Fire was used c.600,000 BC by people moving northward. Evidence of its use was discovered in caves near Beijing where it may have been used to cook or ward off dangerous animals.

Fired Ceramics first occurred after the last ice age, c.30,000 BC. The first fired ceramics were made of clay and shaped into models of animals.

The first axes date from c.250,000 and have been discovered in ancient settlements in Africa, Europe, and Asia.

The bow and arrow dates from c.30,000 BC in what is now The Sahara desert. These were grasslands at one time.

The Egyptians discovered the try square c.2600 BC. This enabled ancient architects to make right angles and build more precise walls for their structures.

The chariot derives from Mesopotamia and dates from c.2000 BC. These changed the balance of warfare in the region this the horse-drawn chariots were an apt war machine against fleeing soldiers on foot.

Glassblowing dates from c.100 BC in Syria. Although the first glass beads are dated from 3000 BC in Egypt.

Egypt invented the water clock in c.300 BC to tell time.

Countries around the Mediterranean Sea began to use an abacus to make calculations. The Chinese improved this with a more advanced abacus in c.200 BC.

Assyria saw the first iron saws in c.800 BC. They were notched flint blades and probably little better than scrapers.

The year 105 saw Tsai Lun given official recognition for his invention of paper. He discover that almost any plant fiber would make good paper if ground up and soaked in water.

The Chinese were the first to use paper money in 618 during the T’ang dynasty although it was not widely used until Kublai Khan rule in the 13th century.

Not surprising, the Chinese also print the first books in c.868 using carved blocks. The oldest known printed book is actually a scroll called the Diamond Sutra.

The first quill pens seem to date from 635 in Spain. St. Isidore of Seville refers to a goose quill in one of his writings.

Use of the rudder in 1180 allowed Arabian boats to be steered by their ancient mariners.

Wales saw the invention of the longbow in 1250. It was much quicker to load during a battle than the crossbow and much more powerful than the short bow.

The first alarm clock seems to date about 1350 in Germany. Monks appear to have been the first to use these mechanical devices. One hundred years later, German inventor Johannes Gutenberg offer the first printing press to the world.

1480 saw the mariners astrolabe invented. European sailors used it for measuring the latitude of lands and locations at sea.

The first linen condoms were used in Italy about 1590 to prevent disease, but within the century, its value to prevent pregnancy was recognized.

The submarine dates from 1624 in England. It was made of wood and invented by Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel who was working for King James I. It enabled twelve oarsmen inside to row along the Thames River at a depth of thirteen feet.

France gives us the first umbrellas in 1637. One trimmed in gold appears in a list of possessions of French King Louis XIII.

James Puckle of England patented the first machine gun in 1718 although their devastating impact was not felt until World War I.

The year 1700 sees the invention of the piano in Italy. Harpsichord maker Bartolomeo Crisofori built the first one.

In 1742 Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius invents centigrade temperature.

In 1742 in still British North America, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod by flying a kite in a storm.

James Watt of Scotland invented the steam engine in 1765. In 1769, the steam carriage was invented in France by Nicholas Cugnot.

1783 saw the first hot-air balloon fly in France. It was invented by paper-makers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier.

The railroad locomotive was invented in 1803 by English engineer Richard Trevithick.

Edward Jenner, an English physician, introduced vaccination to the world in 1796 by first experimenting with cowpox and then with smallpox. In 1816, a French doctor invented the stethoscope.

American Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1792 which removed seeds from the fibers of cotton quickly.

Michael Faraday invented the electric motor in 1821. It was the first device to turn electricity into movement.

1846 saw the invention of nitroglycerin by Italian chemist Ascanio Sobrero. It is thirteen times more powerful than gunpowder which was invented by the Chinese in c.950.

1873 saw the invention of the typewriter in America produced by Christopher Latham Sholes.

Coco-Cola was concocted in 1886 by American pharmacist John Pemberton and is now the world’s most successful softcdrink.

Gottlieb Daimler made the breakthrough invention of the gasoline engine in 1884.

1896 saw the first taxicab meter introduced in Stuttgart, Germany.

1909 gave bakelite plastics to the world used in everything from pot handles to jewelry.

The whimsical zipper was invented by Otto Frederick Gideon Sundback in 1914.

The not-so-whimsical tank was invented by British William Tritton and was a British secret weapon during WWI.

1928 saw Alexander Fleming invent penicillin, the first antibiotic.

Wallace Hume Carothers invented the first pair of nylons in 1934 while leading a research team at Dupont,, an American chemical giant.

The McGraw Electrical Company invented the pop-up toaster in 1930 to the tune of $13.50—quite of bit of bread at that time.

Enrico Fermi invented the world’s first nuclear reacter in 1942 at the University of Chicago.

In 1970 IBM gave us the first floppy disk to store data.

In 1980 the Rubik’s Cube was invented by Erno Rubik, a Hungarian professor.

Each of these facts has been checked for accuracy. Of course, many other important inventions have been left out. This is merely a cheerful romp through history’s timeline of inventions.

by J. A. Young