The History of Props:
A Timeline of Props and Product Usage
Assembled by R. Finkelstein for the serious Theatre/ Film / TV
Designer/Art Director.
Last
page update was on:
March 09, 2008.
If you find this page of use I'd love to hear from you!
at rfinkels@msn.com
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research tip: Use your browser's "Find on Page" (under
"edit")
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Quick
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Features:
Props Usage Chronology:
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Prop Usage
Chronology
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Adhesives
- 1921 - School Paste, H.B. Fuller 369 School Paste
- 1930 - Richard Drew develops Scotch Tape
- 1939 - Epoxy (patent date) 1946 product on the market as an adhesive
- 1947 - Elmer's
Glue-All (first marketed as Cascorez Glue) (Elmer was the
"spouse" of Borden cow, Elsie!
- 1958 - Super Glue (development)
Advertising Related
- Beer Tray - 1890s
(great collection)
- Charlie the Tuna - 1961
- Clara Peller: "Where's the Beef" - 1/10/1984 (premiere of
the campaign)
- GE Classic Logo - 1898
- Joe DiMaggio speaks for Mr. Coffee - 1974
- milk mustache advertising campaign - 1995
- Promotional Products Industry
- 1881
- Promotional Art Calendar - 1888
- Tony the Tiger for Kellogg's - 1941
- Trademarks, First - 1870
- When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer - 1967
Amusements, Amusement Parks, & Rides:
- Boardwalk, first US - 1870 (Atlantic City)
- Coney Island
- Boardwalk - 1923
- Luna Park - 1903
- Steeplechase - 1897 (2nd park opens 1907)
- Disneyland - 1955
- Ferris Wheel - 1893 (June 21)
- Las Vegas Timeline
- Photobooth
- 1946 (invention) 1958 (marketed)
- Roller Coaster - 1884
Agricultural:
- Barbed Wire - 1867 (widespread use by 1890)
Architecture and Architectural Elements:
- Concrete High rise - 1903 (first built)
- Revolving Door - 1888
- Skyscraper 1883 (Home Insurance Company of Chicago)
Art Supplies: see also [paper] [paint]
[toys] [color]
- Acrylic Paint - 1964
- Crayons, Crayola
- 1903 - 8 colors with the origin of Crayola
- 1949 - 48 colors
- 1958 - 64 colors
- 1962 - "flesh" renamed "Peach"
- 1972 - 72 (with the addition of fluorescent colors)
- 1990 - 80 colors
- 1993 - 96 colors
- 1998 - 120 colors
- Day-Glo® Colors -
Invented in the 1930s but popularized in the 1960s
- Magic Marker - 1952 (the original ones were refillable!)
- Oil
Pastel - 1925
Astronomy
- 1781 - Uranus discovered by Sir William Herschel
- 1846 - Neptune
- 1930 - Pluto (named by an 11 year-old girl!)
Batteries 
- Battery Invention Date - 1799
- Eveready AA Batteries - 1957
- D-Cell - 1898
- 9-volt - 1956
- Watch Battery - 1954 (Invention)
Beauty and Cosmetics: see also [personal hygene]
- Antiperspirants:
- 1888 - Mum
deodorant
- 1902 - Everdry
- 1908 - Hush
- 1914 - Odo-Ro-No
- 1952 - Roll-on deodorants
- 1965 - Aerosol deodorants
- Bobby Pin - 1916
- Chanel No. 5 - 1921
- Cotton Swabs - 1920s
- Electric Hair Dryer - 1890 (origin)
- Jergens Lotion - 1880
- Lipstick - 1915 (US manufacture in tube)
- Mascara and Colored Powder (Helena Rubinstein) - 1917
- Max Factor Makeup - 1920s (era of starting popularity)
- Permanent Wave - 1927
Beverage & Drinking Related History:
- 7UP - 1928
- Absinthe ~1790
- Aluminum Can - 1958-9
- Beer - Beer
Timetable
- 1553 - Beck's
- 1786 - Molson
- 1810 - Oktoberfest
- 1847 - Labatt Beer
- 1876 - Budweiser
(later becomes the 1st national brand)
- 1876 - Beer pasteurization
- 1904 - Lone Star
Beer
- 1933 - beer prohibition ends (4/7)
- 1935 - Beer Can (Kreugers)
- 1935 - Cone Top Beer Cans - Incredible
Picture Archive
- 1935 - Vaughan Novelty Company introduces the still common one piece
bottle opener/can top piercer combination
- 1939 - First "No Deposit, No Return, Not To Be Refilled "
bottle
- 1962 - Iron City Beer uses the "Tab Top Opener" (called a
"tear tab" - banned in mid 1970s)
- 1963 - Beer Keg, stainless steel
- 1963 - Pop-top cans (detachable)
- 1963 - Soft Top Aluminum Cans
- 1975 - Sta Tab, pop top cans marketed. The tab doesn't detach
- 1984 - Twist-Off Cap introduced by Labatt
- Beer Tray - 1890s
- Bottle Caps:
- 1856 - Cork disk attached screw cap (another source cites 1889)
- 1875 - Wire attached mechanical cap (used till about 1915)
- 1892 - Crown
cork invented by William Painter. Cork liners used until replaced by
plastic in the mid 1960s
- 1936 - ROPP Aluminum Cap (Roll-on Pilfer Proof)
- c1966 - Twist-off Crown Cap
- Bottle Openers:
- Carbonated Water - 1767
- Canada Dry - 1907 (Invention of Ginger Ale - 1904)
- Champaign (Don Perignon) - 8/4/1693
- Coca Cola
History
- Coca Cola - 1886
- Coca Cola, Classical Bottle - 1915 (patent date)
- Coca Cola Six Pack - 1923
- Coca Cola in Cans
- 1960 (first regular production) and Coke
Can History 1967, Coke cans go Aluminum
- Coffee - Nice
Timeline of coffee and coffee house history
- Coffee Creamer - 1952 (Pream)
- Coffee Pot - 1803
- Drip Coffee Maker Invention - 1908
- Espresso - originated in 1822
- Freeze-dried - developed in 1938
- Instant coffee mass marketing - 1906
- Percolator - Late 1865
- Sanka - 1903
- Silex Pyrex ®
drip coffee pot - 1915
- Mr. Coffee - 1972
- first vacuum packed coffee - 1900 (Hills)
- Cognac - 1750
- Color Labels - 1934
- Coca Cola
- Cork
Screws:
- 1882 Single lever classic design (patent)
- 1888 Double Lever (British Patent)
- 1900 Combo cork screw / bottle opener (patent)
- 1930 Double Lever (US Patent)
- Crown Bottle Cork (Cap) - 1892
- Diet Drinks - 1952 First Diet Cola - 1959
- Dr. Pepper - 1885 (invention) 1888 (sale in bottles)
- Drink Mixers:
- Drinking Fountain, sanitary - 1909
- Fanta - 1958
- Gin and Tonic - 1852
- Ginger Ale - 1861
- Glass Blowing Machine - 1899
- Ice Cubes
- 1950 - Ice Cube Tray with Lever Ejector Mechanism (patent application
date) Arthur J. Frei
- Kool
-Aid® - 1927 (originally spelled Kool-Ade. Non concentrate called,
Fruit Smack) Kool
-Aid® Pitcher - 1954
- Malted
Milkshake - 1922 (Walgreens - Ivar Coulson)
- Milk & Milk Bottles Bottles: 1880-1900
- Ads on Milk Bottles - 1920s
- Condensed milk patented - 1856 (Gail Borden)
- Milk tank trucks - 1914
- Milk vending machines - 1950
- Paper Milk
Carton - 1906-8 (introduction in San Francisco)
- Paper Milk
Carton, Folded - 1915 (patent date) Marketed in the 1930s
- Paper Milk
Carton with pour spout - c. 1950
- Plastic
coated milk carton - 1953
- Plastic containers - 1964
- Mixed Drinks
- 1860 - Martini (first spelled: Martinez)
- 1900s - Cocktail Shaker
- 1907 ? - Cocktail (Martini) glass
- 1930s - Bloody Mary
- 1948 - Margarita, named for Margarita Sames
- Moxie (soft drink) 1885
- Nehi - 1924
- Orange Crush - 1906
- Pepsi Cola
- 1898 - Date of first sales
- 1903 - Trademark Registered
- 1934 - 12oz bottle
- 1964 - Diet Pepsi
- 1970 - Pepsi is first to introduce the 2-liter bottle
- Pilsner Glass - 1842
- Plastic Soft Drink Bottles - 1970 PET (current plastic) bottles -
1991
- Pull Tabs - 1962 Stay on Tabs - 1974
- Root Beer, Hires - 1876 (first concocted 1869)
- Royal Crown Cola - 1934
- Schwepps - 1794
- Soda Fountain - First Patents 1819, 1870 (Front Service Soda
Fountain - 1903)
- Soda
Glasses - Great collection of images
- Soda pop in
a can, first - 1936 (see the picture with the link)
- Soda Water - 1807 (Townsend Speakman of Philadelphia)
- Soft Drink Invention
- 1897 (1832 - era of popularity begins)
- Sprite - 1961
- Tea - Nice Tea
History Site
- Afternoon
Tea - 1840s (Interesting history)
- Iced Tea - 1904
- Iced Tea, Instant - 1953
- Tea Bag - 1908 (invention). Era of greatest popularity came after WWII
around 1920
- Tea
Dance - 1819
- Tea Kettle, whistling - 1921 (Joseph Block)
- Vending Machines, Soda - Massive
collection of images
- Vending Machines for Cans - 1965
- Water, Bottled
- 1820 - Saratoga Springs bottled water
- Water Fountains:
- Kohler Bubbler -
1888 (invention)
- Water Cooler - 1911 electric refrigerated version
See also:
Broadcasting and Recording see
also [phonographs/records] [Radio/TV]
- BBC - 1922
- Cable TV 1948 (developed)
- CBS - 1927
- Color TV, Regular broadcasts in the US - 1954
- Corporation for Public Broadcasting - 1967
- First TV Commercial - 1941 (Bulova Watch)
- FM, Regular Broadcasts begin - 1940
- CNN - 1980
- Infomercials - 1984
- Instant Replay - 12/4/1963 (Army-Navy Football Game)
- Lone Ranger Radio Show - 1930
- Microphones
- MTV - 8/1/1981
- NBC - 1926
- PBS - 1969
- Radio
Advertising Timeline
- Radio Broadcast, First Regular (KDKA, Pittsburgh) - 1920
- Radio Drama, First - 1922
- Roots - 1977
- TV Broadcasts, First Regular (from Schenectady) - 1928
- Viewer Discression Warning, First - 9/13/1977 (Soap)
- Weather Channel - 1982
See Also:
Building & Construction Products:
see also [Home Decoration]
- Chain Link:
- Woven wire,
a precursor developed in 1907 by Western Wire Products
- Concrete - An
External Timeline and another
timeline
- Concrete Block - 1900 starts to be common
- Geodesic Dome - 1954
- Glass Block - 1935 (Corning-Steuben block)
- Hardhat - 1919
- Oriented Strand Board - 1949 (invention) 1965 (patent) 1978 (use)
- Portland Cement Invention - 1824
- Reinforced Concrete - 1889 (first use in a bridge)
- Scaffolding:
. . .Great
Scaffolding Reference
- Tubular Scaffolding proposed - 1896
- Tubular Scaffolding systems standardized by around 1911
- Tubular Scaffolding popular by 1920
- Timber scaffolding popularity diminishes - 1927
- Sheet Rock (Gypsum Board) - 1901 (1st mill in the US)
- Styrofoam brand (DOW) - 1944
Cleaning:
- Bon Ami - 1886
- Borax - discovered in California in 1856
- Brillo® Pads - 1913 (also listed as 1915)
- Clorox -
1914 (commercial) 1916-18 (household)
- Detergent - 1890s (as contrasted with "soap")
- Dial Soap - 1948 "Aren't You Glad You Used Dial" -
1953
- Dry Cleaning - 1849 (discovery)
- Ivory Soap - 1878-9
- Laundromat - 1934 (The Washeteria in Texas)
- Liquid Soap - 1865 (1st patent) 1980 - Modern liquid soap for hand washing
- Mop, classic industrial string variety - 1893
(Thomas Stewart)
- Purex bleach - 1922
- S.O.S Pads - 1917
(note no period at the end. read the story at the link)
- Swan Soap - 1940
- Tide - 1946
- Vacuum Cleaner - 1869 (Electric
Vacuum cleaner invented in 1907)
Cloth & Sewing and Clothing Invention Related: see
also [Fashion] [Materials]
- Asbestos Fabric bans begin - 1972
- Buckram - 1860
- Calico - 1498 (first imported from Calicut, India)
- Dacron® - 1950 (introduced in 1955)
- Duffel - the fabric came originally from Duffel Belgium
- Dye History Timeline
- Electric Flat Iron - 1882 (Invention) 1912 is another date
cited
- Fashion Fad Chronology
- Gauze - named for it's place of origin, in Gaza
- Gore-Tex Fabric - 1976 developed by W. L. Gore
- Jacquard Loom - 1801
- Kevlar® - 1965 (or 1971) First vests: 1975
- Kodel Polyester Fabric - 1968
- Lycra® - 1958 (AKA Spandex)
- Madras - Named for the city of the same name in India
- Nylon - 1930 (Invention) also dated to 1928 (the word was coined though in
1938)
- Nylon Stockings -
- 1938-9 Invention
- May 15, 1940 - First public sales
- Did not become popular till after WWII)
- Oilcloth - Invented around 1627
- Organdy - 1835 (Named from Urgandi, Turkestan)
- Patent Leather - 1818
- Pinking shears - 1893 (patent date)
- Polyester (patent date) - 1942
- Rayon - (started its life as "artificial silk")
- 1891-4 - Discovery
- 1905 -
Marketing
- 1924 - Rayon
was adopted as a new word on May 23rd by the National Retail Drygoods
Association)
- Scotchgard™ - 1956
- Safety
Pin - 1849 (patent date)
- Sewing Machines:
- 1845 - Howe's version
- 1851 - Singer's version
- Sewing Patterns
- 1836 -
Ebeneezer Butterick of Massachusetts develops the graded (or multi-size)
tissue-paper pattern.
