Articles
- Home
- Who Invented the CD
- Who Invented the Balloon
- Who Invented Cannons
- Who Invented Bluetooth
- Who Invented Air Conditioning
- Who Invented Blu Ray
- Who Invented Blogs
- Who Invented Arc Lights
- Who Invented the Balance Beam
- Who Invented Boxing
- Who Invented Bowling
- Who Invented the Abacus
- Who Invented Calculus
- Who Invented Boolean Logic
- Who Invented Biometrics
- Who Invented Astrology
- Who Invented Algebra
- Who Invented the Ball and Jack Game
- Who Invented Blackjack
- Who Invented Barbie
- Who Invented the Compass
- Who Invented the Crossbow
- Who Invented the Computer Mouse
- Who Invented the Compound Microscope
- Who Invented the Colt Revolver
- Who Invented the Clothes Dryer
- Who Invented the Clock
- Who Invented the CFL
- Who Invented the Cash Register
- Who Invented the Camera
- Who Invented the Automatic Rifle
- Who Invented the Atomic Clock
- Who Invented the Atomic Bomb
- Who Invented the ATM Machine
- Who Invented the Apple Computer
- Who Invented Cotton Gin
- Who Invented Copy and Paste
- Who Invented Catapults
- Who Invented Cycling
- Who Invented Cricket
- Who Invented the Darwin Awards
- Who Invented Crayons
- Who Invented Colour Television
- Who Invented Chess
- Who Invented Chalk
- Who Invented the Cassette Player
- Who Invented the Christmas Tree
- Who Invented the Broom
- Who Invented Currency
- Who Invented Credit Cards
Who Invented the Compass
History of the compass can be traced from the 2nd Century BC and has its origin from China. A study revealed that Omlecs were using compass during 1000BC, but there is no authenticated proof towards the same. It is a difficult task to identify the first inventor of compass. The earliest models of compass were referred to as lodestone.
Compass was mentioned as a tool or device for navigation in the year 1117 by Chinese and the same has been moved to Europe. Chinese traders when travelled to Middle East left their impact of the compass on European countries. But many assumed that the compass was the invention of Europeans. It is a navigational instrument that is designed to determine the direction of magnetic poles of the Earth. It consists of a magnetized pointer that is generally marked in the north end. It was used for safe and secure ocean travel. Compass was patented by Sir Edmund Halley during 1690.

The modern electromagnetic compass was invented by William Sturgeon in the year 1825. Since his invention, different types of compasses were introduced and his invention leads towards development of modern compass. The invention of compass is yet another triumph. It is ranked as one of the most important device that has been developed by human mind.
Related Articles:
Who Invented the Crossbow
Early evidence of the use of Crossbows can be trailed back in Chinese history to as early as 341 B.C. It is believed that the crossbows were first used in the battle of Ma-Ling in Lingyi, China. It became a primary warfare weapon after that and was used for several years to come. The Chinese kept upgrading and improving the original cross bow from time to time. One of the improved versions was the repeating cross bow; a highly advanced weapon which was used until 1895 in the China-Japan war.
The crossbows however were not very powerful till the invention of composite bows around the 1400s. Composite bows were made of materials such as horn, sinew etc. which enhanced the strength and elasticity of the weapon. Prior to the invention of composite bows, materials such as wood and bone were used for its construction. However, the earlier bows were much lighter and easier to carry. Besides, the process of making the composite bows was quite long and tedious. It took as long as six months for the glue to dry up hence making the procedure even more time consuming. Somewhere around the end of 1400, the use of steel to construct bows came into practice. It brought more strength and durability to the bow and also to the entire weapon as a whole. Romans are also said to have developed their own version of the Crossbow.

Related Articles:
- No related posts
Who Invented the Computer Mouse
Using computer was considered a difficult task during earlier period of their invention as they were large devices. The user needed to type everything by hand and could not alter the mistakes. Douglas Engelbart was a researcher of Stanford Institute and wanted to find new ways to make using the computer easier.
Douglas Engelbart contributed greatly towards the changing the working method of computer. He invented several user friendly tools that can be used by everyone. Computer mouse was the most prominent tool among his invention. Hypermedia, Video teleconferencing, windows, email, internet, groupware, etc are his other inventions.

Most conventional type of mouse has two buttons at left and right side. Left side button of the mouse is used frequently.
It was named mouse because the wire connected and coming out of the mouse resembles the tail of a real mouse. But with recent development, the wireless mouse is designed.
Mouse can be classified into three types and includes the following.
- The Mechanical mouse – operated with a ball to move the cursor on the screen. This type of mouse require a flat surface called mouse pad.
- The optomechanical mouse is the mixture of optical and mechanical technology. It uses the ball for movement, but also detects the optical movement.
- The optical mouse used laser in form of optical sensor for detecting the movement of mouse.
Related Articles:
Who Invented the Compound Microscope
Compound microscope is the advanced model of high power microscope developed with multiple and selectable lens of different magnifications. The first compound microscope was invented and patented by Zacharias Janssen in the year 1595. Soon after his invention, Galileo Galilei invented another type of compound microscope out of a telescope. And on the basis of above inventions, several scientists have refined their inventions and introduced advance models of compound microscopes. Compound microscopes are useful for biological research and professional laboratories.
A compound microscope is designed with fittings of convex lenses. The high magnification capacity of these convex lenses enables the detailed study of the cell, tissues and micro organisms. These are widely used in medical research.

The light source of the microscope is reflected through a mirror in form of natural light or as a lamp at the base of microscope. The light makes the object focus sharply on the microscope to appear brighter and make the object stand out in contrast.
When an object is focussed through the microscope, the lenses create a real and inverted image of the object inside the focus of ocular lenses. The ocular lenses convert the inverted image and produce an upright image and thus the image is enlarged as seen by the observer.
Related Articles:
Who Invented the Colt Revolver
Colt revolver was the first multi shot weapon that became the symbol of American Frontier. Colt revolver was invented by an American Industrialist called Samuel Colt. His innovative contribution to the weapon industry has been described in the army history as ‘events that shaped the destiny of American Firearms’. The inventor was the founder of the Colt’s Manufacturing Company and he got the patent rights for the invention of colt revolver in the year 1836. The basic design of colt revolver has been equipped with a revolving cylinder that contains bullets and cocking device. The revolver works on the basis of cap and ball technology that was developed based on the technology of revolving cylinder invented by Smith and Wesson.
Before the introduction of the colt revolver, single and double barrel pistols were introduced but it was a total failure.
The colt revolvers were invented at the right place and at the right time. It was invented during the expansion of America which required defence. The revolver was a simple invention as well as a powerful weapon. The revolver was then improved with a lighter weapon called walker, which was more reliable. With the success of the invention, the inventor developed a new manufacturing company in Hartford, Connecticut.
Related Articles:
- No related posts
Who Invented the Clothes Dryer
A cloth dryer may also be referred to as a tumble dryer. It is a house hold appliance that is used to remove the moisture content from the clothes after they are cleaned. It was also called a tumble dryer because the ancient dryer consists of a rotating drum called tumbler. The tumbler passes the hot air for circulation and evaporation of the moisture from the clothes loaded.
In the 18th century, clothes dryers were introduced in England and France. Pochon, a French man developed the first and earliest clothes dryer called ventilator. It was a barrel shaped metal drum designed with holes. But the invention was a failure because the clothes lost their quality and softness while drying. And sometime, the colours also faded. For the above reasons and other environmental concerns, the earlier method of clothes drying were dropped.

Patent rights for invention of Clothes dryer was granted to George T. Sampson for his invention in the year 1892. His dryer used the heat from a stove towards drying the clothes and it is similar to ventilator type of machine.
Following the invention of Sampson, electrical clothes dryers were introduced in the year 1915. Clothes are dried with the electronic sensors that produced the heat energy.
Related Articles:
Who Invented the Clock
The word clock has its origin form the French word ’cloche’ which means bell. But an interesting fact is hidden in the origin from which the word clock would have been derived, when compared with the meaning of the word bell. Glocio the Latin word, Clugga the Saxon and Glocke the German word have the same meaning ‘bell’.
Clock is the most prominent amongst the oldest inventions of human. Different types of clocks were invented by different people. History of the clock reveals the usage of sun and water as an instrument of time keeping even 5000 years ago.

