From ancient tools to the latest digital advances, human inventions that changed the world and transformed life on the Earth.
Human inventions and technologies have shaped civilizations and transformed life on the Earth. As expectations and capabilities evolve, each new generation possesses its own set of innovative thinkers.
Right from the invention of the wheel to the development of Mars rover, several inventions are revolutionary.
Most major inventions don't have one inventor. Throughout the years, many innovative inventors have had their hand in both the elevation and evolution of an invention.
Here is a list of our top picks of revolutionary inventions that changed the world:
Wheel
The wheel stands out as the OG of engineering marvels and one of the most famous inventions that influenced numerous other things. This primitive technology made it easier for all of us to travel. From the archeological excavations, the oldest known wheel is from Mesopotamia, around 3500 B.C.
As a result of advancement in the new and innovative design of wheels, industrialization could take root.
The wheel serves a vital purpose in our lives, and we couldn't imagine the world without them.
Compass
Created for spiritual and navigational purposes, the earliest compasses were most likely invented by the Chinese in around 1050 BC. It was made of lodestones, which is a naturally magnetized iron ore.
The invention of the electromagnet in 1825 led to the development of the modern compass.
The invention of the compass certainly helped modern navigation more than our GPS-needing culture could understand.
Automobile
Although the foundation to the modern car year was laid in 1886 by German inventor Karl Benz, Cars did not become widely available until the early 20th century. Henry Ford innovated mass-production techniques that became standard, with Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. However, he certainly wasn't the only person to develop the horseless carriage.
The history of the automobile reflects a worldwide evolution. Dozens of spin-off industries blossomed creating thousands of new jobs. Oil and steel became two well-established industries.
Vehicle production and sales are one of the major indicators of economic status. Moreover, it influenced the technological advances in petroleum refining, steel making, paint and plate-glass manufacturing, and other industrial processes.
Steam Engine
Thomas Savery patented the first practical steam engine in 1698. It was one of the greatest inventions made by a man making him one of the people who has changed the world.
Later in 1781, James Watt patented an improved steam engine and went on to fuel one of the most momentous technological leaps in human history during the Industrial Revolution.
During the 1800s these engines lead to an improvement in transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing industries.
Later, the steam engine’s basic principle set the stage for innovations like internal combustion engines and jet turbines, which prompted the rise of cars and aircraft during the 20th century.
Concrete
Concrete is one of the most widely used man-made material. It's a composite material composed of rough composite bonded together with a fluid cement which hardens over time.
Most concretes used are lime-based, asphalt concrete, and polymer concretes. Earlier, Limestone was used as a crude cement. As the materials and combinations improved, modern concrete was invented.
One of the key ingredients of concrete is cement. The foundation to cement was laid in 1300 BC.
Middle eastern builders coated the outside of their clay fortresses with a thin, and moist burned limestone, which chemically reacted with gasses in the air to form a hard, protective surface.
Around 6500 BC, the first concrete-like structures were built by the Nabataea traders or Bedouins in the southern Syria and northern Jordan regions.
By 700 BC, the significance of hydraulic lime was known, which led to the development of mortar supply kilns for the construction of rubble-wall houses, concrete floors, and underground waterproof cisterns.
By 3000 BC, the Egyptians were using early forms of concrete to build pyramids.
In 1824, the most used Portland cement was invented by Joseph Aspdin of England. George Bartholomew had laid down the first concrete street in the US during 1891, which still exists.
By the end of the 19th century, the use of steel-reinforced concrete was developed. In 1902, using steel- reinforced concrete, August Perret designed and built an apartment building in Paris. This building a wide admiration and popularity to concrete and also influenced the development of reinforced concrete.
In 1921, Eugène Freyssinet pioneered the use of reinforced- concrete construction by building two colossal parabolic-arched airship hangars at Orly Airport in Paris.
Petrol
Without gas, there wouldn't be the first industrial revolution in the automobile industry.
Gasoline is a fuel derivative of oil, which is shortly called “gas” in the United States and “petrol,” in other places around the world.
To be more specific, petrol is a transparent, petroleum-derived liquid that is used as an essential fuel in internal combustion engines.
Petrol is the natural by-product and the invention here we are talking about is the numerous processes to improve the quality.
Do you know, gas was initially discarded?