- Tweed - Takes its name from the Tweed River in Southern Scotland
- Velcro - 1948 (invention) (perfected by 1956-7) Invented by Georges de Mestral
- Vinyl coated
waterproof fabrics - 1931 (commercial introduction
- Zipper - 1905
Colors and Pigments [Reference
Website] [Timeline
of Color Systems]
- Cadmium Yellow - 1819
- Cadmium Red - 1909
- Cerulean Blue - 1870
- Cobalt Violet - 1860
- Emerald Green - 1788
- Magenta - 1859 (named for the Battle of Magenta)
- Mauve - 1856 (discovered by William Perkin)
- Phthalocyanine (Phthalo) Green - 1927
- Phthalocyanine Blue - 1928
- Prussian Blue - 1724
- Sepia - Latin for Cuttlefish, from whence the original dye derived
- Ultramarine Blue - 1824
Commerce, Money, and Sales:
- 1040 form - 1913
- American Express travelers checks - 1891
- ATM Machines - 1969 (first use) Started to become visible in the mid 1970s
- Bar Codes
UPC
- 1948 - Invention
- Patent - October 7, 1952
- 1974 - Initial usage on store products. (Marsh's supermarket,Troy,
Ohio / Wrigley's Gum)
- Burglar Alarm - 1858 (first use)
- Cash Register - 1879-1884
- Coupons - 1895
- Credit Card - 1951 (Diners' Club) Magnetic stripe added in 1971
Smart Card 1974
- Department Stores
- 1838 - Bon Marche store opens in Paris
- 1887 - America's first Department Store (NY's H.H. Heyn's Department
Store)
- 1902 - Macy's NY Store
- Grange
Movement - 1868 (Patrons of Husbandry)
- Grocery
Bag, Flat bottom - 1870
- Grocery
Bag, Plastic - 1977 (1982 in its current form)
- Grocery Store
- 1859 - A&P
- 1916 - Self Service
Piggly
Wiggly®, Memphis, Tennessee
- Check-out stands
- individual pricing
- refrigerated cases
- uniforms
- Kmart - 1977 (was Kresge)
- S.S. Kresge - 1899
- Mail
Order Catalog (Montgomery Ward) - 1872
- Odd-Price
Sale ($8.99 etc.) - 1875 It's not why you think!
- Paper
Money (US) 1862
- J C Penney - 1902 (JC = James Cash)
- Piggy
Bank - 1500s
- Sears, Roebuck and Co - 1893
- Shopping Cart - 1936 (invention) 1947-50 (nesting carts)
- Shopping
Bag - 1912 (gained popularity quickly)
- Shopping Center - 1922
- Shopping Mall, Enclosed - 1956
- Stock Ticker - 1870
- Target - 1961
- Trademarks, First registered in the US - 1870
- Trading stamps - 1896
- S&H - 1951 (Denver's King Soopers)
- Travelers
Cheques - 1891
- Vending Machines:
- 1880s - Intro in Britain
- 1887 - Gum machines introduced in New York (Tuti-Fruti)
- 1907 - gumballs
- 1926 - Cigarettes
- 1950 - milk
- 1965 - Cans of soda pop
- Vending Machines, Soda -
Massive collection of images
- Walgreen's
first store - 1901
- Wal-Mart - 1962
- Wooden Money / Wooden
Nickel - 1931
- Woolworth Store, first - 1879 (Utica, NY)
- ZIP Codes - 1963 (Zip+4 - 1983)
Computer & Technology Related: (See also
Radio...)
- Altair 8800 - 1975
- Amazon.com® - 1995
- America Online - 1989 (1985 as Quantum Computer Services)
- Apple I - 1976
- Apple II - 1977
- Apple Newton MessagePad - 1994
- ARPANET - 1969
- Atari Video Computer System - 1977
- AutoCAD - 1982
- BASIC - 1964
- BBS Software - 1978
- BlackBerry 850 Wireless Handheld - 1998
- Business Mainframe: General Electric installs the first full-scale computer system for a
business in 1954
- Calculator, Pocket - 1972 (not too common until about 1974-5)
- Camcorders - 1983
- CD-R - 1991
- Colossus, first programmable digital computer - 1943
- Commodore 64 Computer - 1982
- Compact Disks for music introduced - 1983
- Compact Disks for Music outsell vinyl - 1988
- Computer Graphics - the phrase is coined in 1960
- Computer, the word for the machine - 1944
- Ctrl+Alt+Del - 1980
- Digital Computer, first (Atanasoff and Berry) 1942
- Domain Names - 1984
- Dongle ~1980
- DVD - Digital Versatile Disc - 1997 (Release)
- E-Mail,
first - 1971 (Ray Tomlinson also used the @ symbol first) (also
1969 Leonard Kleinrock)
- Emoticon :-) - 1982
(September 19, 1982 - Carnegie Mellon U)
- ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) - 1946
- Eudora - 1988
- Fiber Optics - 1970
- Floppy Disk Drive, 8" - 1967
- Floppy Disk Drive, 5.25" - 1976
- Floppy Disk Drive, 3.5" - 1980
- Fortran - 1954
- Fractal Graphics - 1975
- Geodesic Dome - 1954
- GIF file format - 1987
- Gopher - 1991
- Intel
- 1972 - 8008 (date of marketing)
- 1978 - 8086
- 1979 - 8088 (Basis of initial IBM PCs)
- 1985 - 386
- HTML - 1991
- IBM Personal Computer - 1981
- IBM Selectric Ball Typewriter - 1961 (1973 - self correcting)
- iMAC - 1998
- iPod (Apple) - 2001
- Inkjet Printer - 1976 (HP Thinkjet introduced in 1984)
- Integrated circuit - 1959
- Internet invention - 1973 (not "the web") . . .
