Vaccine, Battery, Arc Light, Atoms

Smallpox is caused by a virus. A vaccine is a cure for or treatment of a disease. The vaccine was introduced in America in 1780. Massachusetts required mandatory vaccination in 1809.

Volta was born in Italy in 1745. Batteries have (+) and (-) terminals. Volta submitted a paper to the Royal Society. Voltage is named after Volta.

Arc light is extremely bright. The light is bright enough to light up large buildings and streets. Generators by 1815 were built to power the arc light. It did not take off quickly.

John Dalton was born in England in 1766. Dalton published his theory in a book. Dalton's Atomic Theory proposed that "all matter was composed of atoms: indivisible, indestructible building blocks." Dalton became a Professor and private tutor.

Visual Telegraph, Cotton Gin, Hydraulic Press

Claude Chappe was born in France in 1763. The Chappe Brothers designed visual telegraphs for use during the war in France. The idea was transformed into the electric telegraph that ended the pony express, strengthening the railroad industry.

Eli Whitney was born in 1765 in Massachusetts. He went to Yale for college. He couldn't go to law school because he ran out of money. Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin. Different people groups tried removing seeds from cotton by hand. When the Cotton Gin was invented, it sped up cotton processing approximately 20 times. The Cotton Gin led to the civil war and the rise of American manufacturing.

The Hydraulic Press spread throughout the machine tool industry. The press was used in America to process certain crops. The press helped turn soybeans into a major American food crop.

Steamboats, Argand Lamps, Power Looms

Steamboat history begins with Denis Papin. Large steamships led to the transatlantic steamship industry. Adding steam engines to boats wasn't a new idea, but John Fitch finally succeded with a 30 passenger boat in 1787.

Robert Fulton was born in 1765 in America. Fulton moved to Europe in 1788. Steamboats multiplied in America. A series of wars began by the end of the 1700s leading to the war of 1812 in America.

Oil lamps have been in use for thousands of years. Argand lamps are much brighter than candles. American Winslow Lewis copied it for use in lighthouses.

Power looms weave fabric using steam engines. The invention inspired further development in weaving. The power loom produced paying jobs for unskilled workers.

Benjamin Thompson, Gas Lights, Screw Cutting Lathes

Benjamin Thompson was born in Massachusetts. He experimented with cannons and gunpowder. He drew designs for warships. The American Academy of Arts and Science made him a member.

William Murdoch was born in 1754. William walked 300 miles to go to work for James Watt. Murdoch's biggest invention was gas lighting. Gas lightning spread rapidly because it wasn't patented. Gas companies installed gas lines through the cities. Murdoch lit the outside of the Soho Foundry in 1802. Theaters helped spur the rapid adoption of electric light. AC power replaced DC power.

Screw cutting lathes had been in the early stages of invention in the middle ages. It made it easy to make screws.

Lightning Rod, Glass Harmonica, Swivel Chair

Over 400,000 people have been killed by lightning. Benjamin Franklin noticed static electricity sparks looked like lightning. Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod. The lightning rod is a metal stick that is at least 12 inches tall. It goes on top of buildings, churches, and houses.

Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston in 1706. Benjamin Franklin was an inventor. He invented the lightning rod. He invented the lightning rod after learning of the Liden jar and studying electricity. 

Benjamin Franklin's instrument produced a sweet sound. Benjamin Franklin invented the glass harmonica. It sat on its side and spun using a foot pedal. Thousands had been sold by the time Franklin died in 1790.

Thomas Jefferson was born in Virginia in 1743. Thomas Jefferson invented the swivel chair. The swivel chair is a chair with wheels. The swivel choir is in lots of offices.

Parachute, Selective Breeding, Electrolysis, Mechanical Reaper

Skydiving began in the Russian military in 1930. A parachute is a large cloth shaped like an umbrella. Parachutes slow down your descent to the ground. Parachutes let people and objects to be safely dropped from an airplane. Charles Broadwick build models for the US military.

Robert Bakewell was born in 1725. Selective breeding is the process of choosing only plants and animals with desirable characteristics to reproduce. The eating habits of people changed. Bakewell sold his animals at a market.

Electrolysis breaks compounds into elements. Humphrey's assistant, Faraday, played a major roll in developing modern electoral theory. Rocket fuel is produced using electrolysis. 

Wheat was a fundamental crop in the 17th century. Harvesting requires reaping, threshing, and winnowing. Meikle invented the threshing machine. Harvesting wheat faster was important because the population grew 700% from 1700 to 1900.

Soda Water, Oxygen, Balance, Boring Machine

Englishmen were making sparkling water. Joseph Priestly invented soda water while investigating air in 1767. Soda water is water infused with carbon dioxide. Drinks are kept under pressure by filling the bottle with CO2.

Joseph Priestly was born in England in 1733. He discovered oxygen around 1775. Scientific interest in the study of air began picking up by the 1700s.

