TIMELINE OF CONTRIBUTIONS OF TECHNOLOGY, HARDWARE, AND SOFTWARE THROUGH THE YEARS

By: Tray Clark Only Kirby Scott

1450

Johann Gutenberg invents a printing press using movable metal type.

1609

Early newspapers are published in Germany.

1792

Mechanical semaphore is invented in France.

1876

Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, transmitting the sound of the voice clearly over electrical wires.

1877

Thomas Edison invents the phonograph, a device to record sound on a wax cylinder.

1884

First long distance phone calls are made.

1900

Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web.

1924

Pictures are first transmitted over telephone lines.

1963

First communications satellite is launched allowing worldwide live broadcast of the 1964 Olympics.

1972

The first E-mail messages are sent.

1975

The personal computer, both small and powerful, is invented

1982

The first cell phones are available for sale.

1833

Washing and Scrubbing machine

http://www.oldandinteresting.com/washboards-history.aspx

19th Century

Clothing line

http://www.oldandinteresting.com/drying-outdoors.aspx

1760

Dolly Stick

http://www.oldandinteresting.com/washing-dollies.aspx

19th or 20th Century

Plunger

15th-17th Century

Washing machine

http://www.oldandinteresting.com/history-washing-machines.aspx

14th Century

Starch

http://www.oldandinteresting.com/laundry-starch-history.aspx

1837

Samuel Morse invents a telegraph that can send short and long beeps, called “dots” and “dashes”.

1901

Guillermo Marconi sends the first radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean.

900 bc

Chinese develop postal system to deliver written messages.

Cherry pitter, 1880-1900

Simple mechanical devices such as this cherry pitter were designed and perfected during the late 1800s. Advertised as "The Family Cherry Stoner," this pitter--intended to remove the stone without squashing the fruit--was popular but probably did not save much labor in the kitchen.

http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1850/objects/cherrypitter.htm

Cookstove, 1880-1900

Cookstoves burned wood or coal more efficiently than open fireplaces and allowed more control of the fire. With this model, wood was placed in the firebox through the small door on the left side. This small fire heated the cooktop and the large oven with its door on the front. Besides cooking the stove was used for heating water, boiling the laundry, heating the sadiron, and other tasks. Although its warmth was welcomed in the winter, it added to the insufferable heat of summer. The Excelsior Stove Company operated in Quincy from 1865 to the 1930s. A similar stove made in Quincy cost $27 in 1888.

http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1850/objects/stove.htm

Graniteware coffee pot, ca. 1890 Porcelain enamelwares were

exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876 and were recognized as a major improvement in the practicality and beauty of kitchenwares. Far lighter than cast iron, graniteware was unaffected by acidic foods and was easy to clean. Early pieces have a glassy, gray-mottled surface that, unfortunately, was easy to chip. Large pots like this one were sometimes called coffee boilers but could also serve to boil water for the many cleaning, bathing, and washing chores that a family faced before water heaters were available.

http://exhibits.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/athome/1850/objects/cherrypitter.htm