Timeline of transportation technology
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timeline A timeline is a display of a list of events in chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any suitable scale representi ...
of
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
ation technology and technological developments in the culture of transportation.


Antiquity

*20th millennium BC – rafts used on rivers. *7th millennium BC– Earliest known
shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...
s. *6th millennium BC–
Dugout canoes A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
constructed. *4th millennium BC– The earliest vehicles may have been ox carts. *3500 BCE –
Domestication of the horse A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. How and when hors ...
and invention of the
wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...
in
Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
*Toys excavated from the
Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
(3010–1500 BC) include small carts. *3000 BCE –
Austronesians The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Austrone ...
construct
catamarans A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
and
outriggers An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...
. ** In the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
,
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s were developed about 3000 BC. *2nd millennium BC – Cart mentioned in literature,
chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
and
spoked wheel A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel (the hub where the axle connects), connecting the hub with the round traction surface. The term originally referred to portions of a log that had been riven (split l ...
invented. *800 BC –
Canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
for transport constructed in
Ancient China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
. *408 BC –
Wheelbarrow A wheelbarrow is a small hand-propelled vehicle, usually with just one wheel, designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear, or by a sail to push the ancient wheelbarrow by wind. The term "wheelbarrow" is mad ...
referenced in
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
.


Middle Ages

*5th Century –
Horse collar A horse collar is a part of a horse harness that is used to distribute the load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plough. The collar often supports and pads a pair of curved metal or wooden pieces, called hames, to whi ...
invented in China. *6th Century - Evidence of a
horseshoe A horseshoe is a fabricated product designed to protect a horse hoof from wear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface (ground side) of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall that is anatomically akin to the human toen ...
in the tomb of the Frankish King
Childeric I Childeric I (; french: Childéric; la, Childericus; reconstructed Frankish: ''*Hildirīk''; – 481 AD) was a Frankish leader in the northern part of imperial Roman Gaul and a member of the Merovingian dynasty, described as a king (Latin ''re ...
,
Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. *Late 7th century - First suspension bridge, Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan *800 – The streets of
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
are paved with
tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black bit ...
. * 9th century - The sine quadrant, was invented by
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī ( ar, محمد بن موسى الخوارزمي, Muḥammad ibn Musā al-Khwārazmi; ), or al-Khwarizmi, was a Persians, Persian polymath from Khwarazm, who produced vastly influential works in Mathematics ...
in the 9th century at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. The other types were the universal quadrant, the horary quadrant and the astrolabe quadrant. *10th Century – sea-going
Junk (ship) A junk (Chinese: 船, ''chuán'') is a type of China, Chinese sailing ship with junk rig, fully battened sails. There are two types of junk in China: northern junk, which developed from Chinese river boats, and southern junk, which developed fro ...
ships built in China. *Late 10th century – Kamal invented in Arab world. *1044 –
Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
invented in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. *13th century (or before) –
Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
missiles used in China. Rocket powered passenger vehicles did not appear until 1939. *1350 – Compass dial invented by
Ibn al-Shatir ʿAbu al-Ḥasan Alāʾ al‐Dīn ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ansari known as Ibn al-Shatir or Ibn ash-Shatir ( ar, ابن الشاطر; 1304–1375) was an Arab astronomer, mathematician and engineer. He worked as '' muwaqqit'' (موقت, religious ...
. *1479-1519 -
Da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested on h ...
sketches
pedalo A pedalo (British English) or paddle boat (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel. Description A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the ...
. *1495-1504 - The oldest extant
cable railway Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a he ...
is probably the
Reisszug The Reisszug (also spelt Reißzug or Reiszug) is a private cable railway providing goods access to the Hohensalzburg Castle at Salzburg in Austria. It is notable for its extreme age, as it is believed to date back to either 1495 or 1504. The Reis ...
, a private line providing goods access to
Hohensalzburg Fortress Hohensalzburg Fortress (german: Festung Hohensalzburg, lit=High Salzburg Fortress) is a large medieval fortress in the city of Salzburg, Austria. It sits atop the Festungsberg at an altitude of 506 m. It was erected at the behest of the Prince-Arc ...
at
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...
in Austria. This line is generally described as the oldest
funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
. *15th century –
Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha ( en, John Zizka of Trocnov and the Chalice; 1360 – 11 October 1424) was a Czech general – a contemporary and follower of Jan Hus and a Radical Hussite who led the Taborites. Žižka was a successful milit ...
built the precursor to the motorised tank, armoured wagons equipped with cannons. *1569 -
Mercator 1569 world map The Mercator world map of 1569 is titled (Renaissance Latin for "New and more complete representation of the terrestrial globe properly adapted for use in navigation"). The title shows that Gerardus Mercator aimed to present contemporary know ...
published. *Late 16th century –
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an sailing ships become advanced enough to reliably cross oceans.


