covers illustrate the immense power of human ingenuity and innovation. From the printing press to the internet, these inventions fundamentally transformed how we live, work, communicate, travel, treat illnesses, and expand knowledge.
The printing press enabled the democratization of information, increasing literacy and education. The telegraph and telephone allowed instant long-distance communication. Light bulbs, automobiles, airplanes, and computers unleashed new industries, jobs, and ways of living. Television, radio, and the internet created connections and access to information unlike before. MRI scanners, GPS, and mobile phones made information available at our fingertips.
Human creativity and problem-solving lie at the heart of these inventions. They demonstrate our ability to identify needs and challenges and ideate, test, and refine solutions that propel society forward. The interconnected nature of innovations is also evident – each building upon the other to enable the next in an upward spiral of progress.
The future remains full of promise. Emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, and renewable energy will shape the innovations to come. By continuing to cultivate creativity, collaboration, and a spirit of progress, humanity can develop solutions to tackle our greatest challenges. The power of inventions to profoundly transform the world remains stronger than ever.