In the year 1577, first minute hand was invented by Jost Burgi. Later, Christian Huygens made an accurate clock in the form of a pendulum in the year 1656. The first mechanical clock was invented in the year 1787 by Levi Hutchins, New Hampshire.
However, the proper clock was invented by an Afro-American called Benjamin Banneker. He invented the clock in the year 1750, when he was 21 years old. Sir Sanford Fleming was greatly recognized towards inventing the standard time in the year 1878.
First quartz clock was invented by Smithsonian in 1927. The clock was developed based on vibrations of quartz crystals that work through an electrical circuit. It was highly accurate when compared to other types of clocks.
Related Articles:
Who Invented the CFL
Edward E.Hammer, an engineer at General Electrics, invented the Compact Fluorescent Lamp, widely known as CFL in 1976. An electric crisis in 1973 is what led to the invention of the CFL. The first linear florescent lamp known as the F-40 Watt Miser was developed thereafter. However the bulb could not be launched in the market at that time, as GE was not in a position to pay the estimated cost of 25 million US dollars for the project. China was the only place where CFL could be mass manufactured at a reasonable price. As GE delayed the launch of CFL many others copied its design and eventually GE was not the first to bring them into the market. It was only in 1995 that CFLs produced in China became commercially available.
A major problem with early CFLs was that the output frequencies of the CFLs clashed with those of some televisions hence causing interference. Corrective steps were taken immediately once the problem was identified. Interference is no longer a problem with current CFLs, however the initial problems resulted in a decline in sales.

CFLs contain small quantities of mercury as it is the best agent to ignite the lamp through it reaction with phosphorous. However the mercury content in CFLs is an area of concern as it contributes significantly in air and water pollution.
Related Articles:
- No related posts
Who Invented the Cash Register
Cash register was first invented in the year 1883 by James Ritty. Ritty, owner of a saloon in the United States, named it after his own name as Ritty model 1 in the year 1879. However he got it patented in the year 1883 with the help of his brother John Ritty. Initially the cash register machines were simple machines for adding. There were no receipts that were generated and still required a lot of manual effort. Ritty later sold his business of cash registers to Jacob H. Eckert who opened up The National Manufacturing Company.
The first cash register with a receipt was built in the year 1884 when Eckert sold off his company to John Patterson. The company too was renamed as National Cash Register. Patterson contributed immensely in the development of cash register as receipts multiplied the popularity of the device. Another major development took place in the year 1906 when Charles F. Kettering, an employee of National Cash register, came up with a cash register that used a motor. There were many efforts in the late 1950s to add me more features to the cash registers. In present era, cash registers have become extremely technical and user-friendly.

Related Articles:
Who Invented the Camera
The history of camera dates back to the Greeks when a popular mathematician, Anthemius used an obscura camera in his experiments. The obscura camera was a complex and initial stage of development of camera. It was not possible to carry such cameras everywhere before another mathematician Johannes Kepler added a lens to it. There were other mathematicians who tried to make the obscura camera portable. The first important development was in the year 1685 when Johann Zahn invented a portable obscura camera.
The images could not be stored before 1826 when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce made the first permanent photograph. He used the discovery of Johann Heinrich Schultz in 1724 that chalk and silver mixture darkens on exposure to light. There were also many important events in the developing of an image from 1840s to 1890s. The most important development was in the year 1861 when James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton worked together to make the first color photograph in history. In the early 1920’s the first video camera tube was invented. Soon after, still cameras were invented and were much more compact. Now digital cameras have changed the face of camera functions completely with a wide range of features that have reformed photography.

Related Articles:
« Previous Entries