Balances have been used since the beginning of mankind. Scales measure weight. The spring scale invented by Salter made rapid weight measurements possible.

Wilkinson's Boring Machine was used to make Watt's steam engine. Additional machine tool improvements were made by Henry Maudslay beginning of the 1800s. The French were suffering from weapon problems. Every time they tried to shoot a cannonball, the cannon blew up.

Lead Chamber Process, Spinning Jenny, Wigs, Watt Steam Engine

John Roebuck was educated in Scottland. John Roebuck invented the lead chamber process for making sulfuric acid. Coal mining prompted John Roebuck to find better steam engines.

James Hargrave was born in 1721 in England. Weaving was a family business. James Hargrave's sister knocked down his family's spinning wheel and he noticed that the spinning wheel could still spin on its side, and that's when he got the idea of the Spinning Jenny.

t was born in 1732 in England. In the old days, men wore long white wigs. Richard Arkwright invented a waterproof gel that they could put on wigs.

James Watt had a friend that introduced him to the power of steam in 1759. He improved the steam engine in 1776. His improved steam engine led to the invention of the locomotive.

Flying Shuttle Marine Chronometer, Anders Celsius, Leyden Jar

The Flying Shuttle

John Kayo invented the flying shuttle after a flash of insight. John Kay began manufacturing his new invention. Pirates used his shuttle and nearly bankrupted him through patent lawsuits.

Marine Chronometer

The marine chronometer is a fine-crafted precision machine. John Arnold built an improved model in the late 1700s. Harrison refined his design for the next 30 years.

Anders Celsius was born in 1701. He promoted the gregorian calendar. He founded Uppsala Observatory in 1741. Anders Celsius came from a family of scientists, and he continued in the family business.

Layden Jar

Two scientists invented the Layden Jar. Batteries power much modern technology. He got a huge shock from the jar he built

Iron, Steam Pump, Newcomen Engine, Octant

Abraham Darby figured out how to make iron thinner. His iron was used to build the first iron arch bridge. Coke is a grey, hard, and porous fuel source according to Wikipedia. The coke-burning blast furnace drove to the Industrial Revolution which dramatically changed the western world after 1800.

Thomas Savery built and patented a steam pump in 1698. It was also used to power other tools and machinery. Steam engines perform mechanical work.

Newcomen was born in Dartmouth in 1663. He improved Savery's engine. His job supported his preaching. The first Baptist preacher was John Smyth in 1602. The Baptists appeared in England in the 1600s.

The Octant could be used day or night. Sailors used the octant and the sextant. It overtook the instruments market by 1780.

Mechanical Calculator, Piano, Thermometer, Seismometer

Gottfried Leibniz
The first day I studied Gottfried Leibniz. Gottfried Leibniz made the mechanical calculator better. He was born in 1646. His progress with the mechanical calculator kept the field alive.

Bart Cristofori invented the piano around 1700 in Italy. Bart Cristofori began selling his piano as Medici's Wealth declined. The piano led to the development of the electronic keyboard.

Daniel Fahrenheit was born in 1686 and lived in the Dutch Republic. Daniel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer. Thermometers measure temperature. Early thermometers were developed by the 160s in Italy but didn't have standard scales.

The Chinese invented the seismometer in 132 A.D.Seisemometers measure earthquakes. Earthquakes were disastrous to the economy. Seismometers helped save lives by providing early warnings.

Christian Huygens, John Wallis, Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton

Christian Huygens was born in 1629 in the Dutch Republic. His father was friends with Meressene and Descarte. Huygens discovered the rings of Saturn in 1655. He invented the pendulum clock in 1656.

John Wallis invented the infinity symbol and aided the Cromwell Puritans. Calculus is the mathematical study of change. "Calculus" means a small pebble used for counting.

Robert Hooke published his microscope experiments in 1665. Anton Von Leeuwenhoek did not go to college. A doctor friend introduced him to the Royal Society. His discoveries started the science of microbiology.

Isaac Newton studied natural philosophy in college. Newton ruled the Royal Society for 25 years with an iron fist. Newton's science proved an alternative worldview. He came up with the laws of motion and gravity.

Barometer, Vacuum Pump, Minute Hand, Robert Boyle

The Barometer
The Barometer is made up of a tube and dish full of mercury. Mercury is a dense liquid metal. The Barometer led to the development of meteorology and electricity.

Vacuum Pump
Miners had trouble pumping water out of mines. Robert Boyle made the vacuum pump better. Vacuum pumps are used in air conditioning. A vacuum pump sucks up air.

The Minute Hand
It reduced clock error down to 15 seconds per day. The minute hand appeared in 1690. It was adopted almost immediately by everyone. They began replacing the pendulum clock by the 1940s.

Robert Boyle was born in 1627 and studied Galileo's work. He rejected the greek view of four elements. He believed in science as a way to glorify God. He is one of the founders of chemistry and the scientific method.

