Inventions by Decade
Instructions: Can you guess when these famous inventions were created?
- 1.
In which decade was the telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell?
A1850sB1870sC1860sD1880s - 2.
In which decade did the Wright Brothers achieve the first powered flight?
A1920sB1900sC1910sD1890s - 3.
In which decade was television first demonstrated to the public?
A1920sB1910sC1930sD1940s - 4.
In which decade was the World Wide Web invented by Tim Berners-Lee?
A2000sB1980sC1970sD1990s - 5.
In which decade was the light bulb made commercially practical by Thomas Edison?
A1880sB1860sC1870sD1890s - 6.
In which decade was penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming?
A1930sB1920sC1940sD1910s - 7.
In which decade was the first personal computer, the Altair 8800, introduced?
A1960sB1990sC1980sD1970s - 8.
In which decade was the microwave oven accidentally invented?
A1940sB1930sC1960sD1950s - 9.
In which decade was the first successful heart transplant performed?
A1980sB1970sC1960sD1950s - 10.
In which decade was the iPhone first introduced?
A2020sB2010sC2000sD1990s - 11.
In which decade was the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg?
A1440sB1480sC1460sD1420s - 12.
In which decade was the first practical steam engine developed by Thomas Newcomen?
A1730sB1750sC1690sD1710s - 13.
In which decade was the transistor invented at Bell Laboratories?
A1950sB1960sC1940sD1930s - 14.
In which decade was dynamite invented by Alfred Nobel?
A1850sB1840sC1870sD1860s - 15.
In which decade was the first GPS satellite launched by the United States?
A1960sB1990sC1970sD1980s
Answer Key
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876. His first successful experiment was on March 10, 1876, when he transmitted the famous words: 'Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.'
Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered heavier-than-air flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The first flight lasted 12 seconds.
Television was first publicly demonstrated in the 1920s. John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of a working television system in London in January 1926.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN in Switzerland. The first website went live on August 6, 1991.
Thomas Edison developed a commercially practical incandescent light bulb in 1879. While others had created electric lights before him, Edison's bulb was the first to last long enough for practical use.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 when he noticed that mold had killed bacteria in a petri dish. It was the first true antibiotic and revolutionized medicine.
The Altair 8800, widely considered the first commercially successful personal computer, was introduced in 1975. It inspired Bill Gates and Paul Allen to found Microsoft.
Percy Spencer accidentally discovered that microwaves could heat food in 1945 while working on radar equipment at Raytheon. The first commercial microwave oven was sold in 1947.
Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful human heart transplant on December 3, 1967, in Cape Town, South Africa. The patient, Louis Washkansky, survived for 18 days.
Apple's iPhone was first introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, and went on sale on June 29, 2007. It revolutionized the smartphone industry and mobile computing.
Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press around 1440 in Mainz, Germany. His Gutenberg Bible, printed around 1455, is considered the first major book printed with movable type in the West.
Thomas Newcomen developed the first practical steam engine around 1712. It was primarily used to pump water out of coal mines and laid the groundwork for the Industrial Revolution.
The transistor was invented at Bell Laboratories in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley. It replaced vacuum tubes and became the foundation of all modern electronics.
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867 by mixing nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth to create a stable explosive. The profits from his invention funded the Nobel Prizes after his death.
The first GPS satellite, Navstar 1, was launched on February 22, 1978. The full GPS constellation became operational for civilian use in 1995, revolutionizing navigation worldwide.