by Al Gore :)
- LAN - 1981
- Laser - 1960
- Laser printer - 1975
- Light Emitting Diode, LED - 1961-2 (invention)
- Light Pen - 1955
- LISTSERV - 1986
- Long distance phone calls - 1884
- Macintosh Computer - January 24, 1984 (introduced to the public at a
shareholder's meeting)
- Mass Production of Computers begins - 1954 (IBM 650)
- Microprocessor - 1971
- Microsoft - 1975 (intel) 1969 (US Navy)
- Mini-Disc - 1992
- Mouse
- 1968 (invention)
- MP3 Player - 1998
- MS-DOS - 1981
- Nintendo Game Boy - 1989
- Osborne Portable Computer - 1981
- Palm Pilot
- 1994
- PalmPilot 1000 - 1996
- Personal Computer - 1976
- Photo CD, Kodak - 1990
- Playstation 2 - 2000
- Prodigy - 1988
- Punched Card, IBM 80 Column - 1928
- Speak & Spell (Texas Instruments) - 1978
- Super Computer 1976
- Surfing the Internet (as a phrase) - 1992
- Timex/Sinclair 1000 - 1982
- TiVo HDR110 - 1999
- Touch Screen - 1982
- Transistor - 1947-8
- Tron - 1980
- TRS 80 - 1979
- TRS-80 Model 100 - 1983
- Univac I - 1951
- UNIX - 1983
- VGA - 1987
- Virus, Computer - 1983 (Fred Cohen)
- VisiCalc - 1979
- Walkman TPS-L2 (Sony) - 1979
- Windows 1.0 - 1984-5 said to be stable, and user friendly
- Windows 2.0 - 1987 said now to be REALLY stable, user friendly
- Windows 3.0 - 1990 said now to be REALLY TRULY stable, user friendly,
and plug & Play
- Windows 95 - 1996 said now to be REALLY TRULY POSITIVELY stable,
user friendly, and plug & Play
- World-Wide-Web - 1989
- Mosaic browser (first graphic browser for the public) 1993
- Z3 - first to be controlled by software - 1941
- Zip Drive, Iomega - 1994, 1995
See also:
Cooking Utensils: see also [Appliances] [Food]
[Beverages]
- Pots and Pans
- Aluminum Cookware manufacture process invented - 1886 (Wear-Ever)
- Porcelain cookware - 1788
- Saugus Cast Iron Pot - 1642
Doors:
- Automatic Sliding Door - 1960
Fads & Trends:
- Bauhaus:
1919-1933
- Flamingo lawn ornament - 1957
- Metrification in the US - 1973 (posting of metric distances on I71 in
Ohio)
- Panty Raids
- 1952
- Streaking
- 1974
- Emil Coué: "Every day in every way I am getting better and
better," Self-help fad - 1926
- Mah Jong - 1922-23 fad begins in the US
- Mendelssohn's Wedding March - 1858
- Streaking - 1973
- Woodstock - 1969
Fashion:
- Attached Collar (Arrow Shirt and Van Heusen) 1921
- Baseball Cap - 1876
- Bikini
- 1946
- Blue
Jeans - 1873
- Bloomers - Named for but not invented by Amelia Jenks Bloomer
- Brassiere -
- 1910 - first US Patent
- 1913 - "invention" by Mary Phelps Jacob
- 1923 - Maidenform Bra introduced by Ida Rosenthal
- 1977 - Sports Bra - 1977
- Derby - 1780
- Fedora - 1882
- Flip flops - 1940s
- Nylon Stockings go on sale - May 15, 1940
- Panama Hat - 1914
- Pantyhose - 1959
- Paper Dress - 1966
- Shoes
-
- Hush
Puppies - 1958
- U.S. Keds
- 1916
- Converse Basketball Shoes - 1916
- Nike - 1972
- Rubber Soles - 1892
- Saddle
Shoes first created - 1906
- Stetson - 1860s
- Stonewashed Jeans - 1984
- T-shirt
marketed by Hanes - 1930 (used earlier by the Navy)
- Top Hat - January 15, 1797
- Tuxedo - 1886 (named for Tuxedo Park, NY)
- Twiggy - 1966
- Umbrellas
- Modern collapsible metal ribbed design - 1852
- in Common use by women - by 1720
- Use by
men - 1750
See also:
- Underoos
- 1978
- Yves Saint Laurent - 1958
Fast Food & Restaurants: see also [Food]
- 7-Eleven - 1964 (Long Island)
- Arbys - 1964 (Boardman, Ohio)
- Automat,
Horn & Hardart - 1902
- Burger Chef - 1954
- Burger King - 1954
- Chuckwagon invention - 1866
- Diners
- Drive-In, first - June 6, 1933, Camden, NJ
- Dunkin' Donuts - 1950
- KFC - 1939 (Franchises start around 1952)
- McDonalds - 1948 (sold Hotdogs) - Roy Crock joined in 1954 - Big Mack:
1968
- Egg McMuffin (national distribution) 1975 (First introduced in 1973)
- Menus -
1st was in 1765, Boulanger's Restaurant, Paris
- Pizza Hut - 1958 founding in Wichita, Kansas
- Starbucks - 1971 (founding)
- White Castle - 1916
Flags and Banners:
Food and Cooking, and Eating: see also [Fast
Food]
Furniture
- Beds
- Inner spring mattresses and box springs - 1940s on (era of popularity)
- Murphy Bed
- 1900
- Bentwood Origins - 1876
- Chairs:
- Beanbag -
1968
- Cantilever chair - 1929
- Inflatable - 1967
- La-Z-Boy - 1927 (founding)
1929 (first upholstered recliner)
- Plastic,
First design to be introduced - 1951
- Rocking
Chair History and Image Collection - Wonderful
- Vienna Bentwood
Café chair No. 14 - 1859
- Wire Mesh Shell
Seat - 1952
- Sofas, Settles, and the like:
- Gustav Stickley
Design - 1909 (Arts and Craft Mission Style Classic)
- Styles:
- Modern
Living Style by Russell Wright - 1935
- Tables:
- Coffee Table - 1920s
- Formica top - 1939 (first use) (see Formica under materials too)
- Skylark or Boomerang motif 1954 Raymond Loewy from a 1950 design
by Brooks Stevens
Home Decoration: see also [Furniture] [Paint]
[Materials]
- Asphalt Tile - 1920s (most popular floor tile in the 1950s)
- Con-Tact paper introduced - 1953
- Cork Floor - 1904 first use
- Cork Floors - 1920s Era of greatest popularity (1930s in homes)
- Glass Mirror - c1300 (earlier ones were polished metal)
- Linoleum Floors
- Linoleum Invented in England in 1860 (first British plant, 1863) (First
US plant: 1872)
- Inlaid Linoleum - 1882-92 (latter date is when
the process is automated)
- Armstrong Linoleum floors - 1908
- Pressed Metal Ceilings - 1880s (1890-1930
greatest popularity)
- Rubber Flooring - 1894
- Venetian Blinds - 1841 patent (modern mechanism)
First US blinds: 1761 1930s is era of popularity with 2" slats
- Plastic Flowers - 1955
- Vinyl Flooring - Late 1940s
See also this graphical timeline of Furniture
History Periods
Hardware
- Phillips Head Screw - 1930s
- Robertson Screw - 1908
Holiday and Social Stuff
- April Fool's Day - 1564, France
- Candy
Canes - 1670
- Christmas as a business holiday - 1850s
- Christmas Cards - 1842 (first commercial publication)
- Christmas
Cards - c. 1918 (start of popularity)
- Christmas Tree Related:
- Christmas
Trees - 1848 (popularity begins in Britain)
- Christmas
Tree Lights - 1920s became popular
- A Charlie Brown Christmas - 1965
- Aluminum Christmas Tree - Introduced, Christmas 1959 (popularity 1960-65
- American Made Glass Ornaments - 1871
- Metal Tree
Stand Patent - 1876
- Flocked (with
flour) tree fashion - 1883
- Christmas
Tree Ornaments, machine blown glass from Corning - 1939
- Tinsel - 1870s (Invented in Germany, from real silver, c1610)
- Artificial
Trees - 1913 (Sears)
- Father's Day
- 1910 - First proclaimed in Washington State
- 1943 - Recorded in print
- 1956 - Congressional Recognition
- Hallmark Cards - 1910
- Happy Birthday to You (song)
- 1893 - music w/ song title "Good Morning to All"
- 1924 - March 4, published with new lyric "Happy Birthday Dear
___"
- 1933 - Common singing as "Happy Birthday to You"
- 1934 - Sung in the Broadway show, As Thousands Cheer, kicking
off copyright enforcement tradition.
- 2010 - Supposedly the song finally falls into public domain at some
point in this year!
- Jingle Bells - 1857
- Kwanzaa - 1966
- Macy's
Holiday Windows - 1870s
- Miss America - 1920
- Mother's Day - 1908 (1914 congressional recognition made it a national
holiday)
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
- 1939 - pamphlet for Montgomery Wards
- 1949 - Gene Autry recording
- Santa Claus
- Times Square New Years Ball, First drop of - 1/1/1908
Household Supplies & Appliances
- Can opener
- Coat Hanger - 1903 (cardboard tube added in 1935)
- Coffee Pots & Coffee Makers:
- Coffee Pot invented - 1803
- Silex Pyrex ®
drip coffee pot - 1915
- Cuisinart - 1973
- Dishwasher - 1886
(invention date) (1914 - Household version)
- Doorbell
- Electric - 1870s ? (the electric bell itself was said to have been
invented in 1831)
- Clockwork Mechanical: 1888 - New Departure Bell Company
- Victorian
- Company sells reproductions. Web is illustrated
- Electric Air Conditioner -
- 1902 Invention by Carrier
- 1906 Patent
- 1907 Coining of the word
- 1911 (invention) also dated to 1902
- 1914 Carrier, (also listed as 1902-6)
- 1916 First Theatre to be air conditioned (in a modern way) was The
Empire Theatre in Montgomery, AL
- 1928 First office building to be air conditioned:
- Electric Carving Knife - 1939 (invention)
- Electric Fans:
- First - 1882
- Classic Table
Version - 1908
- Electric Room Heater - 1892
- Electric Stoves, Ovens and Ranges:
- 1630 - metal range fired by coal
- 1802 - cast iron, even-heating range with flue
- 1860s - Gas ranges are popular
- 1890s - Electric stoves appear
- 1968 - the "counter
that cooks"
- Electric Toaster - 1918 (Invention) 1919 (pop-up toaster)
- Electric Washing Machine - 1907 (Invention)
- Fly
Swatter - 1905
- Fuller Brush - 1906
- Garbage Disposall - 1935 (General Electric)
- Gas Stove - 1825
- Iron
- GE Electric Iron - 1904
- Hotpoint
Electric Iron - 1905 (actually had a "hot point")
- Steam Iron - 1926
- Collapsible Ironing Board - 1892
- Lawnmower
- 1875 - first use of the word
- 1919 - motorized by Edwin George
- Microwave Oven
- 1946 patent)
- 1947 Radarange (5' tall!)
- 1955 Tappan home unit (huge and not popular)
- 1967 Compact Home Radarange
- Microwave Oven sales exceed gas ranges - 1975
- Mr. Coffee - 1974
- Mixers/Blenders
- Poplawski blender - 1922 (later Oster)
- Model
"K" KitchenAid - 1927 (design still around today)
- Waring Blendor (sic.) - 1936 (marketed in 1937)
- Plastic Grocery Bags - 1977
- Plastic Buckets - 1967 (lids 1971-2)
- Refrigerator
- 1803 - Ice Box Invented in Maryland by Thomas Moore who named his
ice box "refrigerator"
- 1916 - First electric refrigerator
- 1918 - Kelvinator
-(or 1914)
- 1921 - Frigidaire
- 1927 - Monitor
Refrigerator - (compressor on top)
- 1929 - First with no visible legs
- 1939 - Dual temp. (Refrig/freezer combo)
- Smoke
Alarm - 1969
- Toaster
- First GE Model Electric - 1907 (exposed heating elements
- First Pop-Up Toaster, The
Toastmaster
- 1926
- Tupperware
- 1945
- Water Softeners - 1924 (Culligan)
- Water Heater - 1889
Judicial & Law Enforcement:
- drawing & quartering - 1814 (abolishment in Britain)
- Electric Chair - 1889
- Gas Chamber for
execution after trial - Feb 8, 1924 (San Quentin's was 1938)
- Getaway Car in Robbery - 1901 (first)
- Handcuff, modern - 1914
(Peerless®)
- Gillotine
- 1792
- Lie Detector - 1921 (invention) 1924 (use) (earlier blood-pressure only
version came in 1915 from William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder
Woman)
- Police Car - 1922
- Police
Package (car built specifically for police use) - 1950
- Police Car Lights
- 1979 - single revolving beacon replaced
Lighting: (more to come soon)
- Argand Burner Patent - 1784
- Candles:
- 1834 - Machine candle making
- Christmas Lights
- Electric
- 1846 - Paris Opera uses arc light effects
- 1859 - 1st home to be lit with electric incandescent lighting (LONG
before Edison's supposed "invention")
- 1879 - Edison's spectacular demonstrations
- 1881 - Savoy Theatre lit by Electricity (not likely the first!)
- Flashlight
History and an amazing
account of the first Eveready light!