During 1859, in Pennsylvania, Edwin Drake dug the first oil well and refined the oil to produce kerosene. Although the distillation produced gas, he discarded it as he was unaware of it. Until 1892, the prominence of gas wasn’t recognized. The first gas pump was manufactured by Sylvanus Bowser On September 5, 1885.
The year 1970 gained attention towards environmental protection.
Railways
Railways is a mode of transport which can carry a large number of passengers with ease of comfort and/or heavy loads to long distances.
Modern trains history is around 200 years old, which revolutionized the way we travel. Distant lands become possible, industries are powered with an infinite amount of raw materials. Earlier mode of transport was carts pulled by animals.
During 1500 -1800, wagonways were common in Europe, which was used in mining. After the invention of the Steam engine, more researchers were carried out throughout the world for a better design.
The commercial appearance of train networks came in the late 1820s, and the pioneer in that field was inventor George Stephenson, with his design 'Rocket', the most famous early railway locomotive. This gained rapid expansion across newly acquired lands. In 1821, Stephenson was appointed as an engineer for the construction of the Stockton and Darlington railway, which was opened as the first public railway in 1825.
The grand success of “Rocket” and opening of the Stockton to Darlington railway line energized railway industry. Railways reached another important chapter in the history, with the invention of Diesel Engine.
Airplane
On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane.
While flying machines had been dreamt up since da Vinci's time, the Wright Brothers became the biggest successes. Beginning with gliders, the duo laid the foundation for modern aeronautical engineering.
Additionally, new business boomed along with a number of people being trained to fly planes. The possibility to fly over thousands of miles in less time would not have been made possible if the aircraft were not invented.
Fire
Though fire is a natural phenomenon, its discovery marked a revolution in the pages of history.
All thanks to our ancestors for leading us to the controlled use of fire which helps us from colorful lighting to delicious cooking. In addition, the biography of various landscapes was altered by fire.
Ancient people might have become acquainted with fire derived from natural sources. Later came the processes of making fire artificially.
This remarkable control of fire happened during Early Stone Age by Homo erectus. The earliest evidence comes from Kenya region. Although fire could have been used about 1 million years ago, evidence of cooked food is found from 1.9 million years.
From the past to the present Fire has been in rituals, agriculture, cooking, generating heat and light, signaling, various industrial processes, cremation, and as a weapon or medium of destruction.
Nail
The sophisticated human life would not have been possible without the invention of a small nail. They provide one of the best clues in determining the age of historic buildings.
Prior to the invention of nails, wood structures were built by geometrically interlocking adjacent boards. The invention of nails goes back to several thousand years and was possible only after the development of casting and shaping a metal.
Around 3400 BC, Bronze nails were found in Egypt. According to the University of Vermont, the hand-wrought nails were a norm until the 1790s and early 1800s. By 1913, 90 percent of nails produced in the U.S. were steel wire nails.
Other types of nails include pins, tacks, brads, and spikes with wire nails being popular.
Tools
The usage of tools started 2.6 million years back in Ethiopia.
Anthropologists believe the use of tools became an important step in the evolution of mankind. Earlier materials such as sticks and stones made tools.
The invention of machine tools advanced the industrial revolution.
Imagine how would we build or maintain previous innovations without a handy hammer.
Light Bulb
The energy we use today at home and office is a bright idea from more than 150 years ago.
Pioneered in the early 19th century by Humphry Davy, electric lights developed throughout the 1800s and was one of the most influential, great inventions of all times.
Edison and Swan patented the first light bulb in 1879 and 1880. In the mid-1980s, CFLs hit the market. But the drawbacks such as high cost, bulky, low light output, and inconsistent performance made them less prominent. Currently, LEDs offer the best energy savings on the market.
However, the invention of the bulb electrified new businesses. It also led to new energy breakthroughs such as power plants, electric transmission lines, home appliances etc.
Electricity
Electricity has become the basic need for day to day life. It's been there around all along but the practical applications to effectively use it was invented. Although many use electricity, how many of you know the evolution of electricity?
Alessandro Volta discovered the first practical method of generating electricity.
1831 is marked the year of major breakthrough for electricity. A British scientist Michael Faraday discovered the basic principles of electricity generation.
The electromagnetic induction discovery revolutionized the energy usage.
