A History of Technological Advancements
Etymology of Technology
The word “technology” originates from the Greek technologia, meaning systematic treatment of an art, derived from techne (art, skill) + -o- + -logia (logy) in 1859.
The Scientific Revolution (17th Century)
Key Events:
- 1649: Charles I beheaded (English Revolution)
- 1688: Changes in England
- 1700: War of Spanish Succession (concluded in 1713)
- 1756: Seven Years’ War
- 1760: James Cook’s voyages
- 1776: American Revolution (concluded in 1783)
- 1815: Napoleonic Wars and Congress of Vienna
- 1829: Rainhill Trials
- 1832: Reform Act
- 1837: Queen Victoria ascends to the throne (reigned until 1901)
- 1851: Great Exhibition in London
Notable Births:
- 1791: Michael Faraday (died 1867)
- Charles Babbage (died 1871)
- Samuel Morse (died 1872)
Railways
Key Developments:
- 1829: Rainhill Trials
- 1837: Havana-Guines railway
- 1848: Barcelona-Mataró railway
- 1860: Bessemer steel process
- 1869: Transcontinental Railroad (North America)
- 1904: Trans-Siberian Railway
Telegraph
Key Developments:
- 1844: Baltimore-Washington telegraph line (Morse)
- 1866: Transatlantic telegraph cable (Thomson)
William Thomson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), played a crucial role in developing the transatlantic telegraph.
German Unification
Key Events:
- 1834: Zollverein (German Customs Union)
- 1862: Otto von Bismarck becomes Minister President of Prussia
- 1870: Ems Dispatch and Franco-Prussian War
- 1871: German unification
- 1914-1918: World War I
Technological Innovations
Key Developments:
- 1886: Daimler automobile
- 1903: Wright brothers’ first flight
- 1868: Meiji Restoration in Japan
- 1905: Russo-Japanese War
- 1941: Pearl Harbor attack
- 1901: Transatlantic wireless telegraphy (Marconi)
Early Printing and Astronomy
Key Developments:
- 1455: Gutenberg Bible
- Contributions by Nicolaus Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, and Johannes Kepler
Physics and Engineering
Key Figures and Contributions:
- Daniel Bernoulli (1700-1782): Hydrodynamics
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): Astronomy, physics, and mathematics
- René Descartes (1596-1650): Mathematics and philosophy
- Giovanni Cassini (1625-1712): Astronomy and engineering
- Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695): Physics, mathematics, and astronomy
- Robert Boyle (1627-1691): Chemistry and physics
- Robert Hooke (1635-1703): Microscopy and mechanics
- Edme Mariotte (1620-1684): Physics and plant physiology
- Isaac Newton (1643-1727): Physics, mathematics, and astronomy
Steam Engine and Materials Science
Key Developments:
- Contributions by Papin, Savery, and Newcomen to the development of the steam engine
- James Watt (1736-1819): Improvements to the steam engine
- Joseph Black: Concept of specific heat
- John Wilkinson (1728-1808): Precision engineering and iron production
- John Smeaton: Hydraulic engineering and cement
- Joseph Aspdin: Portland cement
- Isaac Johnson: Improvements in cement production
- Joseph Monier: Reinforced concrete
- 1791: Metric system introduced
- 1898: American Society for Testing and Materials founded
Iron and Steel
Key Developments:
- Evolution of railway materials: wood (1600s), cast iron (1790s), wrought iron (1820s), steel (1870s)
- René Antoine de Réaumur (1683-1757): Metallurgy and other scientific fields
- Abraham Darby (1678-1717): Coke-fired blast furnace
- William Murdoch (1754-1839): Coal gas lighting
- Benjamin Huntsman (1704-1776): Crucible steel
- 1856: Bessemer converter
- 1857: Siemens-Martin process
- Henry Sorby and Adolf Martens: Metallography
Mechanical Technology
Key Figures and Concepts:
- Franz Reuleaux (1829-1905): Kinematics and mechanism design
- Christian Otto Mohr (1835-1918): Structural analysis
- Stephen P. Timoshenko (1878-1972): Mechanics of materials
- Contributions by Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, Hooke, and Newton to the development of mechanics
- Robert Hooke: Law of elasticity
- Developments in analytical mechanics (Lagrange), fluid dynamics (Euler), and thermodynamics (Fourier)
- John Smeaton (1724-1792): Civil engineering
- Charles Parsons: Steam turbine
- Agustín de Betancourt (1758-1824): Mechanical engineering
- Esteban Terradas (1883-1950): Telephony and railways
Resistant Structures and Engines
Key Developments:
- 1666: Great Fire of London
- 1851: Crystal Palace
- Canal de Castilla
- Kiel Canal
- Panama Canal
- Suez Canal
- Textile machinery innovations by Arkwright, Cartwright, and Jacquard
- Development of water turbines (Francis, Pelton, Kaplan)
- Carnot’s work on heat engines
- Development of internal combustion engines (Otto, Diesel)
- Gas turbines (Whittle)
Measurement of Time
Key Developments:
- Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915): Time and motion studies
- 1656: Huygens’ pendulum clock
- Establishment of observatories like the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
- Longitude Act (1714)
- John Harrison (1693-1776): Marine chronometer
- Nevil Maskelyne: Lunar tables for navigation
- 1883: Standard Railway Time in the United States
Automotive Technology
Key Figures and Developments:
- Henry Ford: Mass production of automobiles
- Alfred P. Sloan: General Motors
- Early automotive pioneers like Leonardo da Vinci, Huygens, Papin, and Hautefeuille
- Development of the internal combustion engine
- Contributions by Lenoir, Otto, and Beau de Rochas
Chemical Technology
Key Figures and Developments:
- Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke: Early contributions to chemistry
- Antoine Lavoisier: Modern chemistry and the concept of oxidation
- Georg Stahl (1660-1734): Phlogiston theory
- John Roebuck: Sulfuric acid production
- Nicolas Leblanc: Soda ash production
- Development of explosives and gunpowder
- Svante Arrhenius: Dissociation of acids and bases
- Linus Pauling: Chemical bonding theory
- Solvay process, aluminum electrolysis, and the rise of the chemical industry
- Environmental and safety concerns related to the chemical industry
The Periodic Table
Key Figures and Developments:
- Early contributors to chemical understanding: Stahl, Lavoisier, Wöhler, and Liebig
- Discovery and understanding of gases
- Discovery of platinum metals and vanadium
- Development of atomic theory by Boyle, Newton, Dalton, Berzelius, Avogadro, Cannizzaro, Mendeleev
- Electrochemical contributions by Volta, Davy, and Faraday
- Berzelius’s contributions to chemical nomenclature