- 1897 - First marketed flashlight (by Richard Finkelstein's research)
- AAA Cell Mini Maglight - 1987
- First Eveready Rechargeable flashlight - 1967
- Gaslight
- 1806 - Early Theatre Use (not necessarily on stage)
- 1810 - First US Patent
- 1820s - Era of popularity in theatres
- 1848 - White House lit with gas
- Gooseneck Lamp -
1928
- Limelight
- 1856 - Possible 1st use in theatre (first demo was in 1825)
- Oil Lighting
- 1854 - Patent of Kerosene
- 1858 - 1st US Kerosene burner patent
- Theatre (see also listings above)
- Gel - 1877 Brigham Sheet Gelatin Co. is founded
- 1883 - First stage production photo
- 1908 - Light Bridge unveiled by Maude Adams for Broadway use
- 1911 - Klieglight (as a lighting unit)
Locks and Security:
- cylinder pin-tumbler lock, developed by Linus Yale 1861-65
- Yale Combination lock - c. 1862
Luggage, Cases, Trunks, etc.
- Brief Cases
- 1965 - Samsonite's sleek Royal
Traveller Attaché Case
Mail Service
- Postal Service, US
- 1825 - Dead letter office
- 1841 - C.O.D. (not a USPS service)
- 1847 - Postage stamps
- 1852 - Stamped envelopes
- 1855 - Registered Mail
- 1858 - Street letter boxes - Albert Potts
- 1860 - Pony Express (or 1858)
- 1870 - Postcards in Britain (see also 1898)
- 1873 - Penny postal card
- 1891 - Modern
street mailbox (as we know it today) Philip
B. Downing
- 1898 - Private postcards authorized (US) (see also 1870)
- 1902 - Rural free delivery, permanent
- 1910 - 1st metered letter (December 10)
- 1913 - Parcel post
- 1913 - Collect-on-delivery
- 1915 - Classic
rural mailbox, tunnel shaped, hinged lid, red flag (Roy J. Joroleman)
- 1918 - Airmail (begins first in England in 1911)
- 1920 - Metered postage
- 1920 - Transcontinental Air Mail Service
- 1929 - Larger version of the 1915 Joroleman box approved.
- 1942 - V-mail
(lots of photos in the link)
- 1943 - Postal zoning system in 124 major post offices
- 1963 - ZIP Codes adopted (Invented by Robert A. Moon in
1944)
- 1964 - Self-service post offices
- 1974 - FedEx
- 1977 - USPS Express Mail, permanent
- 1983 - ZIP + 4
- Postcards - 1873 (Springfield
Mass., Morgan Envelope Factory)
Materials:
- Aluminum - 1812, discovered by Sir Humphrey Davy
- Asbestos bans begin - 1972
- Plastics invented - 1862
- Plastic Bag
Chronology
- Bakelite - 1907-1909 (invention)
- Cellophane
- 1908 invention, 1919 marketing, 1927 Waterproof
- CelluloidTM - 1866
- Cellulose acetate - 1927
- Synthetic diamond - 1955
- FormicaTM
- Company founding, 1913 (produces mostly
industrial products)
- Laminate manufacture - 1914
- Popularity begins 1930s-40s
- First table top - 1939
- Popularity in homes - 1950s
- Boomerang Pattern - 1950
- VirrVarr pattern (like a jungle of random straight
lines) - 1958
- Glass:
- Fiberglass - 1938 Owens-Corning Fiberglas® Corporation
(Pink Panther mascot - 1980)
- Fiberglass,
Molded with polyester resin - 1953
- Glassworks, first in the US - 1775, Glassboro, NJ
- Pyrex
® - 1915 (introduction)
- Safety
Glass - 1903
- Wire Glass - 1892 (patent)
- Masonite & Hardboard - 1924-5
- melamine - 1938
- Mylar® - 1952 (date of development by DuPont)
- Neoprene - First marketed in 1931
- Oil Well - 1859
- Plastics, First automatic injection molding machine - 1936
(non-automatic, 1921)
- Plexiglass - 1936 (introduction in the US as a sheet)
- Polycarbonates - 1959
- Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) (used in soft drink
bottles) Developed in 1941 - Used in containers in the 1970s
- Polypropylene - 1957
- Polyethylene - 1935 (date of first production in Britain)
also 1942
- Polystyrene Usage - 1937
- Polystyrene, Expanded (styrene foam) - 1950
- Polyurethane Foam, Flexible - 1950
- Polyurethane Foam, Rigid - 1960s
- Rubber, Vulcanized - 1833
- Steel
- Cold Rolled - 1859 (patent)
- Stainless Steel - June 4, 1912 - Date of discovery
- Stainless Steel Dinnerware - 1921
- Teflon - 1945 (based on discoveries of 1938) (Patent filed,
1939)
- Tyvek® - 1966 (date of marketing)
- Vinyl
- 1926 (discovery date) (use most popular after WW II)
- WD-40 - 1953 (invention) 1958 (sales to consumers)
- Window Screen
- 1757 - Around this time, wire fabric is developed for
the paper making industry.
- 1870s (Roebling begins manufacture of wire fabric)
- Roebling
Resource and Roebling
Timeline
- First used in German Mines - 1834 to 1854
- 1889 - James Stone patents 6 by 25 filler wire rope
Medical/Dental
- AIDS - 1981 (Named in 1982) (HIV discovered in 1983)
- Alka-Seltzer - 1931
- Anesthesia - 1841-5 (ether's first use)
- Aspirin
- 1899 - Powder
- 1915 - Asperin Tablets
- Band-Aid
- 1921 (tradename came in 1924)
TIMELINE
- Birth control pills invented - 1952 (FDA Marketing
approval: 5/11/1960) (The
phrase "birth control": 1914)
- CAT Scan - 1975
- Complex (psychological) - 1906
- Condom, rubber - 1870s
- Cryosurgery - 1960
- Defibrillator - 1932
- Dental Chair
- 1790 - 1st dental chair
- 1840 - 1st professional model (patented 1848)
- 1958 - Reclining dental chair
- Dental Drill, Electric - 1875 (invention)
- Dental Floss (modern) - 1815 (Levi Spear Parmly)
- DNA - 1953
- Electroencephelograph (EEG) - 1929
- Ex-Lax - 1905 (first called Bo-Bo)
- Eyeglasses
- 1291 - date of first use in Pisa
- 1451 - use of concave lenses
- 1727 - Modern frames
- 1775 - Invention of the Bifocal by Ben Franklin
- 1820s - Bifocals commonly used
- 1827 - Correction for Astigmatism now possible
- 1877 - contact lenses (covered the whole
eyeball....ouch!)
- 1948 - Plastic contact lens
- Facelift - 1901 (first)
- Heart, Artificial - 1982
- Heart Transplant - 1967
- Heimlich Maneuver - 1970
- Heroin - ~1897
- LSD - 1943
- Novocaine - 1905
- Pacemaker - 1958 (internal)
- Polio Vaccine - 1954 Given in schools for the first time
(invented in 1952)
- Prozac - 1988
- Rorschach Test (Ink Blot) - 1921
- Sex Change, First - 1950
- Smith Brothers Cough Drops - 1866 (Trademark date with
their faces. one of the first "brand names" in the US)
- Soft contact lenses - 1965
- Stethoscope - 1819
- Stockholm Syndrome - 1973
- Stream of Consciousness - 1890, William James
- Suntan Lotion - 1940s
- Thorazine - 1954
-
Toothbrush History
- Valium - 1963
- Viagra - 1998
- Vick's VapoRub - 1905
- Vitamins - 1912 discovery by Casimir Funk
- X-ray photography - 1896
Misc:
- Aerosol insect sprays - 1941 (first sales)
- Atomic Bomb test - July 16, 1945
- Braille Alphabet - 1834
- Centigrade - 1741 (Anders Celsius) Fahrenheit (1753)
- Cheerleading
History
- 1898 - Debut as a team activity
- 1956 - Paper Pom Pom Invented
- c1965 - Vinyl Pom Pom
- Diorama - 1822
- Fingerprinting - 1885
- Foot sizer - 1929
- Foucault Pendulum - 1856
- Kitty Litter - 1947
- Panorama - 1793
- Rolling carry-on bag - 1989
- PhD - 1861 first award in America (Yale)
- Slogan
Button - 1896
- Smiley
Face - 1964 (became popular in 1971)
- Skywriting - 1921
- Street Mailboxes - 1858
- Swiss
Army Knife - 1886
- Voting machines (lever type) first used in the US - 1892
Movie / Film Related:
- 16mm Film Stock Manufactured by Kodak - 1926
- 3-D Movies - 1952
- Animation
Chronology - Extensive
- Drive-In - 1933 (June 6) Peak year is 1958
- Photoplay - 1912 (First movie fan magazine)
- In-Flight Movie first shown - 7/19/1961
- IMAX -
- Prototype displayed as part of Expo '67 in Montreal
- 1970 - current format used in Expo 1970
- Lumiere Bros. Film, First - 1891
- Kodak Brownie 8mm Movie Camera - 1951 (1952 - projector)
(1955 - 3-lens turret model)
- NC-17 - 1990
- Nickelodeon Movie Theaters - 1905
- PG rating - 1970
- PG-13 - 1984
- Safety Film - 1948
- Peep Show - 1891
- Steadicam - 1976
- Super 8 Film produced for home movies - 1965 (1973 -
sound stripe added)
- Technicolor -
- 1917 - Invention
- 1922 - The first full length "
Technicolor" film is released: Toll of the
Sea
- 1935 - First IMPROVED Technicolor Film, Becky Sharp
- THX Sound
- 1983
- X-rated film - 1951 (at least in advertising)
Musical Instruments:
- Car
Horn Organ - 1983
- Guitar, Electric - 1948 (invention)
- Piano
History
- Player Piano - 1863 (invention) also dated to 1897 and
1876!
- Metronome - 1812
- Sleigh Bells (the round jingle bell kind) - early 1800s
- Steel Drum - 1938 (rough date)
Newspapers, Magazines, Publishing,
and Publication:
- Currier & Ives prints - 1857
- First Daily Newspaper in England - 1816
- Christian Science Monitor - 1908
- Comic Books - 1933
- Cosmopolitan - 1886
- "Dear Abby" - 1956
- Ebony - 1945
- Encyclopaedia Brittanica - 1771
- Esquire - 1933
- First Illustrated magazine published in the US - 1842
- The Gentleman's Magazine - 1731 (Britain) (first
publication to be called a magazine)
- Godey's Lady's Book - 1830
- Good Housekeeping Magazine - 1885
- Gutenberg Press - 1450
- Harper's Weekly - 1857-1912 ?
- House Beautiful - 1896
- Illustrated Daily News, New York - 1873
- Illustrated London News - 1842 ?
