Inventors and Inventors
As the 1800s progressed, a flood of inventions hit the patent office. In the year 1897 alone, more patents were issued than in the ten years before the Civil War! Across the globe the United States was known as the invention capital of the world. American inventors helped refine the country’s lifestyle, making businesses and every day activities easier. Creativity fueled the minds of many ambitious inventors.
One such inventor was Thomas Edison. Edison and his team of scientists produced the first light bulb, phonograph, the motion picture camera, and hundreds of other useful devises. Unfortunately, many of these invention could not be used by the public without a reliable source of power. To counter this problem, Edison opened the United State’s first electrical power plant in New York. Soon, there were power plants everywhere; powering homes, businesses, street cars, and replaced steam engines.
This new way of living created a demand by businesses for improved communications. The telegraph helped people stay in touch over long distances, but it still took weeks for news from Europe to arrive by boat. Cyrus Field laid an underwater telegraph cable line that sped communications from the ‘Old World’ to America. The industrious Alexander Graham Bell wanted to create a device that could carry human voices. Finally, after many years of trial and error Graham Bell created what he called the telephone. Historians believe this to be one of the most valuable patents ever issued. By 1885, more than 300,000 telephones were sold, thus continuing to connect the nation.
Other inventions helped both businesses and homes. Christopher Sholes invented the typewriter. Soon typist were able to type a speedy sixty words per minute. The light weight camera on the other hand affected the individual rather than businesses. It aloud the ordinary person to record their lives through pictures. All of the advancements made during this time helped shape the lives of millions and set the foundation for technology to come.