Key inventions, figures, and social changes of the Industrial Revolution
25 cards · history
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| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| Steam engine | 1769; Watt added separate condenser to Newcomen engine Cut fuel use dramatically and enabled factory power, locomotives, and ships. |
| Spinning jenny | 1764; James Hargreaves' multi-spindle spinning frame Greatly boosted yarn output, transforming home spinning into mill work. |
| Water frame | 1769; Richard Arkwright's water-powered spinning machine Enabled continuous, factory-scale cotton spinning driven by water wheels. |
| Spinning mule | 1779; Samuel Crompton combined jenny and water frame Produced fine, strong yarn; became the dominant cotton spinning method. |
| Power loom | 1785; Edmund Cartwright patented mechanized loom Automated weaving, concentrating textile production in factories. |
| Coke smelting | 1709; Abraham Darby used coke in a blast furnace Cheaper, hotter fuel than charcoal; enabled large-scale ironmaking. |
| Puddling and rolling | 1784; Henry Cort's process for making wrought iron Converted pig iron to malleable iron and standardized rolled shapes. |
| Steam locomotive | 1829; Stephenson's Rocket won the Rainhill Trials Proved fast, reliable steam rail transport; triggered railway boom. |
| Telegraph | 1844; Samuel Morse sent first long-distance message Instant long-range communication—“What hath God wrought?”—shrank markets. |
| Factory system | Centralized, mechanized production in mills Late 18th‑century Britain; strict time discipline and division of labor. |
| Urbanization | Rapid migration to industrial cities Mill towns like Manchester and Leeds expanded explosively. |
| Luddites | 1811–1816; English artisans who smashed machinery Protested wage cuts and job loss in textiles amid mechanization. |
| Chartism | 1838–1848; mass movement for male suffrage and reforms The People’s Charter demanded votes for men and parliamentary changes. |
| Factory Act 1833 | 1833; banned under-9s; limited hours; factory inspectors First effective UK regulation of child labor in textile mills. |
| Public Health Act 1848 | 1848; created General Board of Health in Britain Promoted sewers and clean water to combat cholera in industrial towns. |
| Bessemer process | 1856; air blown through molten iron to make steel Slashed steel costs; enabled rails, bridges, and skyscrapers. |
| Synthetic dyes | 1856; Perkin discovered mauveine by accident Kickstarted modern chemical industry, especially in Germany. |
| Telephone | 1876; Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone Enabled real-time voice communication over long distances. |
| Incandescent lamp | 1879; Thomas Edison demonstrated practical bulb Safer, longer-lasting light; extended factory and home hours. |
| Electric power station | 1882; Edison opened Pearl Street central station First commercial central power plant in the U.S.; urban grids spread. |
| Internal combustion engine | 1876; Nikolaus Otto's four-stroke engine High power-to-weight; foundation for autos and aircraft. |
| Automobile | 1886; Karl Benz patented the Motorwagen First practical gasoline car; launched the automotive industry. |
| Assembly line | 1913; Ford introduced the moving assembly line Cut Model T build time sharply; hallmark of mass production. |
| Standard Oil | 1870; John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil Dominated U.S. refining; broken up under antitrust in 1911. |
| Haber–Bosch process | 1909–1913; industrial ammonia synthesis Fixed nitrogen for fertilizers and explosives; boosted global yields. |