engineering

Sir Benjamin Baker and the Forth Bridge

Sir Benjamin Baker and the Forth Bridge

On March 31, 1840, British civil engineer Sir Benjamin Baker was born. Baker worked in mid to late Victorian era and helped develop the early underground railways in London with Sir John Fowler, but he is best known for his work on the Forth Bridge. He made many other notable contributions to civil engineering, including his work as an expert witness at the public inquiry into the Tay Rail Bridge disaster. Early Years…
Read more
Colonel Drake and the Dawn of the Oil Business

Colonel Drake and the Dawn of the Oil Business

On March 29, 1819, Petroleum entrepreneur Edwin Laurentine Drake, also known as Colonel Drake, was born. He is popularly credited with being the first to drill for oil in the United States. His success launched an Oil Rush and brought the world a new energy source. Titusville, Pennsylvania Edwin Drake was born in Greenville, Greene County, New York, as son of Lyman and Laura Drake. He grew up on family farms around New…
Read more
Leo Fender and the Success of the Electric Guitar

Leo Fender and the Success of the Electric Guitar

On March 21, 1991, American inventor  “Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender passed away. Fender developed the first solid-body electric guitar to be mass-produced: the Fender Broadcaster in 1948. His Stratocaster (1954) should become one of the most favored model of rock guitarists. “The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair.” – Leo Fender [8] Leo Fender – Early Years Leo Fender was born…
Read more
Rudolf Diesel and his famous Engine

Rudolf Diesel and his famous Engine

On March 18, 1858, German inventor and mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel was born, who invented the eponymous Diesel engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel. “The automobile engine will come, and then I will consider my life’s work complete.” – Rudolf Diesel Early Years Rudolf Diesel was born and grew up in Paris, known as an excellent student and awarded with a medal for his achievements…
Read more
Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the Prussian City Scapes

Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the Prussian City Scapes

On March 13, 1781, Prussian architect, city planner, and painter Karl Friedrich Schinkel was born, who was one of the most prominent architects of Germany of the neoclassical and neogothic epoch. He shaped the city scapes of Berlin and Potsdam with his neoclassical buildings and palaces. “Phlegm, whether physical or mental, is a sinful state for the one who lives in times of education.” — Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel –…
Read more
The Beautiful Aircraft Designs of Kelly Johnson

The Beautiful Aircraft Designs of Kelly Johnson

On February 27, 1910, American aeronautical and systems engineer Kelly Johnson was born. He is recognized for his contributions to a series of important aircraft designs, most notably the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird.[4] Besides the first production aircraft to exceed Mach 3, he also produced the first fighter capable of Mach 2, and many other contributions to a large number of aircraft. Early Years Clarence Leonard Johnson was enthusiastic for aircraft…
Read more
Thomas Newcomen and the Steam Engine

Thomas Newcomen and the Steam Engine

On February 26 (or maybe also 24), 1664, English inventor Thomas Newcomen was born, who created the first practical steam engine for pumping water, the Newcomen steam engine. Steam Engines As we know from a previous article on James Watt and the Steam Age Revolution [5], Watt was the one improving Newcomen‘s engine in the 18th and 19th century. Since the knowledge about the power of working with steam had been around for…
Read more
Edwin Land – Father of the Polaroid Instant Camera

Edwin Land – Father of the Polaroid Instant Camera

On February 21, 1947, American scientist and inventor Edwin Land introduced the very first instant camera together with an associated film. Land‘s new camera would allow people to produce a black and white photograph in about sixty seconds. The new film already contained the necessary chemicals to develop and fix the image directly on the photographic paper. “We live in a world changing so rapidly that what we mean frequently by common…
Read more
William Grey Walter and his Machina speculatrix

William Grey Walter and his Machina speculatrix

On February 19, 1910, British neurophysiologist and robotician William Grey Walter was born. Walter is best known for linking learning with a particular brain wave as revealed by measurements by electroencephalograph. But his most famous work was his construction of some of the first electronic autonomous robots. “The mechanism of learning is of course one of the most enthralling and baffling mysteries in the field of biology.” – William Grey Walter, A machine that…
Read more
Christopher Latham Sholes invented the QWERTY Typewriter

Christopher Latham Sholes invented the QWERTY Typewriter

On February 14, 1819,  American inventor Christopher Latham Sholes was born, who invented the first practical typewriter and is responsible for the  QWERTY keyboard layout still in use today. Printer, Editor, and Politician Born on a farm in Montour County, Pennsylvania, USA, Christopher Latham Sholes worked in Madison, Wisconsin, as a printer and later as editor of Bender’s Newspaper. In this city he was one of the co-founders of the Republican Party of…
Read more
Relation Browser
Timeline
0 Recommended Articles:
0 Recommended Articles: