Victorian Invention Timeline

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Mr Coleman
1838
 The first photograph taken, by Louis Daguerre in France and William Henry Fox-Talbot in Britain.
1839
 W.H. Fox-Talbot invented light sensitive photographic paper to produce photographs.
1839
 A Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan invented the first pedal bicycle. His machine was propelled by pedals, cranks and drive rods.
1839
 The first paddle steamships by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
1840
 The first postage stamps (Penny Post) came into use.
1840
 The first bicycle to have pedals invented by Kirkpatrick Macmillan (Scottish man)
1843
 The first Christmas card was designed by John Calcott Horsely. Find out more
1844
 The first Morse Code message is sent. Invented by an American called Samuel Morse in 1837.
1845
 Rubber tyres invented. Robert Thomson discovered that rubber tyres filled with air (pneumatic) gave a far more comfortable ride for passengers than solid tyres, but they were too expensive.
1845
 London Road in Nottingham became the first road to be covered with tarmac (tarmacadam). Before this people had to suffer with roads made from cobbles ( round stones) and pot holes.
1846
 Sewing Machine invented by Elias Howe
1849
 Concrete developed by Monier. Concrete was cheap to make and opened up new possibilities for building.
1849
 Englishman George Cayley built the first glider to fly by a pilot.

1850s

 The first post boxes are built
1850 Petrol Developed
1850 Isaac Singer produced a sewing machine which could be used at home.
1851 Ice Cream is invented by Jacob Fussell, in the USA
1852 The first public flushing toilet opens in London. Before the 1850s most people had to use an earth closet, which was a toilet outside the house with just soil in it and no water.
1854
 Henry Bessemer found a way to convert iron into steel, which was both stronger and lighter than iron. This made it possible to build huge structures such as bridges and ships.
1855 Lunstrom’s new safety match first gains recognition
1856 Louis Pasteur found how to make food safer to eat by pasteurizing it. This killed bacteria in certain foods.
1859 Oil discovered in the USA leads to the birth of the modern oil industry.
1860 The first horse-drawn tram
1863 The world’s first underground railway (the Tube) is opened in London. It is powered by steam.
1864
 The world’s first jelly babies were made by an Austrian called Herr Steinbeck in Lancashire.
1872
 Invention of the penny-farthing bicycle. by British engineer, James Starley. The huge front wheel was almost six feet from top to bottom. and the seat was above the wheel. It had no brakes!
1873
 Typewriter invented by Christopher Sholes
1875
 The first chocolate Easter eggs were made by Fry’s of Bristol.

1876

 Alexander Bell, a Scotsman living in America, invented the telephone on 7 March 1876. By 10 March 10 his apparatus was so good that the first complete sentence transmitted, “Watson, come here; I want you,”was distinctly heard by his assistant.
1877
 The world’s first recording of the human voice is heard when the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison, recited ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ and played it back
1878
 Electric street lighting began in London, replacing the old gas lamps, which had to be lit by hand every evening. (Michael Faraday discovered electricity)
1879
 The electric light bulb invented by Swan and Edison for home use.
1885
 Safety Bicycle invented. It had a chain, sprocket driven rear wheel and equally sized wheels.
1883
 First electric railway opened
1884
 First British electric tram network opened in the seaside town of Blackpool.
1885
 First petrol motorcar built by Karl Benz. A three-wheeled vehicle powered by a one-cylinder gasoline engine.
The speed limit for cars was four miles per hour. It was increased to 20 miles per hour in 1896.

1887

 The invention of the gramophone by Emile Berliner
1888
 John Boyd Dunlop invented pneumatic tyres.
1888
 Photography became even more popular with invention of the Kodak box cameraby American inventor George Eastman. Eastman’s invention of the film roll and camera meant that photography became popular across the world. He named his camera Kodak because he liked the letter ‘K’.
1894
 Moving pictures (cinematograph) invented by Lumiere brothers.
1890
 The first electric underground train to travel on a public railway ran in London on December 18.
1890
 The first comic book to ever be published in Britain was printed. It was called Comic Cuts
1891
 The first hydro-electric power station. making electricity from fast flowing water.
1895
 X-rays discovered by W K Roentgen
1895
 Guillermo Marconi launches the wireless (radio) 
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