Alexander Graham Bell's telephone (1876)
Revolutionized the production of steel
Alfred Nobel's dynamite (1867)
First high explosive that could be safely handled. Useful for mining and clearing areas for infrastructure.
Richard Arkwright's water frame (1769)
Liverpool and Manchester Railway (1830)
Began the first regular commercial rail service
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.
William Murdock's cool thing he did (1792)
Lit his home using coal gas. Also, he was James Watt's assistant.
Allowed for more sewing, including at-home
1858
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.
Marc Brunel's first underwater tunnel (1826-1842)
Under the Thames
Cathode rays discovered
1858
Made generators and electrical engines possible
Gugliemo Marconi (1896)'s wireless telegraph patent
Eiffel Tower (1889)
Brooklyn Bridge opened (1883)
Large suspension bridge, "triumph of engineering."
Robert Fulton (1807)'s Clermont
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.
Samuel F. B. Morse's telegraph and Morse Code (1837)
This would allow for long-distance communication
Reinforced Concrete
James Brindley (1761)'s Bridgewater Canal
Allowed for barges to carry coal from Worsely to Manchester
James Hargreaves (1765)'s spinning jenny
Automated thread spinning
Early form of photography
Jethro Tull (1708)'s mechanical seed drill
Karl Benz's internal-combustion automobile engine (1885)
Crompton's "mule" + Spinning jenny and water frame fully automated weaving process. Yeah.
This separated the useful raw cotton from its seeds, making the cotton industry much more profitable. It had mixed effects — remember how a lot of cotton was farmed using slave labor.
John Kay (1733)'s flying shuttle
Tremendously helped with making weaving easier, used in the putting-out industry at first.
Robert Trevithick (1801)'s steam locomotive demonstration
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)
Thomas Edison (1879)
First skyscraper (10 stories tall) (in Chicago)
