Nils Bolhin of Volvo invents the three-point seatbelt
The reason the three-point seatbelt is so widely adopted is actually because Volvo opened up the patent so that any car manufacturer could use it in their design.
Transportation
Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to complete transatlantic flight
In 1932, piloting a Lockheed Vega 5B, Earhart made a nonstop solo transatlantic flight, becoming the first woman to achieve such a feat. She received the United States Distinguished Flying Cross for this accomplishment.
The Ford Company invents the Model T, the first car affordable to the masses
Conceived by Henry Ford as practical, affordable transportation for the common man, it quickly became prized for its low cost, durability, versatility, and ease of maintenance.
Wright Brothers invent first successful airplane
With over a thousand glides from atop Big Kill Devil Hill, the Wrights made themselves the first true pilots.
The automobile is invented in France and Germany
Its thirty-five-horsepower engine weighed only fourteen pounds per horsepower, and it achieved a top speed of fifty-three miles per hour.
The Suez Canal official opens, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas
The Suez Canal primarily benefited the sea trading powers of the Mediterranean countries, which now had much faster connections to the Near and Far East.
The Transcaucasus Railway is completed
The Transcaucasus Railway was the first railway in South Caucasus. It was funded by the Russian Empire as a strategic railway connecting the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.
The world’s first underground railway, the London Underground, opens
The world’s first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon in London using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives.
Thomas Davenport invents what is perhaps the world’s first electric vehicle
As early as 1834, he and his wife Emily Davenport developed a battery-powered electric motor. They used it to operate a small model car on a short section of track, paving the way for the later electrification of streetcars. It was the first-ever attempt to apply electrification to locomotion. With his wife Emily and colleague Orange Smalley, Davenport received the first American patent on an electric machine in 1837, U. S. Patent No. 132.
German inventor Karl von Drais invents the bicycle
In 1817, Drais debuted a two-wheeled vehicle, known by many names throughout Europe, including Draisienne, dandy horse and hobby horse.