Innovations are meant to change the quality of life people are living around the globe. Many successful innovations have shaped society and changed how the world thinks. As we step into the more digitally-awakened times the ways of communication, travel, work, and life are also evolving. However, they were never like this before, innovations have transformed society and various aspects of life that paved the way for future advancements. These innovations range from ancient inventions like the alphabet and the wheel to modern technologies like smart gadgets and now AI (Artificial Intelligence).
Early innovations like the alphabet, developed around 1050 BCE by the Phoenicians, were the first true alphabet to contain vowels and consonants and were the basis for many modern alphabets. The Mesopotamians invented the wheel around 3500 BCE, initially for pottery making. Technologies like the first modern computer created by Konrad Zuse in 1938, stirred a storm in the tech industry. In 1973, Motorola launched the first handheld mobile phone. The iPhone, the first widely available smartphone with multi-touch capabilities, launched on January 9th, 2007. Now, as we are stepping into the AI world, the countries like the USA and China sponsoring the field; it is meant to achieve great heights.
People before these inventions existed. However, in today’s world, they are all necessities and people can not imagine a life without them. Let’s take a look at more than 100 groundbreaking innovations that changed the world forever.
| Innovation | Inventor | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Fire | NA | ~1M years ago |
| Wheel | Mesopotamians | ~3500 BCE |
| Irrigation | NA | ~6000 BCE |
| Sailing | NA | ~4000 BCE |
| Iron | NA | ~1200 BCE |
| Gunpowder | NA | ~850 CE |
| Mechanical Clock | NA | 1250-1300 |
| Printing Press | Johannes Gutenberg | 1455 |
| Steam Engine | James Watt | 1765 |
| Rotary Steam Engine | James Watt | 1781 |
| Light Bulb | Humphry Davy, Thomas Edison | 1800, 1879 |
| Electric Battery | Alessandro Volta | 1800 |
| Loom | Joseph-Marie Jacquard | 1801 |
| Railways | Richard Trevithick | 1804 |
| Steamboat | Robert Fulton | 1807 |
| Telegraph | Samuel Morse | 1809 |
| Stethoscope | René Laënnec | 1819 |
| Dry Cleaning | Thomas L. Jennings | 1821 |
| Electromagnet | William Sturgeon | 1825 |
| Photography | Louis Daguerre | 1826/27 |
| Braille Writing System | Louis Braille | 1824 |
| Steel Plow | John Deere | 1838 |
| Vulcanized Rubber | Charles Goodyear | 1839 |
| Saxophone | Antoine-Joseph Sax | 1842 |
| Sewing Machine | Elias Howe | 1845 |
| Safety Elevator | Elisha Graves Otis | 1852 |
| Steel-Making Process | Henry Bessemer | 1856 |
| Petroleum | NA | 1859 |
| Telephone | Alexander Graham Bell | 1876 |
| Typewriter | Christopher Latham Sholes | 1868 |
| Internal Combustion Engine | Nikolaus Otto | 1876 |
| Phonograph | Thomas Edison | 1877 |
| Automobile | Karl Benz | 1885 |
| Linotype Machine | Ottmar Mergenthaler | 1886 |
| Pneumatic Tire | John Boyd Dunlop | 1887 |
| Kodak Camera | George Eastman | 1888 |
| Basketball | James Naismith | 1891 |
| Radio | Tesla, Marconi | 1897, 1901 |
| Electron | J.J. Thomson | 1897 |
| Air Conditioning | Willis Carrier | 1902 |
| Airplane | Wright Brothers | 1903 |
| Quantum Physics | Planck, Einstein | 1900, 1905 |
| Vacuum Tube | Edison, De Forest | 1883 |
| Computer | Atanasoff, Berry | 1937-1939 |
| Nuclear Power | Enrico Fermi | 1942 |
| ENIAC | Mauchly, Eckert | 1946 |
| Transistor | Bardeen, Brattain, Shockley | 1947 |
| Spaceflight | Soviet Union | 1957 |
| Internet | ARPA/DARPA | 1969 |
| Microprocessor | Ted Hoff (Intel) | 1971 |
| Mobile Phone | Motorola | 1973 |
| Ethernet | Xerox | 1973 |
| TCP/IP | Cerf, Kahn | 1974 |
| Personal Computer (Apple II) | Steve Wozniak | 1977 |
| GPS | U.S. Navy | 1978, 1983 |
| Flash Memory | Toshiba | 1984 |
| World Wide Web | Tim Berners-Lee | 1989-1991 |
| Linux | Linus Torvalds | 1991 |
| Wi-Fi | Intel | 1999 |
| Smartphone (iPhone) | Apple | 2007 |
| CRISPR | Doudna, Charpentier | 2012 |
| Quantum Computing | D-Wave | 2011 |
| Generative AI | NA | (Ongoing) |
| 5G | NA | (Ongoing) |
| VR/AR | NA | (Ongoing) |
| Internet of Things (IoT) | NA | (Ongoing) |
All of the above-mentioned innovations have changed the way of living. They have not just made the world progressive but made convenience a necessary aspect of life. Innovations like these become the stepping stone of the future modern world where life is easier, safer, and more enjoyable.