Street lights were some of the earliest attention gaining equipment. With the rise in electricity usability, now it stands as a backbone of modern industrial society.
With increased mobility, human life has become dependent on electricity.
Battery
The prehistoric battery dates back to the Parthian empire, which might be 2,000 years old.
The old battery consisted of a clay jar filled with a vinegar solution, into which a copper cylinder surrounded iron rod was inserted.
These batteries might have been used to electroplate silver.
The inventor of the first electric battery is Alessandro Volta. He also laid the foundation of Electrochemistry.
The mass production of the first electric battery began in 1802 by William Cruickshank.
The history of batteries marked a remarkable date in 1859, with the invention of the first rechargeable battery based on lead acid by the French physician Gaston Planté. The Nickel-Cadmium (NiCd) battery was introduced in 1899 by Waldemar Jungner.
Printing press
Before the Internet's ability to spread information, the printing press helped information travel around the globe.
Developed around 1440 in Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg’s machine improved on already existing presses.
By 1500 Gutenberg presses were operating throughout Western Europe with a production of 20 million copies.
By 1600, they had created over 200 million new books.
Morse Code and Telegraph
The telegraph was developed around 1830 - 1840 by Samuel Morse and other inventors, which revolutionized long-distance communication.
The electrical signals were transmitted by a wire laid between stations. In addition, Samuel Morse developed a code, called Morse code, for the simple transmission of messages across telegraph lines. Based on the frequency of usage, the code assigned a set of dots (short marks) and dashes (long marks) to English alphabet and numbers.
The telegraph laid major foundations for modern conveniences like telephones and (some scholars argue) coding for the Internet.
Steel
While the early ages used stone, bronze, and iron, it was steel that fired the industrial revolution. As per archaeological excavations, the earliest known production of the metal dates back to 4,000 years.
The invention of the Bessemer Process (a technique for creating steel using molten pig iron) paved the way for the mass production of steel, making it one of the biggest industries on the planet. Now steel is used in the creation of everything from bridges to skyscrapers.
Transistors
The transistor is an essential component in nearly every modern electronic gadget.
In 1926, Julius Lilienfeld patented a field-effect transistor, but the working device was not feasible.
In 1947 John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley developed the first practical device at Bell Laboratories.
It then won the trio 1956 Nobel Prize in physics.
Transistors have become a fundamental piece of the circuitry in countless electronic devices including televisions, cell phones, and computers making a remarkable impact on technology.
Antibiotics
Antibiotics saved millions of lives by killing and inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria.
Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch first described the Antibiosis (phenomena of antibiotic drug) in 1877.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming set the first leap in antibiotics by identifying penicillin, the chemical compound with antibiotic properties.
Throughout the 20th century, antibiotics spread rapidly and proved to be a major living improvement, fighting nearly every known form of infection and protecting peoples' health.
Contraceptives
Prevention of pregnancy has a long and determined history.
The history of contraceptives dates back to 1500 B.C, where ancient Egypt women would mix honey, sodium carbonate, and crocodile dung into a thick, solid paste called pessary and insert it into their vaginas before an intercourse. However, many researchers believe that several old world birth control methods are not effective and indeed could be fatal.
The first known form of condom (a goat bladder) was used in Egypt around 3000 B.C.
In 1844 Charles Goodyear patented the vulcanization of rubber, which led to the mass production of rubber condoms.
In 1914 with a monthly newsletter called “The Woman Rebel”, Margaret Sanger, a great female educator from New York state, first coined the “Birth control” phrase. Later, Carl Djerassi had successfully created a progesterone pill, which could block ovulation.
The Pill raised an international revolution and was a huge hit.
X-ray
Of course, x-rays are a phenomenon of the natural world, and thus can't be invented. But they were discovered accidentally.
The invisible was made visible in 1895. X-ray is undoubtedly one of the epoch-making advancement in the field of medicine.
All credits to physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen. While testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass, he noticed a glow coming from a nearby chemically coated screen. Because of their unknown nature, he named it as X-rays. Through his observation, he learned that X-rays can be photographed when they penetrate into human flesh.
In 1897, during the Balkan war, X-rays were first used to find bullets and broken bones inside patients. In 1901, he received the Nobel prize in physics for his work.
