| ~300BC |
Gunpowder and rockets invented
in China |
| 1045 |
The use of gunpowder and
rockets formed an integral aspect of Chinese military tactics |
| 1241 |
Rocket seems to have arrived
in Europe used by the Mongols against Magyar forces at the battle of Sejo |
| 1258 |
Rockets appear in Arab literature |
| 1268 |
Arabs adopted the rocket
into their own arms inventory and, during the Seventh Crusade, used them
against the French Army of King Louis IX |
| 1429 |
Rockets in use at the siege
of Orleans during the Hundred Years War against the English. |
| 1800s |
Arrays of grandfather clocks
most accurate clock. |
| 1812 |
Rockets came to the New
World during the War of 1812. |
| 1845 |
US Naval Observatory begins
dropping a ball at noon for setting of the clocks of the fleet. |
| 1847 |
Rockets where used March
24, 1847 against Mexican forces
at the siege of Veracruz by Captain Robert E. Lee |
| 1875 |
George R. Carey of Boston
proposes a television system in which every picture element is transmitted
simultaneously, each over a separate circuit |
| 1880 |
The principle of scanning
an image is proposed, by E. E. Sawyer in the U. S., Maurice Leblanc in France,
and others |
| 1887
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First private-line telegraph
service, for L. H. Taylor & Co., brokers, between their offices in New
York and Philadelphia. |
| 1888 |
First line telegraph service
for news media customer, Globe Newspaper Company, between New York and Boston. |
| February 7, 1895 |
First Morse keyboard transmitter
by E. E. Kleinschmidt |
| September 1895 |
Guglielmo Marconi, begins
radio expermints. |
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| Fall 1898 |
Notre Dame Professor Jerome
Green sends messages a distance of about a mile by wireless telegraphy.
According to Notre Dame Professor Barry Keating, this is the first wireless
transmission of any significant distance in North America |
| 1900 |
University of Wisconsin
professors and students begin experimenting with radio transmission using
spark |
| 1900 |
The term television is coined
by Constantin Perskyi at the International Electricity Congress, part of the
1900 Paris Exhibition |
| Dec, 12 1901. |
Marconi received the first
transatlantic radio signal on Signal Hill |
| 1904 |
The diode (dual element
tube) was invented by John Ambrose fleming |
| April 30 1904 |
RADAR patent(Germany) by
Christian Hulsmeyer |
| 1906 |
The triode invented by Lee
de Forest |
| Jan. 13, 1906 |
First ad for a radio, Scientific
American, a Telimco, $7.50 |
| Dec. 24, 1906. |
Fessenden transmits voice
program from Brant Rock MA |
| 1908. |
Berlin Convention assigned
N, W, and some K to U. S. (Call letters) |
| 1908. |
A. Frederick Colllins broadcasts
voice and music using an arc transmitter in Newark. |
| 1909. |
Harriet Blatch, De Forest's
mother-in-law, speaks in favor of women's suffrage; De Forest claims the first
propaganda broadcast |
| Mar. 18, 1909. |
First ham transmission,
as Einar Dessau of Denmark talks to a government radio post about 6 mi away |
| May 31, 1910 |
Howard Krum worked out the
start-stop method of data synchronization |
| June 24, 1910 |
. U. S. approves act requiring
radio equipment on certain passenger-carrying vessels |
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| 1911 |
First U. S. radio license
issued to George Hill Lewis of Cincinnati |
| 1911 |
Electric automobile starter
demonstrated. |
| May 25, 1911. |
Commerce Department issues
Certificate of Skill to James M. Baskerville, serial number 1 |
| July 1, 1911. |
Radio Division of Dept.
