Page 336 - American Stories, A History of the United States

tAbLe 13.3 tHe AGe OF PRActicAL iNveNtiON
13.1
Year* inventor contribution importance/Description
1787 john Fitch steamboat First successful American steamboat
13.2
1793 eli Whitney cotton gin simplified process of separating fiber from seeds; helped make cotton a profitable
staple of southern agriculture
1798 eli Whitney jig for guiding tools Facilitated manufacture of interchangeable parts
1802 Oliver evans steam engine First American steam engine; led to manufacture of high­pressure engines used
throughout eastern United states
1813 Richard b. chenaworth cast­iron plow First iron plow to be made in three separate pieces, thus making possible
replacement of parts
1830 Peter cooper Railroad locomotive First steam locomotive built in America
1831 cyrus Mccormick Reaper Mechanized harvesting; early model could cut six acres of grain a day
1836 samuel colt Revolver First successful repeating pistol
1837 john Deere steel plow steel surface kept soil from sticking; farming thus made easier on rich prairies of Midwest
1839 charles Goodyear vulcanization of rubber Made rubber much more useful by preventing it from sticking and melting in hot weather
1842 crawford W. Long First administered ether Reduced pain and risk of shock during operations in surgery
1844 samuel F. b. Morse telegraph Made long­distance communication almost instantaneous
1846 elias Howe sewing machine First practical machine for automatic sewing
1846 Norbert Rillieux vacuum evaporator improved method of removing water from sugar cane; revolutionized sugar industry
and was later applied to many other products
1847 Richard M. Hoe Rotary printing press Printed an entire sheet in one motion; vastly speeded up printing process
1851 William Kelly “Air­boiling process” improved method of converting iron into steel (usually known as bessemer process
because english inventor bessemer had a more advantageous patent and financial
arrangements)
1853 elisha G. Otis Passenger elevator improved movement in buildings; when later electrified, stimulated development of
skyscrapers
1859 edwin L. Drake First American oil well initiated oil industry in the United states
1859 George M. Pullman Pullman passenger car First railroad sleeping car suitable for long­distance travel
*Dates refer to patent or first successful use.
sOURce: Allan Weinstein and Frank Gatell, one table, “the Age of Practical invention” in FReeDOM AND cRisis, 3/e copyright (c) 1983. Reprinted
with permission of the McGrawHill companies, inc.

lAboR AdvAncementS A revolution in farming followed the introduction of new farm implements such as
cyrus Mccormick’s reaper, which could do ten times the work of a single person. the lithograph, by an anonymous
artist, is titled The Testing of the First Reaping Machine near Steele’s Tavern, Virginia, 1831.
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