Refrigerator
Over the last 150 years, refrigeration offered us ways to preserve food, medicines, and other perishable substances. Before its conception, people cooled their food with ice and snow.
James Harrison built the first practical vapor compression refrigeration system. However, the first widespread refrigerator was the General Electric “Monitor-Top” refrigerator of 1927. While it helped to rev up industrial processes, it became an industry itself.
Television
Television! A small box with enormous information that changed entertainment and communications forever.
The invention of the television was the work of many individuals. Although TV plays an important part in our everyday lives, it rapidly developed during the 19th and the 20th century.
The first television camera was invented by two men without knowing that they both are working on the same one (No TV to communicate them the news); Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Taylor. In 1884, Paul Gottlieb Nipkow created and patented the first television which he called the electromechanical television system.
Though Color TV was not a new idea, in 1925 Zworykin filed a patent for an electronic color television system. Over time, television will gain political importance as every country started to share their political agenda through it.
TV also became a food way of preserving peace and order.
Camera
The camera is undoubtedly one of the most cherished creations.
Cameras have witnessed many phases of evolution – camera obscura, daguerreotypes, dry plates, calotypes, film to SLRs and DSLRs. In 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce used a sliding wooden box camera made by Charles and Vincent Chevalier to click the first permanent photograph.
With the technological advancements, Digital cameras were introduced to save pictures on the memory cards rather than using films.
The history of the digital camera began with Eugene F. Lally idea to take pictures of the planets and stars while traveling through space.
Later, Steven Sasson a Kodak engineer invented and built the first digital camera in 1975. Though the digital camera ruled over the traditional camera, the most revolutionary aspect has been the advent of the camera phone.
Now, every smartphone has an inbuilt camera and is able to take images. With the growing demand, video recording was also made a part of it.
At present, the camera comes with inbuilt GPS system and real-time geotagging options. Freeze the great moments from your life in the form of photographs with better quality and superior handling digital camera. One doesn't have to look much further than a photo album to see that cameras are one of the great inventions that changed the world.
Computer
Major shoutout to the mechanical engineer Charles Babbage for laying the foundation to this remarkable and most reliable invention. In the early 19th century, the "father of the computer" conceptualized and invented the first mechanical computer. Although there's no single inventor of the modern computer, the principle was proposed by Alan Turing in his seminal 1936 paper.
Today, computers stand as the symbolic representation of the modern world.
Email
During 1969, shortly after the creation of ARPANET, experimental email transfers between separate computer systems began.
Before email, sending an important document overseas involves a chaotic process. Now communication is one click away. The first substantial use of email began in the 1960s. By mid-1970s, it had taken the recognized form. The present-day most of the official business communication depends on email.
Now, email is available on plenty of friendly web interfaces by providers such as Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. This excellent medium of communication is well adopted by millions of people.
Internet
Unlike the bulb or the telephone, the Internet has no single “inventor." Instead, it has evolved over time. It started in the United States around the 1950s, along with the development of computers.
Since the mid-1990s, the Internet has had a revolutionary impact on technology, including the rise of electronic mail, instant messaging, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone calls, and two-way interactive video calls.
World Wide Web
The Internet is a networking infrastructure. Whereas the World Wide Web is a way to access information over the medium of the Internet.
The father of the World Wide Web is a British Computer Scientist, Tim Berners-Lee. While working as a software engineer at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, Tim noticed that the difficulty in sharing information.
In 1989, this leads to a proposal “Information Management: A Proposal”. However, it was not immediately accepted.
By October 1990, three Tim laid the foundation to the web through HTML, URL, and HTTP technologies.
April 1993, marked an important step in the history of Web. The decision to use the web for free was announced.
To this day, the Web gleamed an encyclopedic wave of inventiveness. The web rapidly changed the traditional way and influenced the development of various industries. For example, it led to the development of online education and economy; the best way to promote your company in 2017 is through Google search.
People can read or watch any types of content online whether through a site or social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
Banknote
From materials like livestock to precious metals and coins, currency took various forms throughout history. Due to frequent shortages of coins, banks issued paper notes as a promise against payment of precious metals in the future.
The idea of using a light-weight substance as money originated in China during the Han Dynasty in 118 BC. Through travelers, Europe was introduced to this system in the 13th century.