17th century

*1604 – The world's first recorded overland
wagonway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded Steam locomotive, steam-powered rail transport, railways. The t ...
, the
Wollaton Wagonway The Wollaton Wagonway (or Waggonway), built between October 1603 and 1604 in the East Midlands of England by Huntingdon Beaumont in partnership with Sir Percival Willoughby, has sometimes been credited as the world's first ''overground'' wagon ...
, is built by
Huntingdon Beaumont Huntingdon Beaumont (c.1560–1624) was an English coal mining entrepreneur who built two of the earliest wagonways in England for trans-shipment of coal. He was less successful as a businessman and died having been imprisoned for debt. Beaum ...
in
Nottingham, England Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robin ...
, for the transport of coal. *1616 - The first recorded mechanical ropeway was by
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n
Fausto Veranzio Fausto Veranzio ( la, Faustus Verantius; hr, Faust Vrančić; Hungarian and Vernacular Latin: ''Verancsics Faustus'';Andrew L. SimonMade in Hungary: Hungarian contributions to universal culture/ref>Cornelius Drebbel Cornelis Jacobszoon Drebbel ( ) (1572 – 7 November 1633) was a Dutch engineer and inventor. He was the builder of the first operational submarine in 1620 and an innovator who contributed to the development of measurement and control systems, ...
builds the world's first known
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
, which is propelled by oars (although there are earlier ideas for and depictions of submarines). *1644 -
Adam Wybe Adam Wybe, also known as Adam Wiebe (born July 12, 1584 in Harlingen, Friesland Harlingen (; fy, Harns ) is a municipality and a city in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland on the coast of Wadden Sea. Harlingen is a town ...
builds world's first cable car on multiple supports. It was the biggest built until the end of the 19th century. *1655 - Stephan Farffler was a Nuremberg watchmaker of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled
wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
. *1662 –
Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...
invents a horse-drawn public
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
which has a regular route, schedule, and fare system. *1672 –
Ferdinand Verbiest Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in the County of Flanders (now part of Belgium). He is known as Nan Huairen () in C ...
built what may have been the first steam-powered scale
model car A model car, or toy car, is a miniature representation of an automobile. Other miniature motor vehicles, such as trucks, buses, or even ATVs, etc. are often included in this general category. Because many miniature vehicles were originally aime ...
.