Mersenne's Laws, Blaise Pascal, Rene Descartes

Mersenne's Laws:
Mersenne was born in 1558 in France. His laws taught people about the frequency of vibrations of strings, like a guitar. Thicker strings make lower sounds and thinner strings make higher sounds.

Blaise Pascal was born in 1623. Pascal invented the mechanical calculator. His father became a tax collector for the King of France. Pascal's calculator could add and subtract.

Pascal was a child prodigy, gifted in math. Pascal is best known for Pascal's laws. His work spread through Mersenne's network.

Rene Descartes loved the work of Galileo and other scientists. It made him want to be a scientist too. He invented the cartesian coordinates system, which is a basis for calculus. Calculus is a form of math.

Kepler, Galileo, Slide Rule, John Napier

   Kepler was born in 1571 in the Holy Roman Empire. Tycho died and Kepler was appointed his successor. Kepler was an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician. Kepler tried to prove that God created the universe.

   Galileo learned early science from his dad. He designed a new military compass and thermometer. He improved the telescope in 1609. He died when he was 77 years old in 1542.

   The Slide Rule was invented in 1630. Napiers' book was a table full of logarithms. It was a calculation used for science. The slide rule continued to get better over the next 350 years.

   John Napier was born in Edinburg, Scotland in 1550. He calculated over 10 million logarithms. It took him 20 years to finish his book.

Compound Microscope, Compass, News Paper, Telescope

   A compound microscope is used for looking at microscopic items. When we look through a microscope we are able to see things we don't usually see. Zacharias Janssen invented the microscope in 1590.

   The use of the compass continued to spread. People used it, but they did not know how it worked. Robert Norman discovered the magnetic dip in 1581. He introduced the concept of "attractive force". This is why magnets work.

   The Roman Government used to carry public announcements in stone. The Chinese sent out government news bulletins. News Paper quickly relayed information.

   Hans Lippershey invented the very first telescope in 1608. His telescope only magnified an object, three times. Galileo learned of the telescope in 1609 and made an improved one.

Making Maps, Jarius Mercator, Tycho Brahe, John Davis

Making maps began early on in history. Ancient Greeks and people in the Bible believed the earth was round like a ball. Some early maps left out useful tools for sailing.

Jarius Mercator was born in 1512. He went to the same school in France as Vesalius. He changed his name from Cream to Mercator. He received credit for inventing the globe.

Tycho Brahe was an astronomer. He made two observations in the night sky. In 1572 he observed a supernova. In 1578 he observed the path of a comet.

John Davis was a sailor and explorer from England. He wanted to find a Northwest Passage. He invented the backstaff. It told you your location in the water by measuring the shadow of the sun.

The Heliocentric Theory, Nicholas Copernicus, Andreas Vesalius, Pencil

The Heliocentric Theory:
Copernicus' theory was slow to catch on. Without Copernicus' theory, there would be no GPS. By 1500, Europe was beginning to change significantly. The theory was physically wrong but accurately projected orbits.

Nicholas Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473 After Newton, Chinese took off. He had diverse talents but he specialized in astronomy. He believed science was possible because God sustains the universe

Andreas Vesalius was born in 1514 in Brussels. He was a doctor. He was interested in anatomy. In 1543, he published a book on anatomy. It had drawings of the insides of humans. The doctors before him did not want to do this hard work.

Pencil:
Writing instruments have been used for a long time. The Romans used an erasable wax tablet. Pencils markings last a long time. Pencils offer benefits to artists. Mistakes can be erased. Drawing can be lighter or darker depending on how hard you push. They can also be sharpened.

Mariner's Astrolabe, Double Entry Bookkeeping, Luca Pacioli, Leonardo Davinci

Mariner's Astrolabe: It was a tool used by sailors. You had to use two hands to hold it. It read the angles of the horizon. The astrolabe was successful all around the world.

Double Entry Bookkeeping: Double Entry Bookkeeping came to be after the Holy Roman Empire split into three kingdoms. Double entry bookkeeping protects you from theft because most criminals were dumb.

Luca Pacioli: Luca Pacioli went to an abacus school in Italy that taught arithmetic and business skills based on Arabic numerals. He wrote a book about chess. He popularized the double-entry accounting system. He wrote many books.

Leonardo Davinci: Leonardo Davinci was a famous painter and inventer. He is most remembered for the Mona Lisa.

Chess, Arquebus, Printing Press, Mainspring

Chess: A chess board has white and brown squares. There are 64 squares. Each player gets 16 pieces. Each player gets 8 pawns which represent foot soldiers. Knights are the main attackers. It quickly spread throughout Europe.

Arquebus: It made warfare cheaper. 25% of the King of Hungary's army carried an arquebus. A series of inventions improved a hand cannon.

Printing Press: The printing press is the single most important invention of the past 1,000 years. Books could now be printed faster and cheaper. The Bible was the first book to be printed.

Mainspring: The mainspring was first used in locks in the 1400s. Its use went into decline in the 20th century as electronics began taking over.