History of science 1961 –

Assassination of J.F. Kennedy 1963
Chernobyl explosion 1986
Re- unification of East and West Germany 1990
First hole in Ozone layer indentified
First human heart transplant
Smallpox wiped out by vaccination
Developments in genetic engineering
Gell-Mann suggested existence of quarks
Quarks revealed
Development of microchips and micro-computers
Revolutionized production of all kinds of machines
Quasars observed
First Moon Landings
Hawking developed his theory of black holes
Soviet astronauts complete one year in space
A computer is used to solve a problem set by Archimedes

Laser c. 1960
Silicon chip c. 1961
Microprocessor c. 1971
Space shuttle c. 1981
Superconductors c. 1987

History of science 1921 – 1960

World War 2 1939-1945
First atomic bomb explodes 1945
Edmund Hilary first to climb Everest 1953
Discovery of paleomagnetism
Salk produces polio vaccine
Watson and Crick reveal the structure of DNA
Chadwick discovers neutrons
Bohr discovers structure of atom
Transistor invented first integrated circuit is made, start of microelectronics
Tombaugh discovers Pluto
Habble discovers Universe is Expanding

Electron microscope c. 1939
Programmable electronic computer c. 1943
Fibre optics c. 1955
Artificial satellite c. 1959

History of science 1881 – 1920

Amundsen reaches South Pole 1911
World War 1 1914-18
Russian Revolution 1917
Wegener introduces
Continental drift theory
Freud’s psychoanalysis experiments
Fleming discovers penicillin
Ehrlich begins treating disease with chemicals
Becquerel discovers radioactivity
Curies discover radioactivity of radium
Thomson discovers electrons
Rutherford conducts nuclear physics experiments
Einstein presents his theory of relativity
Planck works on radiation
Ambrose fleming produces first vacuum tube, which will be used in the development of radio and television

Petrol engine car c. 1885
Pneumatic tyre c. 1888
Radio c. 1895
Aeroplane c. 1903
Bakelite c 1908

History of science 1841 - 1880

Marx and Engels publish Communist Manifesto 1848
Lincoln becomes president of USA 1860
Suez Canal opened 1869
Darwin’s observations during the voyage of HMS Beagle confirm Lyell’s theories
Darwin publishes his on the origin of species
Lister begins antiseptic
Medicine and Pasteur shows microbes cause disease
Mendel’s experiments reveal laws of inheritance of genes
Mendeleyev devises periodic table of elements
Bunsen and Kirchhoff design first spectroscope, discover caesium and rubidium with it
Maxwell announces theory of electromagnetic waves
Joule measures amount of heat
Adams and Leverrier pinpoint position of Neptune and Galle finds it with telescope
Mobius discovers a figure with only one side and one edge

Safety pin c. 1849
Passenger lift c. 1852
Refrigerator 1858
Telephone 1875
Light bulb c. 1875

History of science 1800 – 1840

Napoleon invades Russia 1812
Battle of Waterloo 1815
Introduction of Penny post in England 1840
Lyell publishes his theory of Earth’s development
Schleiden and schwann show that all plants and animals are made up of cells
Dalton develops his atomic theory which is the basis of modern physics and chemistry
Davy isolates sodium and potassium using electrolysis
Faraday conducts experiments with electricity and magnetism
Alessandro Volta invents first electric battery
Wallaston and Fraunhofer discover absorption lines in solar spectrum.
Babbage develops programmable analytical machine

Electric battery c. 1800
Steam Locomotive c. 1804
Camera c. 1822
Electromagnet c. 1825
Telegraph c. 1837

History of science 1700 – 1799

Cook Discovers Australia 1770
American Declaration of Independence 1776
French revolution 1789
Edward Jenner introduces smallpox vaccinations
Linnaeus classifies 4400
Animals and nearly 8000 plants
Lavoisier produces table of 31 chemical elements
Euler works out mathematics of refraction of light
Benjamin Franklin performs his kite experiment, proving that lightning is electricity
Herschel discovers Uranus

Steam engine c. 1712
Iron smelting c. 1750
Spinning Jenny c. 1764
Power Loom c. 1785

History of science 1600-1699

Pilgrim fathers sail to America 1620
Louis XIV becomes king of France 1643
Plague kills 70,000 in England 1665
Harvey discovers method of circulation of blood
Malpighi uses microscope to discover the structure of animals and plants
Boyle introduces modern idea of elements
Newton Makes discoveries about light and colourand the laws of gravity and motion
Bacon advocates Experiments for proof of scientific laws
Kepler discovers planets have elliptical orbits –laws of planetary motion
Halley makes observations of comets. They later prove to be bodies with regular orbits (1705)
Calculus invented separately by Newton and liebnitz
Napier develops logarithms
Pascal with fermat develop the mathematics of probability

Telescope c. 1608-09
Submarine c. 1620
Calculating machine c.1643
Steam pump 1698

History of science 1500 – 1599

Luther begins Reformation 1517
Ferdinand Magellan voyage of circumnavigation 1519-21
England defeats Spanish Armada 1588
Vesalius’s on the Structure of the human body – most accurate anatomy book
John Gerard publishes his comprehensive herbal
Galileo researches the laws
Governing falling bodies and pendulums
Stevinus conducts experiments for understanding gravity.
Copernicus puts forward the theory that the whole Universe circulates around the sun
Galileo first to use a telescope effectively and makes many new discoveries

Leonardo Da Vinci draws vertical take-off flying machine c. 1500
Compound microscope 1590
Thermometer 1592

History of science AD 500 - 1499

Marco polo visits Asia 1271-95
Black Death kills 1 in 4 in Europe 1334-51
Columbus lands in the Americas 1492
Avicenna writes The Canon of Medicine-most important medical book for centuries
Alchemy comes to Europe from Arabia where its practice has given rise to first known book on chemistry.
Roger Bacon experiments with lenses and discusses
Spectacles for the longsighted
Leonardo da Vinci makes first observation of capillary action
Chinese observe crab supernovas.
Algebra developed by the Arabs.
Arabs introduce Hindu numerals to Europe

Gunpowder c.1000
Magnetic compass c. 1100
Spectacles c. 1280
First gun c. 1288
Printing press c.1440

History of science 1000BC - AD500

First Olympic Games 776 BC
Roman conquest of Britain ad 43
Vesuvius erupts, destroying Pompeii ad 79
Hippocrates establishes profession of physician and begins to free medicine from superstition.
Chinese develop acupuncture.
Democritus states all matter is made of atoms, solid particles that cannot be divided.
Aristotle develops theory of four basic elements
Archimedes discovers the principle of levers and pulleys
Ptolemy states the Earth is round and is the motionless center of a revolving Universe
Hindus devise a system of numerals.
Euclid writes his Elements. It will be used as a textbook for next 2000 years


Water clocks c.650 BC
Abacus c.500 BC
Archimedes screw c. 200 BC
Paper (for writing) c. 100

History of science 5000 BC – 1000 BC

Tutankhamen Pharaoh of Egypt c. 1358
Israelites leave Egypt for Canaan c. 1200
Egyptians devise the first calendar and use it to predict the Nile floods.
Babylonians predict solar and lunar eclipses.

The wheel
Potter’s wheel
Bricks fired in kilns