Great 20th Century Inventions From 1900 to 1949 (2024)

Humanities

Technology, science,inventions, and re-inventions have progressed at an accelerated rate during the hundred years of the 20th century, arguably more so than any other century.

We began the 20th century with the infancy of airplanes, automobiles, and radio, which dazzled us with their novelty and wonder, and we ended the 20th century with spaceships, computers, cell phones, and the wireless Internet all being technologies we can take for granted.

From the first successful radio receiver and the atomic bomb to the microwave oven and cake mix, here are some transformative inventions dating back to every year from 1900 to 1949.

The Beginning of a Century of Innovation

The early 1900s were marked by a variety of factors that fueled innovation after an already impressive slate of inventions in the 1800s. Rapid industrialization spurred by the Second Industrial Revolution, with developments in steel, electricity, and mass production, provided the infrastructure and resources necessary for technological advancements. Additionally, urbanization (facilitated by a growing railroad system) and increased globalization created new demands and opportunities that set the stage for the progress seen throughout the century.

The early 1900s were also greatly impacted by intense global conflicts, particularly World War I and World War II. Historically, wars have acted as catalysts for technological innovation, as nations raced to develop new weapons, communication systems, and medical advancements, all while governments poured funds into military spending.

1900

• The Zeppelin was invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
• Charles Seeberger redesigned Jesse Reno's escalator and invented the modern escalator.

1901

• King Camp Gillette invents the double-edged safety razor.
• The first radio receiver successfully received a radio transmission.
• Hubert Booth invents a compact and modern vacuum cleaner.

1902

• Willis Carrier invents the air conditioner.
• The lie detector or polygraph machine is invented by James Mackenzie.
• The birth of the Teddy Bear.
• George Claude invented neon light.

1903

• Edward Binney and Harold Smith co-invent crayons.
• Bottle-making machinery was invented by Michael J. Owens.
• The Wright brothers invented the first gas-motored and manned airplane.
• William Coolidge invented the ductile tungsten used in lightbulbs.

1904

• Teabags were invented by Thomas Sullivan.
• Benjamin Holt invents a tractor.
• John A Fleming invents a vacuum diode or Fleming valve.

1905

• Albert Einstein published the Theory of Relativity and made famous the equation, E = mc².
• Mary Anderson receives a patent for windshield wipers.

1906

• William Kellogg invents Cornflakes.
• Lewis Nixon invents the first sonar-like device.
• Lee Deforest invents an electronic amplifying tube (triode).

1907

• Leo Baekeland invents the first synthetic plastic called Bakelite.
• Color photography was invented by Auguste and Louis Lumiere.
• The very first piloted helicopter was invented by Paul Cornu.

1908

• The gyrocompass was invented by Elmer A. Sperry.
• Cellophane was invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger.
• The Ford Model T was first sold.
• J W Geiger and W Müller invent the geiger counter.
• Fritz Haber invents the Haber Process for making artificial nitrates.

1909

• Instant coffee invented by G. Washington.

1910

• Thomas Edison demonstrated the first talking motion picture.
• Georges Claude displayed the firstneonlamp to the public on December 11, 1910, in Paris.

1911

• Charles Franklin Ketteringinvents the first automobile electrical ignition system.

1912

• Motorized movie cameras were invented and replaced hand-cranked cameras.
• The first military tank was patented by Australian inventor De La Mole.
• Clarence Crane createdLife Saverscandy.

1913

• Thecrossword puzzlewas invented byArthur Wynne.
• The Merck Chemical Company patented, what is now known as,ecstasy.
• Mary Phelps Jacobinvents the bra.

1914

• Garrett A. Morganinvents the Morgan gas mask.

1915

• Eugene Sullivan and William Taylor co-invented Pyrex in New York City.

1916

• Radiotuners were invented and received different stations.
• Stainless steel was invented by Henry Brearly.

1917

• Gideon Sundback patented the modernzipper(not the first zipper).

1918

• The superheterodyne radio circuit was invented byEdwin Howard Armstrong. Today, every radio or television set uses this invention.
• Charles Jung invented fortune cookies.

1919

• The pop-uptoasterwas invented by Charles Strite.
• The short-wave radio was invented.
• The flip-flop circuit was invented.
• Thearc welderwas invented.

1920

• TheTommy gunwas patented by John T Thompson.
• TheBand-Aid(pronounced 'ban-'dade) was invented by Earle Dickson.

1921

• Artificial life begins, with the firstrobotbuilt.

1922

• Insulin was invented bySir Frederick Grant Banting.
• The first 3-D movie (spectacles with one red and one green lens) is released.

