Significant Events in the Industrial Revolution

Count Alessandro Volta invents the battery.

Humphrey Davy invents the first electric light - the first arc lamp. Makes home life easier for people with the money to buy one.

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce was the first person to take a photograph. He took the picture by setting up a machine called the camera obscura in the window of his home in France. It took eight hours for the camera to take the picture.

Kirkpatrick Macmillan invents a bicycle.

Alexander Parkes invents the first man-made plastic. Makes a lighter, cheaper solid to use in industry. Very widely used today.

J P Knight invents traffic lights.

Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone. Makes long distance instant communication possible for the everyday person.

Karl Benz invents the first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine.

Invented by Earle Dickson