James Brindley (1761)'s Bridgewater Canal
Allowed for barges to carry coal from Worsely to Manchester
Joseph Monier (1849)
Reinforced Concrete
Gugliemo Marconi (1901) transatlantic radio message
John Kay (1733)'s flying shuttle
Tremendously helped with making weaving easier, used in the putting-out industry at first.
Eli Whitney (1793)'s cotton gin
William Murdock's cool thing he did (1792)
Lit his home using coal gas. Also, he was James Watt's assistant.
Thomas Newcomen (1712)'s steam engine
First commercially successful (though kind of clumsy) steam engine, used to pump water out of coal mines. Big deal, since we've just unlocked a new power source.
1883
George Stephenson's Rocket, 1829, would lead to great railroad infrastructure, which helped with city planning, made moving to the city easier, and made trade and large-scale commerce much better. For example, now placing factories in population centers made more sense. (I barely understand why myself, but okay)
First steam-powered mill (1779)
Crompton's "mule" + Spinning jenny and water frame fully automated weaving process. Yeah.
Marc Brunel's first underwater tunnel (1826-1842)
Under the Thames
Charles Babbage (1834)'s analytic engine
First ancestor of the computer
Thomas Edison (1879)
Invented the incandescent lamp. Though he was, in general, prone to rude tendencies.
Large suspension bridge, "triumph of engineering."
Michael Faraday (1831)'s discovery of electromagnetic currents
Made generators and electrical engines possible
This would allow for long-distance communication
Began the first regular commercial rail service
Cathode rays discovered
James Watt's efficient steam engine (1765)
Like fifty years later, they finally came out with a steam engine with a condensing chamber, making it more efficient. Also a pretty big deal.
Henry Bessemir's steel converter (1854)
Revolutionized the production of steel
According to wikipedia:
Alexander Graham Bell's telephone (1876)
The first successful steamboat. Like the locomotive, made trade so, so much better. For example, now the US could leverage its advantage in having the Mississippi river.
Helped plant crops
Karl Benz's internal-combustion automobile engine (1885)
cars go vroom
Alfred Nobel's dynamite (1867)
First high explosive that could be safely handled. Useful for mining and clearing areas for infrastructure.
1858
Hiram Maxim's machine gun (1884)
Mass slaughter is now possible, begins mechanization of warfare. Unfortunately, as some predicted, his machine gun did not prevent war — people still fought, despite these monsters being on the battlefield.
Gugliemo Marconi (1896)'s wireless telegraph patent
Useful for, like, ship distress calls. Say, for example, the one the Titanic sent out.
Richard Arkwright's water frame (1769)
More efficient thread spinning
