Inventors form 1869-1911
By Lucas Johnson
Opening
• Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Alexander
Graham Bell, Isaac Merrit Singer, and
George Westinghouse were all inventors
that people may have heard of, but do
people know what these inventors did and
how they affected the United States of
America? Here is a look at some of the
inventors of 1868-1931.
Thomas Edison
• Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847 in Milan, Ohio.
He died on October 18, 1931 in West Orange, New Jersey. He
had 2 spouses; first Mary Stilwell from 1871-1884. She died of
unknown causes. Then Mina Miller from 1886-1931. Edison
invented many things, such as the phonograph which is a device
used to record and play back sound recordings. It helped people
to listen to music or something else since they couldn’t do that
very well before the phonograph. Edison invented a motion
picture camera called the Kinetograph. The Kinetograph was a
camera where people could stop recording then start. It again it
helped to produce movies. Thomas also invented a working
electric light bulb which worked by heating up until it was hot
enough to glow. It helped to light up homes and even sometimes
streets.
•
Henry
Ford
Henry Ford is another inventor of 1868-1911. He was born on July 30,
1863, in Greenfield Township MI. He died on April 7, 1947 in Dearborn MI.
He had 1 child Edsel Ford. He was married to Clara Jane Bryant. He
invented 3 things the Quadricycle, the Model T, and the Assembly line. The
Quadricycle was a automobile that consisted of 4 wheels, an Ethanol
powered engine, a seat, and some kind of steering system. It could
produce 4 horse-power. The success of the small car led to the success of
Ford Motors. He also invented the model T car. The model T was a car that
middle class families could afford to buy. It was big enough to hold a family
but one person could manage it. The first production model was released
on August 12, 1908. It helped everyone to get around better because other
cars of that period were really expensive and the model T wasn’t. Ford also
introduce the assemble line. This is where a item (not completed) was
moved from station to station and each station would add an
interchangeable part to it until the item was completed. It helped to produce
things way faster and there were more things to go around. Henry Ford
was one great inventor.
Alexander Graham Bell
•
Alexander Graham Bell was another great inventor. He was born on March
3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He died on August 2, 1922, in Beinn
Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, Canada. His wife was Mabel Gardiner Hubbard. He
was at one time a tutor to the deaf. He had many inventions including the
Graphophone, telephone, and Twisted Pair. The Graphophone was an
improved version of Thomas Edison’s phonograph. Alexander wanted it for
teaching the deaf but found that the phonograph didn’t reproduce the
sounds after a few uses so he revised it. They improved the recording disk
by using a lighter substance. It helped people record and reproduce sounds
much better than Thomas Edison’s version. He also invented the telephone
which Alexander chose to invent because of his interest in educating deaf
people. It helped people to communicate better than using a telegraph or
sending a letter because you could just call them up. Another one of his
inventions was the twisted pair. The twisted pair is a where 2 conductors of
a single circuit are twisted together to prevent electromagnetic interference.
It helped to make safer and better wiring for everyone to use. Alexander did
some cool things.
•
Isaac Merrit Singer
Isaac Merrit Singer is another inventor. He was born on October 27, 1811 in
Pittstown Ney York. He died on July 23, 1975 in Paignton, United Kingdom. His
spouses were Isabella Eugenie Boyer (1830-1860) and Catherine Maria Haley. He
invented 3 things: a rock drilling machine, a wood cutting machine, and an improved
sewing machine. The rock drilling machine sold for $2,000 to a canal building
company. It helped them to drill though rock and make deeper canals, and made it
easier to build them. He also invented a wood cutting machine that was destroyed
when his steam boiler exploded. But his apprentice convinced him to try again and
he did. It helped to carve wood so people could make things easier. He also made
better improvements to the sewing machine. Previous sewing machines sewed
about 40 stitches per minute and this one did 900 per minute. So he got a patent for
it. It helped people to sew items way faster and more efficiently.
George Westinghouse
• The last inventor is George Westinghouse. He was born on October
6, 1846 in Central Bridge, New York. He died on March 12, 1914 in
New York City. He had no children or spouse. He invented many
things including a rotary steam engine, a car replacer, and an
improved light bulb. The rotary Steam engine was an engine which
was an internal-combustion engine. It helped during World War 1 to
keep vehicles running and working. He also invented a car replacer
which was a guide to putting derailed cars back on to the track. It
helped with train wrecks to get wrecked trains back on to the track
and moving. The last thing he invented was an improved version of
Thomas Edison’s light bulb by using a more powerful source to step
it up a level. It helped to light up streets and railroads and houses.
George was one great inventor of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
Closing
• There were many great inventors from 1869 to
1911 and they all had unique inventions. They
helped to make America a better place.
Sources
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Thomas Edison info,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison#Other_inventions_and_projects
Thomas Edison’s light bulb,
http://www.fi.edu/learn/sci-tech/edison-lightbulb/edison-lightbulb.php?cts=electricity
Henry Ford and Henry Fords picture,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford
Henry /Fords inventions,
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/ford.htm
Henry Fords Quadricycle,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Quadricycle
Henry Ford’s assembly line,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_line
Alexander Graham Bell and Picture,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell#Family_tragedy
Alexander Graham Bells Graphophone,
http://www.fi.edu/learn/case-files/bell/phone.html
Alexander Graham Bell’s twisted pair,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair
Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone,
http://sln.fi.edu/franklin/inventor/bell.html
Isaac Merrit Singer,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Singer#First_inventions
Isaac Merrit Singer’s Picture,
http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&rls=com.microsoft%3Aen-US&biw=1024&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbnid=dB8rCkJAZt7vM%3A&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rootsweb.ancestry.com%2F~nyrensse%2Fbio206.htm&docid=Zi5OWMZUjeBiwM&i
mgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rootsweb.ancestry.com%2F~nyrensse%2FSinger.gif&w=396&h=504&ei=AWz6UojiJKfXyAGtpoC
ABQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=1266&page=1&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=0CF4QrQMwAQ
Inventors in general,
United States History Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2007, section 1 The second Industrial Revolution, pages 616-617
Encyclopedia Britannica volume 7, Thomas Edison, p. 978
George Westinghouse,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Westinghouse