- Ladies' Home Journal - 1883
- Ladies' Magazine - 1828 (1st magazine for women)
- Life - 1936
- London Times - 1788 (as The London Times)
- Look - 1937
- Los Angeles Times - 1881
- Mad Magazine - 1952
- Manchester Guardian - 1821
- McGuffy Readers begin publication - 1836
- Mickey Mouse Comic Strip - 1930
- Ms. magazine - 1972
- National Geographic - 1888
- National Review - 1955
- Newspaper ads, Full-Page - 1878
- New York Herald - 1835
- New York Times - 1851
- Newsweek - 1933
- Paper Book Jackets - 1832
- Peanuts - 1950
- Pennsylvania Evening Post - 1793 (First US Daily
Paper)
- People - 1973
- Photos published in newspapers using halftone - 1880
- Photostat - 1911
- Photoplay - 1912 (First movie fan magazine)
- Playboy - 1953
- Popeye's 1st appearance in a comic strip - 1929
- Press on lettering - 1961
- Reader's Digest - 1922
- Rolling Stone - 1967
- Rotogravure printing in magazines - 1910
- Scientific American - 1845
- Sports Illustrated -
1954
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 1878
- San Francisco Examiner - 1887
- Saturday Evening Post: 1821-1969
- Superman Comic - 1939
- Teletype Machine - 1928
- Time - 1923
- TV Guide - 1953
- Vogue - 1892
- Washington
Post - 1877
- Xerox photocopiers -
- 1938 Invented by Chester Carlson
- 1950 (the process was invented years
earlier)
- 1959 Xerox 914 introduced
Paint Products: See also: [Art
Supplies]
- Acrylic
Paint - 1953 (marketed for artists around 1963)
- Aerosol can (spray can) and valve patented by Erik Rotheim - 1927
- Day-Glo® Colors - Invented in the 1930s but popularized in
the 1960s
- Paint Roller - 1940
- Ready Mixed Paints - 1867
- Spray Gun -
1907 (Note most other webs are 100 years off on this!)
- Spray Paint - 1949
Paper, Packaging, & Tape Related
Products
- Acco Fastener - 1912
- Aluminum Foil
- Commercial Aluminum Foil marketed - 1910, 1929
(conflicting dates)
- Reynold's Aluminum Foil - 1947
- Bags
- First Production - 1844 (hand-made)
- Machine Produced Bags - 1852
- Printed Bags - 1905
- Grocery
Bag, Flat bottom - 1870
- Grocery
Bag, Plastic - 1977 (1982 in its current form)
- Shopping
Bag - 1912 (gained popularity quickly)
- Blotting Paper - 1856
- Bubble Wrap -
1960 (Invented by Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes as AirCap® cellular cushioning.
- Carbon
Paper - developed around 1803 (to help the blind write!) became used
only after the typewriter around 1882
- Carbonless Paper first goes on sale - March 26, 1954
- Cardboard - 1600s (China)
- Cardboard Box
- 1817 (first production in Britain)
- 1879 (Modern cardboard box, die cut and scored, folds
flat)
- Cellophane
Tape - 1930
- Coated Papers introduced - 1852
- Corrugated cardboard, Double faced - 1874 (patent)
- Corrugated cardboard, Single faced - 1871 (patent)
- Corrugated
Cardboard Box - 1890
- Drinking Straw - 1888 (patent issued)
- Duct
Tape - 1942
- Envelopes,
Commercial ones in Britain - c. 1820, common by 1849
- Envelope,
Window - 1902 patent date
- Filing
Cabinet, Vertical - 1898
- Gift
Wrapping - c. 1918
- Gummed Paper (Edison patent!) - 1879
- Heat-shrink film - 1958 (development) (1964 used in
packaging)
- Kleenex - 1920 (in pop-up box)
- Kraft Paper Pulp - 1883 (Germany) 1909 (USA)
- Liquid Paper Invented - 1956 (first called Mistake-Out)
- Masking
Tape - 1925
- Metal Containers (other than beverage cans, listed
elsewhere)
- 1764 - Snuff sold in tins
- 1830s - Cookies and matches sold in tins
- 1866 - first printed metal containers
- Multiple Part Business Forms first used - 1882
- Napkins - 1930s
- Newsprint
- 1838
- soft unbleached American newsprint
paper - 1879
- Paper Clip - 1899 (prior to this, papers were fastened by a
hole and ribbon)
- Paper Cup - 1908 (International Paper)
- Paper Dress - 1966
- Paper from Pulp - c. 1851
- Paper Towel - 1931 (first introduced to schools in 1907)
- Pendaflex® becomes the first hanging file system to be marketed - 1939
- Pens with pocket clips - 1905
- Post-it Notes - 1974 (date also listed as 1980)
- Pulp, First sulfite pulp is produced in the United States -
1883, 1910
- Pushpin - 1900 (invention date. Marketing started in 1903)
- Ring Binder (Loose Leaf) - 1904
- Rolodex, invented by Arnold Neustadter) - 1950 (also
listed in sources as 1958)
- Rubber Band - 1845 (date of first patent)
- Scotch Tape - 1930
- Shrink Wrap - 1964
- Spiral Binding - 1924
- Stamped envelopes - 1852
- 1909 - The word stapler is coined
- 1914 - In use in offices
- 1930s - classic Swingline top loading staplers
- 1950s - electric staplers
- Toilet Paper - Toilet Paper on a Roll -
This website offers a longer history going back to ancient times
Another
Great Toilet Paper History Site
- 1857 - supposed invention date (George C. Gayetty)
- 1877 Perforated rolls are produced at 318 Broadway St. in Albany,
NY by Wheeler's Rolled Wrapping Paper Company.
- 1880 - Individual sheets introduced in Britain
- 1890 - Rolls start to be more common
- 1928 - Introduction in Europe
- 1932 - 4-pack
- 1942 2-ply
- 1956 - Pastel Colors
Patriotic Symbols and Monuments:
- Airforce One Designation - 1954
- Boy Scouts of America - 1910
- Cub Scouts - 1930
- Democrat Donkey - January 15, 1870 (Thomas
Nast)
- Girl Scouts of America - 1912 (founded as the Girl
Guides. Name changes in 1913)
- Golden Gate Bridge - 1937
- Mount Rushmore - 1923-41
- Pledge of Allegiance - 1892
- 1923 changed "my flag" to "The flag of
the United States of America"
- 1954 "under God" added to the Pledge of
Allegiance
- Republican Elephant - November 7, 1874 (Thomas
Nast)
- Star Spangled Banner
- 1814 - written as a poem
- 1931 - Adopted as the official national anthem (March
31)
- Uncle Sam - 1813 (proposed as an official symbol)
Pens & Pencils, Writing Materials,
& Related Stuff:
- Ballpoint
Pen - 1945 1st US sale, 1938 invention by Laszlo Biro
- Bic
Pen - Dec 1950 (or 1953) (Invented by Ladislas Biro, later sold to
Baron Marcel Bich (first called the Bic Cristal)
- Crayola Crayons - 1903
- Fibre
Tip Pen - 1962
- Fountain
Pen - 1884
- Gel
Pens - 1984
- Magic Marker - 1952 (the original ones were refillable!)
- Oil
Pastel - 1925
- Pencil
-
- 1564 - possible development date
- 1565 - A pencil is illustrated in a Swiss encyclopedia
- 1686 - Graphite between strips of wood
- 1795 - Modern pencil with graphite powder with a clay
binder which can result in different hardness ratings
- 1861 - 1st US pencil factory
- Pencils
with erasers - 1858
- Pencil
Sharpener (mechanical) 1880s
- Pencil Sharpener, Chicago -
- Pocket
Protector - 1947
- Typewriter:
- 1845 - Typewriter ribbon (I'd love to know what it was
used for!)
- 1868 - first patent for a typewriter
- 1878's intro of The Remington No2 (with upper
& lower case)
- 1961 - IBM Selectric Ball Typewriter
- 1973 - self correcting Selectric
See Also - Early
Office Museum - Astonishing
collection of Images
Personal Hygiene, Products, &
Toiletry Related:
see also [beauty & cosmetics]
- Avon - 1896
- Baby Powder - 1890 (Johnson & Johnson)
- Bathroom
scale
- 1933 - Low profile flat scales
- 1952 - modern design, Model 1500 Flight
- Brylcreem
- 1929
- Chapstick® - 1880s (initial invention. Popularity took a
while to build)
- Cologne - 1709
- Dental Floss - 1815
- Diapers
- 1949 - Leakprood diaper cover
- 1959 - Disposable diaper
- Electric Vibrator - advertised in the 1918 Sears catalog
- Hair Dye, Commercial - 1909
- Huggies diapers - 1978
- Ivory
Soap - 1879
- Jacuzzi - 1968
- Kleenex
Tissue - 1924 (marketed first as Celluwipes)
- Listerine - 1880
- Noxzema - 1899
- Old Spice - 1938
- Pancake Makeup - 1935 (Max Facor Sr. and Jr.)
- Paper
Towel - 1907
- Q-Tips® - 1923 (First called "Baby Gays". The
name used today comes from 1926)
- Safety Razor - 1901 (popular by 1904)
- Sanitary Napkin Related:
- Shampoo
- Breck
Shampoo popularized - 1936
- Shaving
- Bic
Shaver Chronology
- Shaving
Chronology -
Extensive Resource
- Cartridge Razor - 1965
- Disposable razor blade - 1895
- Shaving Brush - 1750s
- Shaver, Disposible (Bic) - 1975
- Shaver, Electric - 1931 (first marketing in NY) 1937 -
era of popularity clear
- Shaver, Electric - first cordless, rechargeable - 1960
(Remmington)
- Showers
- 1880s-90s Era of first popularity
- Tampon,
Modern (with applicator) - 1936 (developed in Denver) (another date
cited is 1929)
- Toilets of
the World - Lots of illustrations from odd places and times
- Toilet Paper (see under "paper" above)
- Toilet Histories
-
Toothbrush History
- Toothbrush, Electric - 1960
- Toothpaste tube origin - 1892
- Vaseline Petroleum Jelly - 1860 (invention)
Phonograph and Records:
- Edison Invention - 1877-1878
- Wax
Cylinder - 1890s
- Audio Cassette Tape - 1963
- Disk Phonographs - Around 1912 (invention is in 1887)
(standard size is 10") made from Shellac (with additives) until the
1930s
- Double sided disks - 1904
- Gramophone - 1888 (plays 7" disks)
- LP - Long playing vinyl disk - first release in 1948
(12" diameter)
- 45rpm record - 1949 (7" diameter) More popular by 1951
- Victrola
- 1901 (no more horn)! (refined in 1907)
- Record Album - 1909 (with the publication of The
Nutcracker Suite 4-record set)
- Electrical Amplification developed - 1925
- Jukebox:
- Magnetic Tape Recorder - 1934 (invention)
- Phonograph Labels - 1900
- RCA Victor brand - 1928 Multi-selection
jukebox - 1934
- Stereo - 1931 (development date)
- Stereo Introduction by RCA - 1958 (Stereo LP sales begin)
- Top 40 - 1949
- Vinyl disk manufacture starts - 1940
Photography
- 35mm Film Casette> - 1934
- 620
film - 1932
- Camera - first to be marketed, Giroux Daguerreotype - 1839
- Camera History Websites:
- Daguerreotype - 1837 (invention)
- Flashcube - 1965
- Flash, Built-in - 1951
- Flash Powder marketed - 1884
- Holography - 1962
- Instant Photography - 1947
- Kodak Brownie Camera - 1900
- Kodak Carousel
Projector (Model 800) - 1964, designed by David E. Hansen (first
carousel is introduced in 1961). Manufacturing of this general type of
projector stops in 2004
- Kodak Disk Camera - 1982
- Kodak Ektachrome Slide Film - 1959
- Kodak Instamatic
Camera (model 100) - 1963
- Kodachrome Slide Film - 1935
- Kodacolor Negative Film for prints - 1942
- Kodak Box Camera - 1888
- Non-reflective coating patented by Katherine J. Blodgett -
1938
- Photobooth
- 1946 (invention) 1958 (marketed)
- Photo CD, Kodak - 1990
- Polaroid
Photography - 1948 (SX-70 introduced in 1972)
- Roll Film - 1884
- Single Lens Reflex Roll-Film Camera - 1935
- Single use disposable cameras - 1986
- Stage production photo, First - 1883
- View Master - 1938
see also this excellent Photography
Timeline
Printing and Duplication
- 4-color rotary press - 1892
- Advertising
Age Timeline - Includes lots of newspaper publishing info
- Mimeograph - 1875 (development by Edison) 1890 - A.B.