of Commerce established, to enforce Radio Act of June 24, 1910 |
| 1912 |
First tube audio amplifiers. |
| 1912. |
Experimental station at
U of Minnesota attempted to air football games using a spark transmitter and
regular telegraph signals |
| Aug. 26, 1914. |
Radio Operator, Commercial
Extra First Class, license number 1 issued to Elmo Neale Pickerill; qualified
by demonstrating a skill of 32 wpm in Continental Morse Code and 35 wpm in
American Morse |
| 1915 |
University of Wisconsin
broadcast daily weather reports for farmers in morse code. |
| 1915: |
Teletype offers speeds of
30 or 50 words per minute. |
| 1916. |
2ZK New Rochelle NY broadcasts
music regularly |
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| 1917 |
Dept. of Commerce suspends
all amateur licenses except Westinghouse |
| 1918 |
Armstrong invents the superheterodyne
receiver |
| July 31, 1918. |
U. S. government takes over
all wireless land stations except for some high-power stations |
| Oct. 17, 1919. |
Radio Corporation of America
formed, incorporating in Delaware |
| Fall, 1919. |
Wartime ban is lifted |
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| about 1919 |
Keyboard-controlled cam-type
start-stop permutation code transmitters were developed by Charles and Howard
Krum |
| 1919 |
Goddard began his experiments
in rocketry while studying for his doctorate at Clark University in Worcester,
Mass. He first attracted
attention in 1919 when he published a paper titled, "A Method of Reaching
Extreme Altitudes." |
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| 1920 |
First licensed general broadcast
station on the air KDKA |
| Oct. 14, 1920. |
FIRST COLLEGE RADIO STATION
was WRUC |
| Summer, 1921. |
Hoover authorizes 360 and
400 meters |
| Dec. 1, 1921. |
2nd wavelength
(485 m) authorize, for crop & weather reports |
| May 19, 1922. |
Charles Francis Jenkins
achieves his first successful laboratory television transmission |
| May 15, 1923. |
The AM broadcast band is
opened (550-1350 kHz) (previously, stations generally operated on 360 meters |
| Dec. 29, 1923. |
Zworykin applies for a patent
for an all-electronic television system. |
| June 13, 1925. |
Charles Francis Jenkins
achieves the first synchronized transmission of pictures and sound, |
| 1926 |
Sound on disk system for
film introduced |
| March 16, 1926 |
Goddard launched first liquid-powered
rocket |
| Dec. 1926. |
WGY's TV station*, video
37.8 meters, sound 755 kHz |
| 1927. |
International Radiotelegraph
Conference in Washington assigns remaining K calls to U. S.; |
| 1927 |
Negative feedback amplifier
invented by Harold S. Black |
| May 5, 1927 |
FRC sets 15 min interval
for station identification. |
| Aug. 4, 1927. |
FIRST RADIO STATION OPERATING
A 100-KILOWATT TRANSMITTER |
| Early 1928 |
FRC proposes 164 stations
be deleted |
| Jan. 13, 1928. |
Alexanderson demonstrates
the GE system and announces the beginning of television broadcasting. |
| June 27, 1929. |
First public demonstration
of color TV |
| Sept. 30, 1930. |
Lowell Thomas first radio
network news broadcast |
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| 1930 |
Model 15 Teletype introduced |
| 1931 |
The Shortt clock accurate
to 1 mSec ( a mechnical device). |
| November, 1931 |
the Bell System inaugurated
the teletypewriter exchange service (TWX) |
| 1932 |
the German Army was beginning
to show an interest in the German Rocket Society's efforts, and in July of
that year, a "Mirak" rocket was launched as a demonstration for the head
of the newly created German Army rocket research group, Captain (later Major
General) Walter Dornberger. Mirak didn't impress Dornberger. Von Braun did. |
| 1932 |
Radio waves from space discovered
by Karl Jansky of Bell Labs |
| December 1934 |
,von Braun scored his first
successes with an A2 rocket powered by ethanol and liquid oxygen |
| late 30s |
Model 26 Teletype intorduced |
| 1935 |
.FCC allows broadcast stations
to re-broadcast their signals on the 10-meter shortwave band. |
| 1935 |
British start developing
RADAR |
| 1936 |
USNO drops last ball |
| 1936 |
The BBC test two television
systems |
| 1936 |
Telefunken provides TV coverage
of the 36 Olympics |
| June 12, 1936. |
FIRST RADIO STATION WITH
500,000-WATT POWER |
| June 5, 1937 |
The klystron invented by
Russell Varian |
| Oct. 13, 1937. |
FCC adopts new television
allocations: seven channels between 44 and 108 MHz (44-50, 50-56, 66-72,
78-84, 84-90, 96-102, and 102-108 MHz), and 12 additional channels from 156-194
MHz. |
| Oct 22, 1938 |
Xerography invented by Chester
Carlson |
| Oct. 30, 1938. |
War of the Worlds broadcast;
WIBC* Indianapolis IN 8 a.m. (officially on air next day) |
| 1939 |
Teletype speed reaches 75
words per minute. |
| 1939 |
Electron microscopes offer
