There have been many inventions that have changed the world. Although Britain is a small country in comparison to say China or the United States many of the world’s most important inventions have in fact been developed on British shores. Here are 7 inventions that have altered the world we live in today!
All of us use objects everyday that have been developed thanks to the brains of some of Britain’s best. Items like the telephone, the internet and even simple tin canned goods might have developed differently if it wasn’t for the innovate ideas of the people listed below. Let’s have a look at 7 British inventions that have changed the world in which we live in.
1/ Telephone
Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell is known as the inventor of the telephone after being awarded the patent in 1876. However many others have tried to claim this title including his rival Elisha Gray who filed a similar patent just hours before Bell. The patent for the telephone is believed to be one of the most valuable in the world. It led the way for other technological advances like the television and smartphones which we use today.
2/ World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee is the British engineer and computer scientist who invented the Worldwide Web that we couldn’t live without in today’s society. While working a CERN in 1989 he successfully managed to implement a communication between a hypertext HTTP client and server using the internet. The first website went online in 1991 which then created the base for the internet that we know today!
3/ ATM machines
In 1964 the first patent for an “Acess Controller” cash machine was granted in the UK. The concept of combining a card and a PIN number was first invented by Adrian Ashfield in 1962 which has remained the same ever since. The first ever cash machine that allowed bank clients to access money at any time of day was installed in the Enfield Town’s Barclays Bank branch in North London in 1967.
4/ Light bulb
Joseph Wilson Swan was a British physicist and inventor who is know for creating the first successful light bulbs. In 1881 he developed the first light bulbs that could be fitted in people’s homes, public theatres and in the Savoy Theatre in London. This invention has shaped our lives as we couldn’t live without electric lights in today’s society.
5/ Penicillin
This is one of the most important inventions in the medical domain. Scottish microbiologist Sir Alexander Flemming discovered the world’s first antibiotic substance benzylpenicilli in 1928. Interestingly this important discovery was in fact made by mistake. He noticed that a petri dish had been mistakenly left open and a mould had started to develop. As a result Flemming discovered penicillin from the Penicillium notatum mould found in the dish.
6/ Tin can
There is some controversy surrounding who initially invented the tin can as it has been linked to a Frenchman Phillipe de Girard. However it was the Englishman Peter Durand who patented the idea of a tin can storage in 1810. In the end he did not peruse the business concept and in 1812 he sold his patent to Bryan Donkin and John Hall. These entrepreneurial Englishmen then started the world’s first commercial canning factory on Southwark Park Road in London. From as early as 1813, tin canned food products were used by the Royal Navy!
7/ Television
Although there are many people who played a role in the creation of television, the Scottish engineer John Logie Baird is commonly attributed to the invention. In 1925 he gave the first public demonstration of televised images in a London department store. Many other inventors across the world were carrying out similar demonstrations at this time. However in 1927 Logie Baird managed to transmit a long distance signal between London and Glasgow on a telephone line. He also broadcast the world’s first transatlantic television signal between London and New York in 1928.
This is just a small selection of fantastic British inventions. Brits also invented many other objects like the toothbrush, bagless vacuum cleaners and even the concept of eating a bar of chocolate! Have a look at the articles below for some more interesting inventions throughout the world.