18th century

*1716 – Swedish scientist,
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...
, creates the first concept of a hovering vehicle. *1720 -
Differential gear A differential is a gear train with three drive shafts that has the property that the rotational speed of one shaft is the average of the speeds of the others, or a fixed multiple of that average. Functional description The following descr ...
invented by Joseph Williamson. *1731 -
Sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...
first implemented to accurately determine latitude. *1733 -
William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...
developed an early stroller. *1740 –
Jacques de Vaucanson Jacques de Vaucanson (; February 24, 1709 – November 21, 1782) was a French inventor and artist who built the first all-metal lathe which was very important to the Industrial Revolution. The lathe is known as the mother of machine tools, as it ...
debuted his clockwork powered carriage. *1760s -
Inline skate Inline skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates typically have two to five wheels arranged in a single line. Some, especially those for recreation, ha ...
s invented. *1761 -
Marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...
invented as a means to accurately determine longitude. *1769 –
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot (26 February 1725 – 2 October 1804) was a French inventor who built the world's first full-size and working self-propelled mechanical land-vehicle, the "Fardier à vapeur" – effectively the world's first automobile. B ...
demonstrates his ''fardier à vapeur'', an experimental steam-driven artillery tractor *1776 – First submarine to be propelled by screws, and the first military submarine to attempt an attack on a ship, ''Turtle'', is built by
David Bushnell David Bushnell (August 30, 1740 – 1824 or 1826), of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor, a patriot, one of the first American combat engineers, a teacher, and a medical doctor. Bushnell invented the first submarine to be used in ...
. The attack fails to sink . *1779 -
The Iron Bridge The Iron Bridge is a cast iron arch bridge that crosses the River Severn in Shropshire, England. Opened in 1781, it was the first major bridge in the world to be made of cast iron. Its success inspired the widespread use of cast iron as a str ...
built in Shropshire. *1783 - First
parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...
. *1783 – Joseph Montgolfier and Étienne Montgolfier launch the first
hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carries p ...
s triggering
Balloonomania Balloonomania was a strong public interest or fad in balloons that originated in France in the late 18th century and continued into the 19th century, during the advent of balloon flights. The interest began with the first flights of the Montgolf ...
. *1783 –
Jacques Charles Jacques Alexandre César Charles (November 12, 1746 – April 7, 1823) was a French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist. Charles wrote almost nothing about mathematics, and most of what has been credited to him was due to mistaking ...
and Les Frères Robert (Anne-Jean Robert and Nicolas-Louis Robert) launch the first
Hydrogen balloon Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, and ...
. *1784 –
William Murdoch William Murdoch (sometimes spelled Murdock) (21 August 1754 – 15 November 1839) was a Scottish engineer and inventor. Murdoch was employed by the firm of Boulton & Watt and worked for them in Cornwall, as a steam engine erector for ten yea ...
built a working model of a
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
carriage in Redruth, England. *1789 - The pedal powered
tricycle A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike, is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle. Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, ...
was invented by two Frenchmen, named Blanchard and Maguier. *1790s –
Canal Mania Canal Mania was the period of intense canal building in England and Wales between the 1790s and 1810s, and the speculative frenzy that ensued in the early 1790s.British Canals. The Standard History. Joseph Boughey and Charles Hadfield. Backgro ...
, an intense period of canal building in England and Wales.


