University of Missouri
Famous Trials: The Trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian (1992 99)
He called his invention "the thanatron." It was an inexpensive contraption. A jewelry chain, parts from an Erector Set, an old motor, an intravenous line, and three plastic bottles. One of the bottles contained a saline solution, another...
A&E Television
History.com: How the Great Depression Became the Golden Age for Monopoly
When times got tough during the Great Depression, people played board games -- especially the game that's all about making money. The success of Monopoly befuddled many. Why, in a time of great financial despair, would families and...
PBS
Who Made America? Alexander Graham Bell
From a PBS series, They Made America, comes this biography of Alexander Graham Bell and his invention of the telephone. Read about his development of the telephone and research into the sound.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Progress: The Meaning of the Machine: Thomas Edison
A photograph of Edison and an interview of Edison by Theodore Dreiser that displays the inventor's convictions about progress in America.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: Technological Innovation
A quick comprehension check of technological innovation in the Gilded Age.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 1)
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S.government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 3)
Advancements in transportation have played a key role in the growth of our nation. U.S. government policies have also had a considerable impact on the development of transport as we know it today. In this series of three lessons, the...
Science Struck
Science Struck: When Was Electricity Discovered?: The Timeline
Learn about the history of electricity and the scientists involved in investigating it and inventing machines related to it.
Science4Fun
Science4 Fun: Cotton Gin
Illustrated article discusses Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, and how the cotton gin works.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Widget Production: Producing More Using Less
Through this economics lesson you will learn about widget production. One of the tasks is to see how productivity can help solve problems.
Smithsonian Institution
Lemelson Center: Tracing the Roots of America's Motion Picture Industry
In the late 1800's, Thomas Edison and his fellow inventors were key in the American film industry's boom.This web site provides a podcast and accompanying transcript tracing the roots of the film industry in America. Podcast [21:27]
Science Struck
Science Struck: List of Famous Discoverers
Provides a long list of famous scientists and their significant discoveries and inventions.
NSTATE
People of Connecticut: Elias Howe
This site is provided for by Netstate.com. Who's who in Connecticut history? Elias Howe invented the first sewing machine. Biography and picture.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: The Wright Stuff
Companion website to the PBS documentary on the Wright Brothers and their contributions to aviation.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Elijah Mc Coy
This is a great resource for information on Elijah McCoy. This mechanical engineer revolutionized the locomotive industry with his invention. Links to photographs and additional information are available also.
Other
Creative Thinking With Thomas Edison
As a master inventor Thomas Edison used many techniques that helped him with his creative ideas. Learn how you can apply some of his techniques to yourself to aid you in your own creative inventiveness.
Other
Granville T. Woods
Read a brief biography of Graville T. Woods, known as "The Black Edison" because of the multitude and scope of his inventions. Perhaps his most important was a way for trains to communicate with each other.
Kansas Historical Society
Kansas Historical Society: Kansapedia: Barbed Wire
Provides information on the various types of barbed wire and its uses. Includes photographs of several varieties of barbed wire.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Henry Ford Biografia (Espanol)
A brief biography of Henry Ford. Ford's great ideas were to improve the inventions around him and to produce them very efficiently. Good links to pictures and other information.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Lonnie Johnson
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Lonnie Johnson, a prolific black American musician, singer, and songwriter, one of the first major blues and jazz guitarists.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: On Time: Alarm Clock
People awoke not with the rising of the sun, but with the rude, mechanical jangling of an alarm clock at their bedsides. The clock, rather than the sun or any rhythms of nature or body, determined the patterns of life and work. People...
Curated OER
Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...
Curated OER
Black Inventor Online Museum: Lewis Latimer
The biography of the fascinating African-American inventor, Lewis Latimer. In addition to finding out about his development of the carbon filament for the incandescent lamp, you can read about his expertise in patent law, his association...
University of Houston
University of Houston: Engines of Our Ingenuity: No. 508: Ferris's Wheel
Learn about the history of the Ferris wheel in this transcript of a radio broadcast.