Dick markets the machine)
- Paperback books - 1938-9
- Copiers (Xerox)
- 1938 - Xerography invented (no one saw the use!)
- 1944 - First demonstration of a copy machine
- 1949 - Xerox Model A photocopier
- 1959 - First plain paper copier (Xerox 914)
- 1963 - First plain paper desktop Xerox
Radios, Television, and Recording, and
Audio:
- Betamax (Sony) - 1975
- Car Radio (Paul Galvin) - 1929
- DAT Recorders - 1987
- Dolby Sound - 1976
- iPod (Apple) - 2001
- LCD Video projector for the home market. Introduced by
Sharp in 1989
- Projection TV demonstrated in theatrical use, 1941
- Projection TV, 3 tube system by Advent - 1972
- MP3 Player - 1998
- Muzak - 1925
- Pocket (transistor) Radio - 1959 (Sony introduces one in
1952)
- Radio Broadcast
- 1906 - First advertised broadcast
- 1920 - First Regular (KDKA, Pittsburgh) (licensed in
1919)
- Radios Using House Current - 1928
- Satellite radio - 2001
- Shortwave Radio Invention - 1919
- Tape
Recording Timeline
- Tape Recorder - 1934 (initial development by Begun)
- Wire Recorder
invented - 1898
- Tape
Recorder, higher quality - c. 1947
- Tape
Recorder, Cassette - first demo in 1964
- Tape Player, 8-Track - introduced in 1965
- TelePrompTer - 1951
- Television, First use of the word - 1900 !
- Television, Color
- First coast to coast color broadcast - January 1, 1954
- TV Sets
- TiVo HDR110 - 1999
- UHF-first licensed in
the US - 1953
- Video Tape - 1/2" Open Reel - 1967
- Video Tape - 3/4" U-Matic, videotape cassette
- Video Tape - Sony Betamax recorder - 1975
- Video Tape - VHS Format - 1977 (introduction)
- Video Laser Disk - 1978 (introduction)
- Walkman TPS-L2 (Sony) - 1979
See Also:
Rope and String type products
Safety Related
- Band-Aid - 1921
- Chicago Fire - 1871
- Fire Safety
- 1853 - 1st practical fire engine in the US (horse
drawn)
- 1860 - Fire escapes required in NY City
- 1863 -
Fire Extinguisher (glass grenade variety)
- 1920s - Copper/Brass,
Soda-Acid Fire Extinguishers
- 1960 - Battery operated home smoke detector
- Fire Pole - 1878
- Fire Sprinkler Head - 1874 (patent date)
- Gas Mask - 1912 (or 1914)
- Geiger Counter - 1913
- Hard hat - 1919
- Parachute - 1785
- Smoke Detector - 1967
- Underwriters Laboratory, UL - 1894
- Tylenol Tragedy - 1982 - changed the history of packaging
Science Related [see also Medical]
- Microscope - Single Lens - Early 1600s
Slogans
- Have it Your Way, Burger King - 1976
Smoking and Tobacco Products
Tobacco
Timeline -
Extensive external reference
- BIC Lighter - 1973
- Chronology
of Tobacco in the Civilized World
- Cigar
Store Indian History
- Duke Cigarette Monopoly - by the 1900s (later broken up to
form many current US brands)
- Cigarette Ads Banner on TV - 1971
- First Report Warning the Gov of Smoking Dangers: 1/11/1964
- Cigarette, First Factories: - Britain, 1850
- US ,1864
- Cigarette
Ads from the 1950s
- Cigarette Pack health warnings - 1971
- crush proof flip-top box (Marlboro) - 1954 ?
- Camel Cigarettes - 1913
- Filtered Cigarettes - 1930s (Viceroy w/ a cellulose
filter - 1936)
- Joe Camel - 1987
- Lighters:
- Introduction - 1909 ?
- BIC - 1973
- Zippo
- 1932
- Lucky Strike - 1916
- Lucky
Strike "Goes to War", Changes logo from green to red - 1942
- Marlboro - 1924
- Marlboro Man - 1955 (exclusive symbol by 1963)
- Matches
- Friction Match - 1826
- Safety Matches - 1855
- Matches,
Book - 1889 (advertised the Mendelssohn Opera Company)
not really visible until 1897 (Diamond Matchbooks - 1895)
- Smoking acceptance for Women - c. 1945
- Tobacco plant first brought to Britain - 1558
- Vending Machines for Cigarettes - 1926
- Virginia Slims - 1968
Sports Related
- Astroturf - 1965
- Badminton - 1783
- Baseball Cap - 1876
- Baseball Catchers Mask Patent - 1878
- Basketball, Modern - 1891-2
- Bongo Board - 1952 (Stanley Washburn)
- Golf
- 1888 - St. Andrews Golf Club, Westchester NY
- 1898 - Golf Tee
- 1908 - Dimpled Golf ball
- 1920s - Modern wooden golf Tee invented by NJ dentist, William
Lowell
- Hacky Sack® - 1972
- Judo - ~1882
- Kentucky Derby - 1875
- Miniature
Golf - 1927
- Playgrounds
- 1907 (start of movement)
- Roller
Skates
- 1759 - Invention - Joseph Merlin (in line too!)
- 1819 - 1st inline skate patent
- 1840 - A beerhall in Germany boasts barmaids on roller
skates
- 1857 - Roller rinks in Britain
- 1863 - first use in America, the "rocking
skate" allowed for turns (4 wheels)
- 1884 - Ball bearing wheels introduced - mass production
- 1902 - Roller rink in Chicago
- 1980 - Rollerblades
- Scuba, Aqua Lung - 1943
- Skateboard - 1965 (era of first popularity)
- 1950s - Impromtu skateboards created by kids from
roller skate parts
- 1959 - Commercial skateboards introduced to
stores
- 1962 - First competition and skateboard shop
- 1964-65 - First period of popularity
- 1970 - first use of modern urethane wheels (by Frank
Nasworthy)
- Swimming Pool, Indoor - 1742, London
-
Table
Tennis - 1881
- Tee
Ball
- Tour de France - 1903
- Volleyball - 1895 William Morgan
- Water Skiing - 1922
- Wiffle®Ball
- 1954 (first marketed) 1959 (first yellow plastic bats)
- Zamboni® - 1949
Telephone Related Stuff:
- #500
Desk Set - 1949 (dial version of set still common today)
- Answering machine invention - 1950
- Voice Mail - 1980 date of the term's coining by Gordon Matthews
- Area Codes - 1952
- Bell Patent - 1876
- Caller ID - 1982
- Cellphones
- Invention - 1973
- Mass Production 1985
- Digital - 1995
- Coin Phone - 1889 (introduction)
- Dial telephones - 1895 (early introduction)
- Direct Dial, Coast to Coast Introduced - 1951
- Princess
Phone - 1959 (designed by Henry Dreyfuss)
- Push Button Telephone Invented - 1941
- Telegraphs -
- 1792 a mechanical telegraph was developed
- 1837 Electromagnetic Telegraph patent date
- 1838 Morse Code
- 1844 Morse' famous telegram sent between Baltimore and Washington on May
24
- Telephone Book - 1878 (1 page "book" in New
Haven)
- Touch-tone phone - 1964
- Yellow Pages -
- 1886 (commercial listings)
- 1906 First actual yellow pages published in Detroit
See also:
Time Pieces
- c725 - First Mechanical Clock
- 1383 - First Gong Clock -
(Cathedral of Notre Dame, Dijon)
- 1504 - Portable timepiece, first
- 1510 - Pocket watch
- 1657 - Pendulum Clock
- 1790s - Wristwatch, first
- 1855 - Stopwatch
- 1856 - Electric clock
- 1914 - First Watch with an alarm
- 1927 - Quartz Clock invented
- 1947-8 - Ball
Clock, George Nelson
- 1949 - Atomic Clock
- 1954 - Watch Battery - (Invention)
- 1957 - Battery Watch first introduced
- 1961 - Movado Museum Watch
- 1970 - LED Watch introduced (the Pulsar)
- 1972 - LCD starts to become popular
- 1977 - LED displays lose favor to LCD
- 1983 - Swatch watches
- 1984 - Fossil Watch
See also:
Tools: see also [building
supplies]
- Band Saw - 1808 (invention)
- Circular Saw - 1780 (first circular saw blade to be used in a saw mill, 1813 Tabitha Babbitt)
- Electric Motor - 1834 (invention)
- Electro Pounce - 1961
- Electric Power Tools - 1837 (invention)
- Monkey Wrench - 1858 (invented by Charles Moncky!)
- Pipe wrench - 1870 (patent date)
- Radial Arm Saw - Patent granted in 1925 to De Walt
- Tape Measure - 1868 (patent date) (retractable version)
- Vise Stands for plumbers - 1927
Toys, Ammusements, and Games:
National Toy Hall of
Fame
- Alphabet Blocks - 1879 (though they are indicated by 1693
in literary references)
- Anagrams - 1850
- Ant
Farm - 1956
- Ants in the Pants - 1969
- Atari Video Computer System - 1977
- BB gun - 1886
- Barbie Doll introduction 1959
- Barrel of Monkeys - 1965
- Baseball Cards - 1951 Tops Baseball Cards Marketed (others
came before)
- Battleship - 1931
- Beanie Babies -1993
- Bingo
- c. 1930 (from very early Lotto roots)
- Cabbage Patch Kids - 1982-3
- Candy
Land - 1949
- Care
Bears - 1983
- Checkered Game of Life - 1860s (Milton Bradley)
- Chutes and
Ladders (aka Snakes and Ladders)
- Comic
Books - The Yellow Kid - 1896
- Concentration (TV Game) - 1958
- Connect Four - 1974
- Cootie - 1927
- Craps - 1813 introduction to the US
- Crossword
Puzzle - 1913 (first published book of Crossword puzzles: 1924)
- Donkey Kong - 1981
- Drive-In
Movies - 1933
- Dungeons
& Dragons - 1973
- Easy-Bake Oven - 1963
- Etch-A-Sketch
- 1960 (invented in 1959)
- Flexible Flyer sled - 1889
- Frisbee - 1950 (as Flyin' Saucer) Named Frisbee in 1957
- Game Boy (Nintendo) - 1989
- GI Joe - 1963
- Give
a Show Projector - 1959
- Hello Kitty - 1974
- Hula
Hoop - 1957-8 See
also
- Jig
Saw Puzzle - 1767 (A big fad in the 1930s)
- Koosh
Ball - 1987
- Lego
-
- 1934 Lego name derived from the Danish words, "leg" and "godt"
(play well.).