1923

• Garrett A. Morganinvents a traffic signal.
• The television or iconoscope (cathode-ray tube) was invented byVladimir Kosma Zworykin.
• John Harwood invented the self-winding watch.
• Clarence Birdseye inventsfrozen food.

1924

• The dynamicloudspeakerwas invented by Rice and Kellogg.
• Notebooks with spiral bindings were invented.

1925

• The mechanical television a precursor to the modern television, invented byJohn Logie Baird.

1926

• Robert H. Goddardinvents liquid-fueled rockets.

1927

• Eduard Haas III inventsPEZ candy.
• JWA Morrison invents the first quartz crystal watch.
• Philo Taylor Farnsworthinvents a complete electronic TV system.
• Technicolor was invented, which allowed the widespread creation ofcolor movies.
• Erik Rotheim patents anaerosol can.
• Warren Marrison developed the first quartz clock.
• Philip Drinker invents theiron lung.

1928

• Scottish biologist Alexander Fleming discoverspenicillin.
• Bubble guminvented by Walter E. Diemer.
• Jacob Schickpatented the electric shaver.

1929

• American, Paul Galvin invents the car radio.
• Yo-Yowas re-invented as an American fad.

1930

• Scotch tapewas patented by 3M engineer, Richard G. Drew.
• Thefrozen foodprocess was patented by Clarence Birdseye.
• Wallace Carothersand DuPont Labs inventneoprene.
• The "differential analyzer", or analog computer invented by Vannevar Bush at MIT.
• Frank Whittle and Dr. Hans von Ohain both invent ajet engine.

1931

• Harold Edgerton invented stop-action photography.
• Germans Max Knott and Ernst Ruska co-invent theelectron microscope.

1932

• Polaroid photography was invented byEdwin Herbert Land.
• The zoom lens and the light meter were invented.
• Carl C. Magee invents the firstparking meter.
• Karl Jansky invents the radio telescope.

1933

• Frequency modulation (FM radio) was invented byEdwin Howard Armstrong.
• Stereo records were invented.
• Richard M. Hollingshead builds a prototypedrive-in movie theaterin his driveway.

1934

• Englishman Percy Shaw inventscat eyes,also known as road reflectors.
• Charles Darrow claims he invented the gameMonopoly.
• Joseph Begun invents the first tape recorder for broadcasting, the first magnetic recording.

1935

• Wallace Carothersand DuPont Labs invented nylon (polymer 6.6.)
• The first cannedbeermade.
• Robert Watson-Watt patentedradar.

1936

• Bell Labs invents the voice recognition machine.

1937

• Chester F. Carlson invents thephotocopier.
• The firstjet engineis built.

1938

• The ballpoint pen was invented byLadislo Biro.
• Strobe lighting was invented.
• LSDwas synthesized on November 16, 1938, by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann of Sandoz Laboratories.
• Roy J. Plunkett invented tetrafluoroethylene polymers orTeflon.
• Nescafe orfreeze-dried coffeewas invented.

1939

• Igor Sikorsky invents the first successfulhelicopter.

1940

• Dr. William Reich invents theorgone accumulator.
• Peter Goldmark invents the moderncolor televisionsystem.
• Karl Pabst invents the jeep.

1941

• Konrad Zuse'sZ3 became the first computer-controlled by software.
• Aerosolspray cans were invented by American inventors, Lyle David Goodloe and W.N. Sullivan.
• Enrico Fermiinvents the neutronic reactor.

1942

• John Atanasoff and Clifford Berrybuilt the first electronic digital computer.
• Mueller designs aturboprop engine.

1943

• Synthetic rubber was invented.
• Richard James invents the slinky.
• James Wright inventssilly putty.
• Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann discovered the hallucinogenic properties ofLSD.
• Emile Gagnan andJacques Cousteauinvented the aqualung.

1944

• The kidney dialysis machine was invented by Willem Kolff.
• Syntheticcortisonewas invented by Percy Lavon Julian.

1945

• Vannevar Bush proposeshypertext.
• Theatomic bombwas invented.

1946

• Themicrowave oveninvented by Percy Spencer.

1947

• British-Hungarian scientist Dennis Gabor developed the theory of holography.
• Mobile phoneswere first invented. Although cell phones were not sold commercially until 1983.
• Bardeen, Brattain, and Shockley invented thetransistor.
• Earl Silas Tupper patented the Tupperware seal.

1948

• TheFrisbee was invented by Walter Frederick Morrison and Warren Franscioni.
• Velcrowas invented by George de Mestral.
• Robert Hope-Jones invented the Wurlitzerjukebox.

1949

• Cake mix was invented.

Inventions in the Late 1900s

Eager to discover when other life-changing inventions were first developed? Here's a list of inventions in the late 1900s—from credit cards and birth control pills to the World Wide Web.