The 19th century was an amazing time of growth, discoveries, and inventions. Looking back, we can see that people were hell bent on making a better life for themselves and for the people of the world. In a newspaper article published in 1874, there was this list of discoveries that were made in the 19th century (1801 – 1900). Although the century was not quite over, the list is fairly impressive.
Changes of a Century
The nineteenth century has witnessed many and great discoveries.
In 1809, Fulton took the first patent for the invention of a steamboat.
The first steamboats which made regular trips across the Atlantic Ocean were the Sirius and the Great Western, in 1830.
The first public application to practice the use of gas for illuminating was made in 1802.
In 1813 the streets of London were for the first time lighted with gas.
In 1813 there was built at Waltham, Mass., a mill believed to have been the first in the world, which combined all the requirements for making finished cloth from raw cotton.
In 1790 there were only twenty-five post offices in the whole country, and up to 1837 the rates of postage were twenty-five cents for a letter sent over four hundred miles.
In 1807 wooden clocks commenced to be made by machinery. This ushered in the era of cheap clocks.
About the year 1813 the first railroad of any considerable length in the United States was constructed.
In 1839 the first experiment in photography was made by Daguerre.
About 1849 the first express business was established.
The Anthracite coal business may be said to have begun in 1820.
In 1836 the first patent for the invention of matches was granted.
In 1845 the first telegram was sent.
The first successful reaper was constructed in 1830.
In 1846 Elias Howe obtained a patent for the first sewing machine. [Source]
