Famous Discoveries & Inventions

Cheatsheet Content

Ancient World Discoveries & Inventions Wheel: Invented in Mesopotamia (c. 3500 BCE), revolutionized transport and pottery. Writing: Developed independently in several cultures: Cuneiform (Sumer, c. 3400 BCE) Hieroglyphs (Egypt, c. 3200 BCE) Chinese characters (China, c. 1200 BCE) Agriculture: Neolithic Revolution (c. 10,000 BCE), transformation from hunting/gathering to farming. Bronze: Alloy of copper and tin (c. 3300 BCE), led to stronger tools and weapons. Iron Smelting: Hittites (c. 1200 BCE), harder and more abundant metal. Pyramids: Ancient Egypt (c. 2600 BCE), monumental architecture, engineering prowess. Paper: Invented in China by Cai Lun (c. 105 CE), crucial for spreading knowledge. Archimedes' Screw: Greece (c. 3rd century BCE), device for lifting water. Geometry: Euclid's Elements (c. 300 BCE), foundational text for mathematics. Astronomy: Early observations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Maya. Medieval & Renaissance Innovations Movable Type Printing Press: Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1440 CE), revolutionized information dissemination. Gunpowder: Discovered in China (c. 9th century CE), initially for fireworks, later for warfare. Compass: Invented in China (c. 11th century CE), crucial for navigation. Spectacles: Italy (c. 13th century CE), improved vision for reading and fine work. Mechanical Clock: Europe (c. 13th century CE), standardized timekeeping. Algebra: Al-Khwarizmi (c. 9th century CE), Persian mathematician, foundational text. Anatomy (Human): Andreas Vesalius (1543), "De humani corporis fabrica," detailed dissections. Perspective Drawing: Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti (early 15th century), revolutionized art. Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment Heliocentric Model: Nicolaus Copernicus (1543), Earth revolves around the Sun. Laws of Planetary Motion: Johannes Kepler (early 17th century), elliptical orbits. Telescope: Hans Lippershey (1608), improved by Galileo Galilei (1609), revolutionized astronomy. Microscope: Zacharias Janssen (c. 1590), improved by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (late 17th century), opened up microbiology. Laws of Motion & Universal Gravitation: Isaac Newton (1687), "Principia Mathematica," foundational physics. Calculus: Independently developed by Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (late 17th century). Circulation of Blood: William Harvey (1628), "De Motu Cordis," described the circulatory system. Smallpox Vaccine: Edward Jenner (1796), first successful vaccine. Steam Engine: James Watt (improved 1769), key to the Industrial Revolution. Lightning Rod: Benjamin Franklin (1752), protection against lightning strikes. 19th Century Innovations Dynamo (Electric Generator): Michael Faraday (1831), basis for electrical power generation. Photography: Nicéphore Niépce (1826), Louis Daguerre (1839), capturing images. Telegraph: Samuel Morse (1837), long-distance communication. Evolution by Natural Selection: Charles Darwin (1859), "On the Origin of Species." Germ Theory of Disease: Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch (mid-19th century), revolutionized medicine. Periodic Table: Dmitri Mendeleev (1869), organized chemical elements. Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell (1876), voice communication. Light Bulb: Thomas Edison (1879), practical electric lighting. Radio: Guglielmo Marconi (1895), wireless communication. X-rays: Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1895), imaging inside the body. Automobile: Karl Benz (1886), first practical gasoline-powered car. 20th Century Breakthroughs Theory of Relativity: Albert Einstein (1905, 1915), redefined space, time, gravity. Quantum Mechanics: Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger (early 20th century). Airplane: Wright Brothers (1903), first successful controlled flight. Penicillin: Alexander Fleming (1928), first antibiotic. Television: Philo Farnsworth, John Logie Baird (1920s), electronic visual media. Nuclear Fission: Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner, Fritz Strassmann (1938), basis for nuclear power/weapons. Transistor: Bell Labs (Shockley, Bardeen, Brattain, 1947), fundamental component of modern electronics. DNA Structure: James Watson, Francis Crick (1953), with Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, double helix. Integrated Circuit: Jack Kilby, Robert Noyce (1958), miniaturized electronic circuits. Laser: Theodore Maiman (1960), coherent light source. Internet (ARPANET): Developed by US Department of Defense (late 1960s), global network. World Wide Web: Tim Berners-Lee (1989), accessible information system on the Internet. Polio Vaccine: Jonas Salk (1955), Albert Sabin (1961), eradicated polio in many regions. Computer: Early electronic computers (Colossus, ENIAC, 1940s), Turing Machine concept. 21st Century & Emerging Technologies Human Genome Project: Completed 2003, mapped entire human genome. CRISPR Gene Editing: Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier (2012), precise gene modification. Exoplanet Discoveries: Kepler Space Telescope (launched 2009), thousands of planets outside our solar system. Gravitational Waves: LIGO (2015), confirmed Einstein's prediction. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning: Rapid advancements in deep learning, neural networks. Quantum Computing: Ongoing research, promises exponential speedup for certain problems. Reusable Rocket Technology: SpaceX, Blue Origin (2010s), reduced space launch costs. mRNA Vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna (2020), rapid development for COVID-19. Autonomous Vehicles: Ongoing development, self-driving cars and drones.