- 1949 Ole Kirk Christiansen invents the "Automatic
Binding Brick" - They don't stick well
- 1958 The modern Lego "Stud and Tube System"
bricks are first marketed
- 1961 Lego production begins in the US
- Life - 1960
(modern iteration as "The Game of Life") (Milton Bradley
actually created it as "The Checkered Game of Life" in 1860)
- Lincoln Logs - Invented by son of Frank Lloyd Wright in
1916, popular in 1953
- Lionel
Trains - 1901
- Mansion of Happiness, The - 1843 (1st US board game)
- Marbles - 1884 (first ones were made of clay)
- Matchbox Cars - 1954
- Milton
Bradley Timeline - from Wikapedia - Extensive
- Mister
Potato Head - 1952
- Monopoly - 1933, 34, or 1936) (1904 invented as "The
Landlord Game")
- Mystery Date - 1965
- Nerf
Ball - 1970
- Nintendo Games - 1985
- Operation - 1965
- Ouiji
Board (new design) - 1955 (Patented
in 1892)
- Pac-Man - 1982
- Pachinko
- 1953
- Paint Ball - 1981
- Paint
By Numbers - 1949 (invention) 1952 begins era of popularity
- Paper
Dolls - 1810 (Little Fanny)
- Parcheesi
- c. 1938 (copyright of the familiar board) (ancient origins)
- Pet
Rock - 1975
- Play-Doh
- 1956
- Playground - 1859 (in Britain. Swings & Horizontal
bars)
- Playstation, Sony - 1995
- Pogo Stick - 1919 (patent) - 1920s (became popular)
- Pong
(invention) - 1971
- Ouija
Board - 1853
- Ragedy Ann - 1915 (Commercially produced in 1918)
- Risk - 1959
- Rubik's Cube - 1974
- Skateboard - 1958
-
Scrabble
-
- 1930 - Invented by architect Alfred Mosher Butts (under different names)
- 1949 - First marketing
-
Silly
Putty - 1950 (date of introduction) (invented in 1949)
- Sliding Block Puzzle - Invented by Serhiy Grabarchuk
- Slinky
- 1945
- Space Invaders Video Arcade Game - 1978
- Speak & Spell (Texas Instruments) - 1978
- Spirograph
- 1965
- Strawberry
Shortcake - 1980
- Super Mario Brothers - 1985
- Teletubbies - 1997
- Tickle Me Elmo - 1996
- Tiddlywinks
- 1888 (Patent date in Britain)
-
Tinkertoy
- 1913
-
Tonka Trucks - 1946-7
- Trivial Pursuit - 1983
- Trolls
- 1959
- Twister
- 1966 [see
also]
- Uncle
Wiggily - 1916
- Uno - 1972
- View-Master - 1938-9 (date of invention)
- Video Game system introduced by Magnivox - 1971
- Wagon, Little Red - Radio Flier Brand - 1917
- Yahtzee - 1956
- Yo-Yo (Duncan) - 1929
See also:
Transportation and Navigation
Related and Moving Devices
- Automobile:
- 1892 - First gas powered car in the US
- 1896 - First recorded auto accident, May 30, NY City
- 1899 - First auto accident resulting in death, Sept. 13
- 1908 - Model T - 1908-1927
- 1911 - Self Starter
- 1915 - Windshield Wipers (popular use starts)
(invented for streetcars in 1903)
- 1936 - Volkswagen Beetle
- 1939 - Air Conditioning
- 1940 - Jeep
- 1951 - Power Steering
- 1973 - Air bags introduced
- 1953 - Fiberglass body
- 1983 - Minivans and cupholders
- Aviation
Timeline
- Airplane, Wright Brothers first flight - 1903
- Airplane, Jet service begins - 1958
- Bicycle
(link is to an extensive external timeline)
- 1790 - Invention date
- 1817 - Draisine Swift-walker (bicycle becomes
steerable)
- 1858-68 - Velocipede
- 1861 - Pedals on the front wheel
- 1869 - first use of the word bicycle
- 1870-6 - First High Wheel
- 1884 - Starley Saftey bicycle (looks like the modern
bike)
- 1889 - Pneumatic rubber tires
- 1896 - Coaster Brakes
- 1973 - Mountain Bike (mass produced in 1981)
- Blimp, Goodyear - 1925
- Boat, Fiber
Glass - 1955
- British
Road Sign History - Great site
- Bus timetables - 1905
- Cable Cars in San Francisco - 1872
- Car Radio - 1929
- Channel tunnel - 1994
- Concrete highway - 1891 (first in US)
- Elevator, Otis - 1852 (1857 first commercial
elevator)
- Elevator, Self service - 1950 (1st installation)
- Freeway, 1st in US (LA to Pasadena) 1940
- Escalator
- 1891 (named Escalator in 1900 on its first use, a tradename from Otis)
- Gas
Pump
- 1888 - Bowser pump
- 1891 - Wayne Pump
- 1918 - Glass Globe type (Tokheim Company)
- 1933 - Wayne
Computing Pump - The phrase "Fill 'er up" was created
to advertise this pump.
- Gas
stations (link includes photos)
- 1907 - First Gas Station (Standard Oil)
- 1913 - First drive-in service station (Gulf)
- 1930s - Some Self Service Stations exist
- Global positioning system - 1989
- Helicopter - 1939 (1st flight in the US) 1936, demo model in Germany
- Hindenburg - 1936 - May 6, 1937
- Hot Air Balloon - 1783
- In-Flight Movie first shown - 7/19/1961
- License Plates (most links here are illustrated)
- Lighthouse with Revolving Beacon - 1783
- Maps, Road
- 1890s -
Road Maps started - No route numbers, few names!
- 1920s - Paved Roads and Route numbers begin in earnest
making the real road map possible.
- Moving Sidewalk, 2-way - 1958 (first)
- Parking Meter - 1935
- Police Car - 1922
- Railroad
Timeline
- Railroad Station - 1830 (B&O Station in Baltimore)
- Reflective sheeting signs - 1939 (3M Scotchlite) before
this signs sometimes incorporated reflectors in punched holes.
- School
Bus History
- 1910 - 30
states have school transport programs
- 1927 - First Blue-Bird Yellow School Bus
- 1939 - school bus standards adopted
- Semaphore systems developed - c. 1800
- Snowmobile - 1920
- Space Shuttle - 1981
- Sputnik - 1957
- Stop
Sign History:
- 1915 - 1st recorded stop sign
- 1922-24 - Octagon shape black lettering on yellow
- 1935 - Red or black on yellow 24"x24" octagon
- 1939 - 3M Scothlite® introduced
- 1948 - Reflectorization required
- 1954 - Current color standardized, white on red
- Subway Related
- 2003 - NY Subway tokens discontinued on April 13th
- Traffic
Signals & Lights - (stop lights)
- 1868 - 1st traffic signal (outside of Parliment in London)
- 1914 - Red Green Signal installed in Cleveland
- 1920 - Traffic Light
- Traffic
Signs of the World - Amazing site!
- Trip-Tik,
AAA - 1911 (origin) 1930-37 (standardization)
- US Highway
Shield Signs - 1925
- Vespa Motor Scooter - 1946
- Yellow Cab
- 1907 - Founding by John Hertz of Chicago (who went on to found the rental
company as well)
- 1915 - First specifically designed by the company (Model J)
- Wheelchair,
(Modern design) - 1933
Weapons Related
- Bazooka - 1942
- Dynamite - 1866
- Revolver (Colt) - 1835
- Rifles
- Silencer - 1909
- Sonar - 1917
- Tank - 1914
- Thompson submachine gun - 1916
World's Fairs and Expositions, A
Timeline: [reference website]
- 1851 - 1st
World's Fair - London, opens May 1 (Crystal Palace)
- 1853 - New York
- 1855 - Paris
- 1862 - London
- 1867 - Paris
Exposition Universelle de 1867
- 1873 - Vienna -
Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
- 1874 - Dublin
- 1876 - Philadelphia Centennial
Exhibition
- 1878 - Paris
Exposition Universelle de 1878
- 1883 - Chicago,
The Columbian Exposition
- 1884 - New Orleans
- 1885 - Antwerp, Belgium
- 1886 - London
- 1888 - Melbourne, Australia & Glasgow,
Scotland
- 1889 - Exposition
Universelle de Paris
- 1893 - Chicago, The
World's Columbian Exposition
- 1894 -
- 1895 - Atlanta
- 1897 - Brussels
- 1900 - Paris
Exposition Universelle de 1900
- 1901 - Buffalo, Pan-American Exposition
- 1904 - St.
Louis, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition
- 1905 - LiËge, Belgium
- 1906 - Milan
- 1907 - Dublin & Hampton Roads, USA
- 1909 - Seattle
- 1910 - Brussels
- 1911 - Turin
- 1913 - Ghent, Belgium
- 1915 - San Francisco - Panama Pacific International
Exposition
- 1922 - Rio de Janiero
- 1924 - Wembley, England
- 1925 - Paris
Exposition Des Arts Décoratifs
- 1926 - Philadelphia
- 1929 - Spain
- 1930 - Seville & Belgium
- 1931 - Paris
Exposition Coloniale Internationale
- 1933 - Chicago
- 1935 - Brussels
- 1937 - Paris Exposition
- 1939 - New York World's Fair
- 1939 - San Francisco Golden Gate Exposition
- 1958 - Brussels
- 1962 - Seattle World's Fair
- 1964 - New York World's Fair
- 1967 - Expo '67, Montreal
- 1968 - San Antonio - Hemisfair '68
- 1970 - Osaka, Japan - Expo '70
- 1974 - Spokane - Expo '74
- 1975 - Okinawa, Japan - Expo '75
- 1982 -
Knoxville World's Fair
- 1984 - New Orleans - Louisiana World Exposition
- 1985 - Tsukuba,Japan - Expo '85
- 1986 - Vancouver -
Expo '86
- 1988 - Brisbane, Australia
- 1992 - Seville,
Spain & Genoa, Italy
- 1993 - Taejon/Daejon,
South Korea
- 1998 - Lisbon
- 2000 - Hanover,
Germany
Visual
& Props Research Collections
PROP SOURCES INDICES:
Retro Props, General
Amusement Devices, Jukeboxes, Slot Machines, etc.
Telephones:
Typewriters
Fun List
of Things, States, etc. Named after People and Places
- Amish (the religious group) - Named after Jakob Amman
- Baby Ruth candy bar - Named for President Grover
Cleveland's daughter, NOT Babe Ruth!
- Barbie Dolls - Named after Barbara Handler Segal, daughter of
Mattel Toys founder, Ruth Handler (Denver, CO) Ken is Barbara's brother.
Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts
- Batty, as in being driven batty - Named after Fitzherbert Batty,
named after a lawyer from Jamaica who was declared insane
- Bayonet - Named from Bayonne, France
- BIC Pens (Marcel BICH)
- Bloomers - Named for but not invented by Amelia Jenks Bloomer (the real
inventor was Elizabeth Miller Smith)
- Bobby (British Policeman) - Named for the founder of the London Police
Dept, Sir. Robert Peel
- Bowdlerize - Named for Shakespeare Editor, Dr. Thomas Bowdler
- Boycott - Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott (1880)
- Brownie
Camera (Kodak), named for Kodak's designer, Frank Brownell
- Bugs Bunny - Before he had a name he was simply Bugs'
bunny in reference to one of the early animators!