for sale by Siemens and Halske |
| 1939 |
Atom split by Otto Hahn
and Lise Meitner |
| Feb 26, 1939 |
RCA begins experimental
TV broadcasting |
| July 24, 1939 |
FM broadcasting begins on
43.0MHz |
| 1940 |
The Megnetron invented by
Boot and Randall |
| Aug. 29, 1940. |
Peter Goldmark of CBS announces
his invention of a color TV system. |
| Apr. 30, 1941. |
The FCC approves the NTSC
standards and authorizes commercial TV to begin on July 1. |
| March 1942 |
Fist A4 (V2) rocket flies |
| 1943 |
Practical PC board invented
by Paul Eisler |
| 1944 |
Teletype speed reaches 100
words per minute. |
| September 1944 |
V2s, were launched against
London |
| 1945 |
The ENIAC become operational |
| Nov. 8, 1945 |
John von Neumann presented
the basic design of the stored program computer |
| June 27, 1945. |
FCC allocates 88-108 MHz
for FM broadcasting |
| 1945 |
Goddard dies holding 214
patents in rocketry |
| Mar. 1, 1946. |
Modern channel allocation
system goes into effect for television |
| July 11, 1949. |
FCC announces TV allocation
plan; to add 68 UHF channels to the present 12 VHF channels |
| Dec 23, 1947 |
John Bardeen and Walter
Brattain demonstrate the point contact transistor |
| 1950 |
A two-stage Bumper rocket
became the first of hundreds to be launched from "the Cape." |
| Oct. 10, 1950. |
The FCC approves CBS color
TV system |
| 1950 |
First magnetic core memory |
| 1951 |
First Univac delivered to
the Census |
| Late June 1951. |
RCA demonstrates its new
electronic color system. |
| Apr. 29, 1952. |
The first multiplex broadcast
during regular programming(stereo) |
| 1954 |
First high voltage DC power
line (Sweden) |
| Oct. 12, 1955 |
. The first SCA grants are
made |
| 1953 |
Last of the Swortt clocks
replaced by quartz crystal clock at NBS. |
| Dec. 17, 1953. |
FCC reverses its 1951 decision
and approves the RCA/NTSC color system. |
| Sept. 16, 1953. |
Conelrad tested nationally |
| 1954 |
First MASER built by Townes |
| Nov 30, 1956 |
First on the air use of
a video recorder |
| 1957 |
Teleprinter introduces teletype
speeds of 300 words per minute. |
| 1957 |
Light water reactors come
on line |
| Oct 4, 1957 |
Sputnik launched by the
USSR |
| January 31 1958 |
A version of the Redstone
rocket, known as the Jupiter C, on, 1958, was used to launch America's first
satellite, Explorer |
| 1958 |
NASA was established |
| 1958 |
Jack Kiby of TI invents
the integrated circuit |
| 1958 |
LASER described by Townes
and Bell Labs |
| early 60s |
Western Union introduced
Telex to the U.S. |
| 1960 |
Von Braun, his team, and
the entire Army Ballistic Missile Agency were transferred to NASA |
| 1960 |
Echo first (passive)communications
satellite launched |
| 1960 |
PDP-1 introduce by DEC |
| April 13 ,1960 |
US Navy launches first navigational
satellite |
| May 16, 1960 |
First LASER built by Maiman
at Hughes |
| 1962 |
MOS ICs developed |
| July 9, 1962. |
Telstar first active communications
satellite is launched into orbit |
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| Apr. 30, 1964. |
Television sets manufactured
as of this date are required to receive UHF channels. |
| 1965 |
Intelstat I (Early Bird)
Launched first commercial communications satellite. |
| 1965 |
The PDP-8 introduce by DEC
first computer built from ICs |
| 1966 |
Atomic clocks replace quartz
crystals clocks at NBS |
| 1969 |
Arpanet establish by the
DOD |
| July 1969 |
On July 20, 1969, a transmission
from the Moon's Sea of Tranquility reported "the Eagle has landed." |
| 1970s |
Decline in usage begins
as electronic data processing replaces many telegraph functions. |
| 1970 |
At its peak in 1970, TWX
service could transmit data at 150 bits per second |
| 1970 |
Corning Glass develops optical
glass fibers |
| 1970 |
Bell Labs demonstrates room
temp. semiconductor LASERs |
| 1971 |
First microprocessor developed.
The 4004 developed by Hoff at Intel. |
| 1972 |
CT (computer topography)
scanner was announced by the British Institute of Radiology Congress |
| May 14, 1973 |
Skylab orbited |
| May 22, 1973 |
Xerox start development
of Ethernet |
| 1975 |
Consumer video recorders
become available. |
| Jan 1975 |
The Altair computer introduced. |
| 1976 |
Apple incorporated |
| Fall 1976 |
PFRC founded |
| 1980s |
Wireless and digital methods
accelerate decline of the telegraph |
| Aug 12, 1981 |
IBM introduces the PC |
| 1983 |
The audio CD is introduced |
| 1984 |
Apple introduces the Macintosh |
| 1984 |
Ma Bell is broken up |
| 1990 |
The WEB is born |
| 1990 |
Hubble space telescope launched |
| 1991. |
:AT&T exits telegraph
service (TWX) |
| 1995 |
1GB RAMs announced |
| 1999 |
Construction begins on the
International Space Station. |
| 2000 |
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