Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)

This timeline documents notable inventions originating in the United States between the years 1890 and 1945. This period witnessed a rapid acceleration of technological innovation, driven by industrialization, electrification, and emerging scientific understanding. This list prioritizes the first patented or publicly demonstrated version of an invention, recognizing that improvements and variations often followed quickly.

1890-1899:

• 1891: Zipper (Whitcomb Judson) - An early version, initially called a "clasp locker."
• 1893: Automatic telephone exchange (Almon Brown Strowger) - Revolutionized telephone switching.
• 1893: Cream of Wheat (Emile Fruenenthal and his brother) - A popular breakfast cereal.
• 1895: Volleyball (William G. Morgan) - Initially called "mintonette," a blend of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball.
• 1895: Radio telegraphy (Guglielmo Marconi, though disputes exist regarding prior art, he developed a commercially viable system in the US/UK).
• 1899: Aspirin (Felix Hoffmann, German, but mass production and marketing occurred rapidly in the US).

1900-1909:

• 1901: Safety Razor (King Camp Gillette) - Radically changed shaving practices.
• 1902: Air Conditioning (Willis Carrier) - Originally for controlling humidity in a printing plant.
• 1903: Powered flight (Wright Brothers) - The first sustained, controlled heavier-than-air flight.
• 1907: Bakelite (Leo Baekeland) - The first synthetic plastic.
• 1908: Model T Ford (Henry Ford) - Revolutionized automobile production and affordability.

1910-1919:

• 1911: Air conditioning for residential use (Willis Carrier adaption).
• 1913: Assembly line (Henry Ford - refined and implemented on a massive scale for automobile production).
• 1913: Stainless steel (Harry Brearley, English, but development and applications broadened significantly in the US during this period).
• 1915: Pyrex (Corning Glass Works) - Heat-resistant glass for cookware and laboratory equipment.
• 1916: Shopping cart (Sylvan Goldman) - Revolutionized grocery shopping.

1920-1929:

• 1920: Band-Aid (Earle Dickson) - Pre-packaged adhesive bandages.
• 1923: Television (Philo Farnsworth - image dissector tube; Vladimir Zworykin - iconoscope, both crucial for electronic television, with Farnsworth's claim often considered the key early invention).
• 1924: Frozen food process (Clarence Birdseye) - Commercially viable flash freezing.
• 1928: Penicillin (Alexander Fleming, Scottish, discovery, but its large-scale production and clinical application flourished in the US during WWII).
• 1929: Automatic Car Wash (Arthur Eldridge)

1930-1939:

• 1930: Scotch Tape (Richard Drew) - Pressure-sensitive adhesive tape.
• 1931: Frequency Modulation (FM) radio (Edwin Armstrong) - Improved radio broadcasting quality.
• 1935: Nylon (Wallace Carothers) - The first commercially successful synthetic polymer fiber.
• 1937: Jet Engine (Frank Whittle, English, and independently by Hans von Ohain, German, but significant development and production occurred in the US later in the war).
• 1938: Ballpoint Pen (László Bíró, Hungarian, but early models were improved and mass-produced in the US).

1940-1945:

• 1942: Duct tape (Vesta Stoudt) - Originally for sealing ammunition boxes.
• 1942: ENIAC (John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert) - One of the first electronic general-purpose computers (though preceded by earlier machines like the ABC).
• 1943: Slinky (Richard James) - A precompressed helical spring toy.
• 1945: Microwave oven (Percy Spencer) - Accidentally discovered while working on radar technology.

It is important to note that the development of many of these inventions was a collaborative effort, and determining a single "inventor" can be complex. This timeline aims to provide a general overview of key inventions originating in the United States during this period.