- Calico - named for Calicut, India
- Camel Hair Brush
- Cardigan Sweaters - named for James Thomas Brudenell, the 7th Earl of
Cardigan
- Chauvinism - Nicholas Chauvin
- Chicken à la King - Edward VII of England
- Chicken Tetrazzini - Named for opera singer, Luisa Tetrazzini
- Condom, Dr - of the French court. If this wasn't a
"family" website, I'd tell you what he invented <G>
- Derrick - Named for executioner, Godfrey Derrick (17th c)
- Duffel bag - the fabric came originally from Duffel Belgium
- Dunce - Named from John Duns Scotus, a scholar of the 13th Century
- Dungarees - Named for the Dungaree suburb of Bombay, India
- Eudora (the E-Mail program) - Named for Eudora Welty
- Fanny Farmer® - Fannie Merrit Farmer (of Boston)
- Frisbee
(William Russel Frisbee)
- Gadget - 1886 named for a partner in the French contracting firm, Gadget,
Gauhier, & Cie who built the Statue of Liberty
- Gauze - named for it's place of origin, in Gaza
- Gimlet - the drink is named for Sir T. O. Gimlette
- Good Humour Bar - Where Harry Burt worked (and owned) when he developed
ice cream on a stick.
- Graham Cracker - 1829 (Sylvester Graham)
- Guillotin - Named for Doctor Joseph Ignace Guillotin (who
was anti-capital-punishment! and did not even invent the device)
- Guppy - Named after R. J. Lechmere Guppy
- Guy - Guy Fawkes and his Gunpowder Plot of 11/5/1605
- Hobson's Choice - Tobias Hobson
- Hoodlum - Coined from the San Francisco Gang leader named Muldoon. The
letters were reversed and then the typesetter made a mistake with the first
letter.
- Hooker - General Joseph Hooker
- Jacuzzi - 1968 (Roy Jacuzzi)
- Jodhpurs - named for Jodhpur in NW India
- K-Rations - 1942 (named for Ancel Keys)
- Kermit - (file transfer program) named for the frog
- "Kilroy was here" - James J. Kilroy (died in 1962)
- Lionel Trains - Named from Joshya Lionel Cowen
- Lynch - Named from Virginian, Charles Lynch
- Margarita (Drink), named for Margarita Sames
- Maverick - Samuel Augustus Maverick
- Mason Jar named for John Landis Mason
- Masonite
- William H Mason (a former associate of Edison)
- Maverick - named for Samuel Maverick who didn't brand his cattle.
- Melba Toast - Named for Helen Porter Mitchell, an opera
singer with the stage name Nellie Melba
- Mercedes Automobiles - Mercedes Jellinek (daughter of Emil, an early
customer of the Daimler Phoenix automobile)
- Monkey Wrench - invented by Charles Moncky
- Murphy
Bed - 1900 company founded by William L. Murphy
- Nicotine - Jacques Nicot (16th C. French Ambassador to
Portugal)
- Oscar (the Academy Award statue) Name comes from Oscar Pierce of Texas
(who looked like the statue)
- Phillips Head Screws - Henry Phillips
- Phoney - Comes from Forney, an American maker of cheap jewelry
- Poinsettia - Named for Joel Roberts Poinsett
- Ponzi
Scheme - Named for Charles Ponzi
- Quonset Hut - named from its place of origin, Quonset Point, Rhode
Island
- Salisbury Steak - Named for 19th century British Dr. J. H. Salisbury
- Satin - From the town of Zaitun (Tsinkiang, Quanzhou), China
- Shrapnel - Invented by Henry Shrapnel
- Sideburns - Named for General Ambrose Everett Burnside (at first called
burnsides)
- Silhouette - Named after
Étienne de Silhouette (Controller General of France, 1759)
- Snickers Bar - Named after a horse owned by the Mars family
- Spa - Named for the town of Spa in Belgium
- Taco Bell - Named after founder, Glen Bell
- Tawdry - Comes from Saint Audry
- Tonka Trucks - takes their name from Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
- Tootsie Roll - Named from inventor Leo Herschfield's daughter Clara
whose nickname was Tootsie
- Tony Awards - named for actress Antoinette Perry
- Tootsie Roll - Named for Clara Hirshfeld, 5-year old daughter of the
inventor, Leo
- Troy Weight - named for Troyes, France
- Tupperware - Earl Tupper
- Tuxedo - 1886 (named for Tuxedo Park, NY)
- Tweed - A river on the border between England and Scotland
- Twerp - Perhaps named from Thomas W. Earp (1892-1958)
- Uncle Sam - Named for Sam Wilson a Troy NY meat packer c.
1912
- Uzi - Named for its inventor, Uziel Gal
- Valance - Name may come from the French town of Valance
Characters
in fiction or the arts named after people
-
Bond, James - Named after a bird watcher from
Philadelphia!
-
Bulwinkle the Moose - Named after Clarence Bulwinkle, a
car dealer
-
Kermit the Frog - [supposedly] named for Kermit Cohen at
WBAL TV Baltimore
-
Mary who had a lamb was really Mary Sawyer at the Redstone
Hill School in Boston
-
Peter Pan - Named from Peter Davies
-
The Simpsons [cartoon] family names were drawn from the
names of Matt Groening's own family!
Words
that Came from Trade and Brand Names
Some you know....but others....
-
Asbestos
-
Asperin
-
Band-Aid
- 1920 (tradename came in 1924)
-
Cellophane - 1908
-
Cheeseburger (registered by the Humpty Dumpty
Drive-In in Denver, 1935)
-
Corn Flakes
-
Cube Steak
-
Dry Ice
-
Escalator
-
Heroin
-
Kerosene
-
Ketchup (Heinz 1876)
-
Klenex
-
Lanolin
-
Malted Milk
-
Moxie - Word comes from the 1885 Soft
Drink!
-
Nylon
-
Pablum
-
Photostat
-
Ping Pong
-
Razor
-
Spoof - As a word started as the name of a game invented by
Arthur Roberts
-
Tabasco
-
Thermos
-
Trampoline
-
Typewriter
-
Windbreaker
-
Yo-Yo
-
Zipper - 1921 registered (the concept was
invented much earlier) B.F. Goodrich
Names/Words
that Aren't What they Seem
and Names that Came by Accident
-
Betty Crocker - Entirely a made-up name
-
Bingo
- Came from an excited winner's mispronunciation of Beano
-
Donkey Kong - The idea was to call
this King Kong but there was a little trade name problem so the Japanese
developer went for Monkey Kong but the Japanese can't spell in English very
well so the rest is history
-
Duct Tape - Actually started as DUCK tape
(not the other way around) !
-
Flea Market - a shortening from Manhattan's "Vallie Market"
(Vlie Market)
-
Grandfather Clock - came from the song, "My Grandfather's
Clock" and not the other way around.
-
Hobby Horse - came before the word Hobby!
-
Love (in tennis) is from the French l'oeuf, or egg, the
figurative zero shape.
-
Nerd - A word invented in 1950 by Dr. Seuss (If I Ran the
Zoo)
-
Piggy
Bank - actually from pygg (a cheap clay)
-
Stepin Fetchit - Actor, Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry
took his stage name from the name of a racehorse who had earlier brought him
luck.
-
Syllabus - started as a printer's error in the 15th century
(it was supposed to be sittubas, Greek for index)
Words
& Product Names With Theatre Origins
-
An Old Chestnut (ie a bad old joke) derives from a line in
William Dillon's Play, The Broken Sword
-
Chicken Tetrazzini - Named for opera singer, Luisa
Tetrazzini
-
Claptrap - What a claque does to entice an audience into
otherwise meaningless applause
-
Fedora
Hat - 1882 (Named from the play Fedora by Victorien Sardou)
-
Gopher - In the sense of "go for"
-
Grinch - Not from theatre exactly but indeed
the word comes from the Dr. Seuss Story, as does the word "nerd" !
-
Jumbo - From P.T. Barnum's elephant.
-
Melba Toast - Named after an opera
singer
-
Modern
Living Style furniture by Russell Wright - 1935 Russell Wright was a
stage designer who studied under Norman Bel Geddes!
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Obscene (from the Latin ob scaena, meaning against (off the)
stage.
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Pants - from the Comedia character Pantaloni
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Person - Comes literally from the Greek-based theatre term,
Persona
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Poo-bah - From Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado
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Quiz - a made up word originally from Irish theatre
manager, James Daly (two of my etymological dictionaries list this as the
word's origin, while two others give a less exotic explanation)
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Robotics and Robots - The word comes from the
play R.U.R !
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Seven Year Itch - From George Axelrod's play of 1955
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Spam - The name was invented by actor, Kenneth Diagneau who
won $100 in a contest to name the product
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Stooge - an audience plant.
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Superman - 1903 from the Shaw play, Man and Superman
(Nietzsche in 1883-91 developed
Übermencsch or "overman")
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Weird (as an adjective) - Most
folks do not realize this but when Shakespeare wrote of the Weird Sisters in
Macbeth, the word was a noun and not an adjective, for the Weird Sisters
were a reference to the Three Fates. But with the popularity of the play,
folks began to take the word as an adjective.
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White Slavery - as a term this
comes from Barley Campbell's 1882 play, The White Slave
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Witticism - This word comes
from the 1677 John Dryden play, The State of Innocence and Fall of Man
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Zani - from the servants in Comedia
Names
from Acronyms (& Abbreviations)
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B.V.D.s - Bradley, Voorhies, and Day
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DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
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G.I. - Government Issue
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Gobo - (short for "go between")
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Jeep - (Originally GP for "general
Purpose")
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Leko - (named for Levy and Kook)
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NECCO - ( New England Confectionery Company)
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Noxzema - (No Eczema)
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O.K. - Taken from the Upstete NY town of Old Kinderhook,
home of President Martin Van Buren, "The Wizard of Kinderhook"
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Ouija Board - Oui (French for yes) + ja (German for yes)
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PT Boat - (Patrol Torpedo)
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RADAR - (Radio Detection And Ranging)
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Rayon - RAY + cottON
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Sanca - SAns + CAffeine
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SCUBA - (Self Contained Underwater Breathing
Aparatus)
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S.O.S [pads] - (Save our Saucepans) (SOS as a
Morse code signal means nothing! The signal became official in 1908)
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Spam - SPecial + hAM
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TASER - inspired from: "Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle"
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Univac - UNIVersal + Automatic + Computer system
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Velcro - (Velour or Velvet + Crochet)
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WD-40 - (Water Displacement)
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ZIP code - (Zone Improvement Program)
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AA - Alcoholics Anonymous 1935
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AEA - 1913 (March 26)
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AFM, NY Local 802 - 1921
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ASCAP - 1914
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MCA (Music Corp. of America) 1924
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Red Cross - May 21, 1881
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YMCA - 1844 (founding in Britain)
Still to Classify:
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Junior High School - 1909
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Book of the Month Club - 1926
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Pitman Shorthand - 1837
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Dick and Jane Readers - 1930 (retired in 1965) [read
more]
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Steadi Cam - first used on Rocky, 1976
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Thesaurus - 1852
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MPAA Film Ratings - 1968