The switch to paper money relieved governments during crisis time. Thus, it changed the face of the global economy with a vital step in a new monetary system.
Credit Cards
During the dawn of the 20th century, people paid for everything with cash.
The idea of credit cards started around 1950 by Ralph Schneider and Frank McNamara, founders of Diners Club, to consolidate multiple cards.
While technology continues to advance, the idea of paying for daily purchases with a card has now become the norm.
ATM
The invention of ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is amongst the most important inventions ever made.
In the present world, ATMs steered the banking into a new concept of self-service. According to the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), there are now over 2.2 million ATM machines installed worldwide.
Using ATM, customers make a variety of transactions such as cash withdrawals, check balances, or credit mobile phones. Many experts believe that the first ATM was the creation of Luther Simjian, called Bankograph.
In 1967, John Shepherd-Barron came up with a bright idea of money vending machine, which was implemented a London bank called Barclays. Earlier machines used paper vouchers instead of plastic cards.
The customer entered an identification code and can draw a maximum of £10 at a time. Dallas Engineer Donald Wetzel devised the first automated banking machine in the U.S.
Telephone and Mobile Phones
“Mr. Watson, come here, I want you.” On March 10, 1876, these were the first words spoken by telephone inventor.
Alexander Graham Bell through his device to his assistant Thomas Watson. Telephone history conceivably started with the human desire to communicate far and wide. With the arrival of the mobile phone in the 1980s, communications were no longer restrained.
The clever invention of cellular network supported the revolution of the telephone industry. Starting from bulky mobiles phones to ultrathin handsets, mobiles phones have covered a long way so far.
John F. Mitchell and Martin Cooper of Motorola demonstrated the first handheld device in 1973.
Scientists continue to create new ideas that will further help users.
Robot
Robotic devices often perform complicated, repetitive, and sometimes dangerous tasks. The word Robot evokes various devices ranging from a cooking device to the Rover.
The word "robot" first appeared in R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), a play was written by Czech playwright Karl Capek in 1921. Coincidentally, the word "robotics" was also coined by a science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in his short story "Runabout", published in 1942.
Around 3000 B.C, human figurines were used to strike the hour bells in the Egyptian water clocks. This marked the first mechanical design. As the time flew, more designs and devices were evolved. But Robotics advanced scientifically in the 20th century.
The foundation to modern robots was laid in the 1950s by George C. Devol, who invented and patented a reprogrammable manipulator called "Unimate," from "Universal Automation."
In the late 1960s, Joseph Engleberger acquired the patent and modified them into Industrial robots. This effort made him "the Father of Robotics." Who knows! Someday robots might outsmart us and make us completely technology dependents. They are truly inventions that changed the world!
Guns
For some guns might be a sensational invention while for others it might be a dreadful invention.
Weapons have been the primary tools since ancient age. But, it is an undeniable fact that the Guns have revolutionized the world.
The earliest usage of a firearm might have been in China during the 13th century CE. In earlier days, guns were fired by holding a burning wick to a "touch hole" in the barrel igniting the powder inside.
The first machine gun is the matchlock, which dates to 1400s. By the 12th century, the technology started spreading to Asia, followed by Europe. The problem of loading and reliability was solved by the invention of a hand-driven machine gun called Gatling gun. It was invented by Richard J. Gatling during the American Civil War. As the tech continued to evolve, each following model became more deadly.
Films
Almost everyone loves to watch movies of various sorts like a love story, comedy, drama, horror, suspense, action, fiction, biography etc. A film is also called a movie, motion picture, theatrical film, photoplay, flick. The name "film" originates from the fact that a photographic film has been the medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.
An Early inspiration for movies were the plays and dance, which had elements common to film: scripts, sets, costumes, production, direction, actors, audiences, and storyboards.
Later in the 17th century, the lanterns were used to project animation, which was achieved by various types of mechanical slides.
Much later in 1839, Henry Fox Talbot makes an important advancement in photography production.
The year 1846 was important for the development of motion pictures. The first movie ever made is the horse in motion. In March 1895, the first film with a Cinématographe camera was shot on La Sortie de leucine Lumière a Lyon (Workers leaving the Lumière factory at Lyon).
With time, the movies evolved with sound, music, color, and advanced technology.
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