The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite, Sputnik I
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. It orbited for three weeks before its batteries died, then silently for two more months before falling back into the atmosphere.
Technology & innovation
Daryl Chapin, Calvin Fuller, and Gerald Pearson at Bell Labs invent the silicon photovoltaic cell, a major breakthrough for solar power
Many argue that this event marks the true invention of PV technology because it was the first instance of a solar technology that could actually power an electric device for several hours of a day.
Louis S. Goodman and Alfred Gilman run first human trial of cancer chemotherapy
In collaboration with thoracic surgeon Gustaf Lindskog, the two doctors from Yale School of Medicine injected the chemical mustine into a patient with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In a monumental moment for the field of medicine, the patient, a Polish immigrant to Connecticut known in literature only as JD, experienced a dramatic reduction in his tumor masses, paving the way for millions of future patients who would benefit from the therapy in the years and decades to come.
DuPont invents nylon, the world’s first commercially viable synthetic textile
Nylon was first used commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush in 1938, followed more famously in women’s stockings or “nylons” which were shown at the 1939 New York World’s Fair and first sold commercially in 1940.
Frederick Banting and Charles Best successfully isolate insulin for the first time
Within a year, people suffering from diabetes were being treated with insulin for a disease that had been considered fatal.
The Panama Canal officially opens
France began work on the canal in 1881, but stopped due to engineering problems and a high worker mortality rate. The United States took over the project in 1904 and opened the canal on August 15, 1914.
Ford Motor Company institutes world’s first moving assembly line for the Model T
The assembly line, driven by conveyor belts, reduced production time for a Model T to just 93 minutes by dividing the process into 45 steps.
Frank Shuman builds the world’s first solar thermal power plant in Egypt
Frank Shuman was an American inventor, engineer, and solar energy pioneer known for his work on solar engines. Shuman built the world’s first solar thermal power station in Maadi, Egypt in 1913, using used semi circle shaped troughs to power a 60-70 horsepower engine that pumped 6,000 gallons of water per minute from the Nile River to adjacent cotton fields.
Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch invent the Haber-Bosch Process allowing for mass-scale production of ammonia-based fertilizer
The Haber-Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today.
The 12-minute-long silent film, The Great Train Robbery becomes the first narrative movie ever
The Great Train Robbery’s popularity led directly to the opening up of permanent movie theaters and the possibility of a future film industry.