19th century


Early 19th century

*1801 –
Richard Trevithick Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He w ...
ran a full-sized steam ' road locomotive' on the road in Camborne, England. *1803 – Richard Trevithick built his 10-seater
London Steam Carriage The London Steam Carriage was an early steam-powered road vehicle constructed by Richard Trevithick in 1803 and the world's first self-propelled passenger-carrying vehicle. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, Cugnot had built a steam vehicle 30 years previous ...
. *1803 –
William Symington William Symington (1764–1831) was a Scottish engineer and inventor, and the builder of the first practical steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas. Early life Symington was born in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, to a family he described as ...
's '' Charlotte Dundas'', generally considered to be the world's first practical
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
, makes her first voyage. *1804 – Richard Trevithick built a prototype steam-powered
railway locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the us ...
and it ran on the Pen-y-Darren Line near Merthyr Tydfil Wales. *1804 –
Oliver Evans Oliver Evans (September 13, 1755 – April 15, 1819) was an American inventor, engineer and businessman born in rural Delaware and later rooted commercially in Philadelphia. He was one of the first Americans building steam engines and an advoca ...
(claimed to have) demonstrated a steam-powered
amphibious vehicle An amphibious vehicle (or simply amphibian), is a vehicle that is a means of transport viable on land as well as on or under water. Amphibious vehicles include amphibious bicycles, ATVs, cars, buses, trucks, railway vehicles, combat vehicles an ...
. * 1807 – Francois Isaac de Rivaz – the
De Rivaz engine The de Rivaz engine was a pioneering reciprocating engine designed and developed from 1804 by the Franco-Swiss inventor Isaac de Rivaz. The engine has a claim to be the world's first internal combustion engine and contained some features of modern ...
, the first internal combustion engine using hydrogen as a fuel * 1807 - The
Swansea and Mumbles Railway The Swansea and Mumbles Railway was the venue for the world's first passenger horsecar railway service, located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Originally built under an Act of Parliament of 1804 to move limestone from the quarries of Mum ...
ran the world's first passenger
horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
service. * 1807 –
Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboat ...
's ''
North River Steamboat The ''North River Steamboat'' or ''North River'', colloquially known as the ''Clermont'', is widely regarded as the world's first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial water transportation. Built in 1807, ...
'', the world's first commercially successful steamboat, makes her maiden voyage. * 1807 –
Nicéphore Niépce Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (; 7 March 1765 – 5 July 1833), commonly known or referred to simply as Nicéphore Niépce, was a French inventor, usually credited with the invention of photography. Niépce developed heliography, a technique he use ...
installed his
Pyréolophore The Pyréolophore () was probably the world's first internal combustion engine. It was invented in the early 19th century in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, by the Niépce brothers: Nicéphore (who went on to invent photography) and Claude. In 180 ...
internal combustion engine in a boat and powered up the river Saone in France. *1807 –
Isaac de Rivas Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
made a hydrogen gas powered internal combustion engine and mounted it on a vehicle. *1809 - First stone laid of first '
guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired tra ...
' passenger
wagonway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded Steam locomotive, steam-powered rail transport, railways. The t ...
Gloucester and Cheltenham Tramroad. *1812 – First commercially successful self-propelled engine on land was Mathew Murray's Salamanca (locomotive), ''Salamanca'' on Middleton Railway using toothed wheels and rail. *1812 – Timothy Hackworth's "Puffing Billy (locomotive), Puffing Billy" ran on smooth Cast Iron Rails at Wylam Colliery near Newcastle *1814 – George Stephenson built the first practical steam-powered railway locomotive "Blutcher" at Killingworth Colliery. *1816 – The most likely originator of the Bicycle is the German, Baron Karl von Drais, who rode his 1816 machine while collecting taxes from his tenants. * 1819 – , the first vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean partly under steam power, arrives at Liverpool, England from Savannah, Georgia. *1819 - Denis Johnson invents kick scooter. *1822 – Stephenson built a locomotive and designed the railway for Hetton Colliery which is first railway not to use any horse-traction but it did have several rope hauled sections. *1822 – First Meeting of Liverpool Manchester Railway Company Permanent Committee. *1825 - Stephenson's Locomotion No. 1 runs on Stockton & Darlington Railway which opens as first public railway and uses horses and self-propelled steam engines and stationary engines with ropes along a single track. No stations and no timetables as anyone could hire the track to use their own vehicle on it. * 1825 – Goldsworthy Gurney, Sir Goldsworthy Gurney invented a series of Goldsworthy Gurney#Gurney's steam carriage, steam-powered passenger carriages and by 1829 completed the 120-mile journey from London to Bath, Somerset and back. *1825 - The first suspension railway was opened at Cheshunt, England, United Kingdom on 25 June. *1826 – Bill passed for Liverpool and Manchester Railway at second attempt and George Stephenson commences work on 35-mile twin track line permitting simultaneous travel in both directions between the 2 towns. Means of traction not specified to reduce opposition. *1828 – Stephenson's "Lancashire Witch" runs on Bolton and Leigh Railway line - a public goods line to connect Leeds and Liverpool Canal and Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. Railway has rope hauled and self-propelled steam engines and single track. *1829 – Rainhill Trials to find best self-propelled engine for Liverpool Manchester line are won by Robert Stephenson's Rocket proving there is no need for horse traction or static engines on the main line. ''Rocket'' becomes basic formula for all future steam engines with boiler tubes, blast pipe, and the use of coal rather than coke. *1830 – Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens. First public transport system without animal traction, first public line with no rope hauled sections for main journey, first twin track, first railway between 2 large towns, first timetabled trains, first railway stations, first train faster than a mail coach, first tunnels under streets, first proper modern railway which formed the template for all subsequent railways. *1837 - The first electric locomotive built in 1837 was a battery locomotive. It was built by chemist Robert Davidson (inventor), Robert Davidson of Aberdeen in Scotland, and it was powered by galvanic cells (batteries). * 1838 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel's , the first purpose-built transatlantic steamship, inaugurates the first regular transatlantic steamship service. *1839 - An early electric boat was developed by the German inventor Moritz von Jacobi in 1839 in St Petersburg, Russia. It was a boat which carried 14 passengers at . It was successfully demonstrated to Emperor Nicholas I of Russia on the Neva River. *1840s – Railway Mania sweeps UK and Ireland. 6,220 miles (10,010 km) of railway line were built *1843 - Dalkey Atmospheric Railway, Dalkey Atmospheric railway opens. *1847 - The first steam railcar was designed by James Samuel, the Eastern Counties Railway Locomotive Engineer, built by William Bridges Adams in 1847, and trialled between Shoreditch and Cambridge on 23 October 1847. *1849 - Sir George Cayley's Glider (aircraft), gliders achieved brief wing-borne hops from around 1849.


