Chapter 4, Lesson 1
Inventors Change the World
Mr. Julian’s 5th grade class
Topic
Industry and
Immigration
Big Idea
How did the United
States change
through new
inventions and
immigration?
Essential Question
How did new
inventions change the
way people lived and
led to the rise of new
industries?
Places
Menlo Park, New Jersey
Richmond, Virginia
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
People
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison
Lewis Latimer
Frank Sprague
Frank and Charles Duryea
Wilber and Orville Wright
Blanche Stuart Scott
Vocabulary
investor
The First Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell was always
interested in sound and speech.
As a boy in Scotland he tried to teach
his dog how to talk.
He built a talking machine when he was
16.
His next invention was to be a talking
telegraph
The First Telephone
In 1871 he moved to Boston and took a
job teaching the deaf how to speak.
At night Bell worked on his invention.
He hired Thomas Watson to help him.
At the time, many other inventors were
also working on inventing the telephone.
The First Telephone
On March 10, 1876, Bell shouted into
his telephone “Mr. Watson, come here, I
want to see you.” His invention had
worked!
Edison’s Light Bulb
Another inventor of the time was
Thomas Edison.
A year after Bell’s telephone, Edison
invented the phonograph. A machine
that could record a voice and play back
it back.
Edison’s Light Bulb
Edison wanted to build a light bulb that
was safe and dependable.
At the time people used gas lights or
candles.
He began working in his lab in Menlo
Park, New Jersey
Edison relied on his investors to pay for
the experiments.
Edison’s Light Bulb
An investor is someone who gives a
business or project money in hope of
making a profit.
The hardest part of building the light
bulb was finding the right materials.
Edison finally found carbon filament to
work the best.
Edison’s Light Bulb
In 1879 Edison had a bulb that lasted
for two days.
An inventor Lewis Latimer improved the
light bulb by developing carbon
filaments that lasted longer.
Electricity Bring change
Edison knew that his light bulbs needed
electricity to power them.
He built the first power station outside
New York City.
In 1882 he had lights in 40 different
buildings glowing with light bulbs.
Streetcars and
Horseless Carriages
Frank Sprague invented the first electric
streetcar in Richmond, Virginia in 1888.
Electric streetcars traveled faster than
horse-drawn streetcars.
At the same time, other inventors were
working on a horseless carriages, or
automobiles.
Streetcars and
Horseless Carriages
The first cars with gasoline powered
engines were made in Germany.
The brothers Frank and Charlie Duryea
were the first to build a working
automobile in the U.S in 1893.
Invention Time Line
1850 - Sewing machine
1873 - Typewriter
1876 - Telephone
1879 - Electric Light Bulb
1885 - Automobile
1895 - Radio
1903 - Airplane
Sewing Machine
Isaac Singer’s
machine makes it
possible to make
clothing much more
quickly.
Typewriter
American inventor
Christopher Latham
Sholes builds the
first typewriter.
Telephone
The first longdistance phone line
connects New York
to Philadelphia in
1887.
Electric Light Bulb
Electric lights began
lighting city streets
in 1880.
Automobile
The earliest cars
can only travel eight
miles per hour.
Radio
Italy’s Guglielmo
Marconi invents the
radio at the age of
20.
Airplane
Orville and Wilber
Wright build Flyer,
the world’s first
successful airplane.
The Wright Brothers
In Dayton, Ohio, Wilber and Orville
Wright were working on another
invention that would change the world.
They built and repaired bicycles for a
living and knew nothing about flying.
In their free time they decide to build a
flaying machine.
The Wright Brothers
In 1899 they built a glider to test.
They went to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
because of the strong winds and it was
not near any big towns.
They had many failures but kept trying.
Finally, on December 17, 1903 the Flyer
took flight for 12 seconds and flying 120
feet.
Inventions and Industry
People started businesses to offer
telephone and electric service.
Companies began making streetcars,
automobiles and airplanes.
This was good news for Blanche Stuart
Scott. She drove a car across the
country to help advertise for the
company.
Inventions and Industry
This made her famous and provided
another opportunity.
She soon worked for an airplane
company, flying airplanes at fairs and air
shows.
This made her the first American
woman to fly an airplane.
Review Questions
1. How did Alexander Graham Bell’s invention
affect communication in the U.S.?
2. What are two important inventions for which
Thomas Edison is remembered?
3. Describe three inventions that changed they
way people traveled.