Late 19th century

*1852 – Elisha Otis invents the safety elevator. *1853 – Sir George Cayley built and demonstrated the first heavier-than-air aircraft (a glider aircraft, glider). ** - Quadracycle invented. *1859 - First model railway for Napoléon, Prince Imperial. *1859 - Gaston Planté invented the lead–acid battery, the first-ever battery that could be recharged by passing a reverse current through it. *1860 - first urban horse railway line (a predecessor of trams), opened in Saint Petersburg. *1862 – Étienne Lenoir made a gasoline engine automobile. *1863 – London's Metropolitan Railway opened to the public as the world's first underground railway. * 1863 – Étienne Lenoir– Hippomobile (car), Hippomobile *1867 – First modern History of the motorcycle, motorcycle was invented. *1868 – Safety bicycle invented. *1868 – George Westinghouse invented the air brake (rail), compressed-air brake for railway trains. *1868 – Louis-Guillaume Perreaux's Michaux-Perreaux steam velocipede, steam velocipede, a steam engine attached to a Pierre Michaux, Michaux velocipede. *1869 - Jules Suriray, a Parisian bicycle mechanic, designed the first radial style ball bearing. *1870 - First definite record of a kicksled. *1874 - Midland railway introduces the first bogie. *1875 - World's first electric tram line operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg, Russia, invented and tested by Fyodor Pirotsky. *1880 – Werner von Siemens builds first electric elevator. *1881 - World's first commercially successful electric tram, the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde (Berlin), Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with Overhead line, overhead wire being installed in 1883. *1882 - The trolleybus dates back to 29 April 1882, when Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens, Ernst Werner Siemens demonstrated his "Elektromote" in a Berlin suburb. This experiment continued until 13 June 1882 *1883 - Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram, Vipenna, Austria, first electric tram powered by overhead wire. *1884 - Thomas Parker (inventor), Thomas Parker built a practical production electric car in Wolverhampton using his own specially designed high-capacity rechargeable batteries. *1885 – Karl Benz invents the first car powered by an internal combustion engine, he called it the Benz Patent Motorwagen. *1887 - The first Battery electric multiple unit (battery rail car) was used on the Royal Bavarian State Railways. *1888 - Flocken Elektrowagen built by German inventor Andreas Flocken, the first true electric car. *1889 - The first interurban tram-train to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. *1889 - First introduced in 1889, battery vehicles milk floats expanded use in 1931 and by 1967 gave Britain the largest electric vehicle fleet in the world. *1890s – Bike boom sweeps Europe and America with hundreds of bicycle manufacturers in the biggest bicycle craze to date *1890 - The City and South London Railway (C&SLR) was the first deep-level underground "tube" railway in the world, and the first major railway to use Railway electrification in Great Britain, electric traction *1893 - Recumbent bicycles invented. *1893 - first moving walkway debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition. *1893 - The Liverpool Overhead Railway opened on 6 March 1893 with 2-car electric multiple units, the first to operate in the world. *1893 - Frank W. Hawley adapted an ordinary steam canal boat to a trolleyboat (named after him), which was tested on the Erie Canal in the US. *1893 - First sidecar. *1894 – Hildebrand & Wolfmüller became the Motorcycle history#First commercial products, first motorcycle available to the public for purchase. *1895 - First motorbus. In Siegerland, Germany, two passenger bus lines ran briefly, but unprofitably, in 1895 using a six-passenger motor carriage developed from the 1893 Benz Viktoria. *1896 – Jesse W. Reno builds first escalator at Coney Island, and then reinstalls it on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. *1896 - First battery powered monorail, Ontario Southern Railway (Ontario). * 1897 – Charles Algernon Parsons, Charles Parsons' ''Turbinia'', the first vessel to be powered by a steam turbine, makes her debut. * 1897 – Most likely the first electric bicycle was built in 1897 by Hosea W. Libbey. *1899 - The Lohner-Porsche Mixte Hybrid was both the world's first hybrid vehicle, and the first four-wheel drive without a steam engine. * 1899 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin builds the first successful airship. *1900 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin launches LZ 1, the first successful airship.


20th century


Early 20th century

*1903 **Wright brothers, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright – Fly the first motor-driven airplane. **Diesel engine – Tested in a canal boat by Rudolph Diesel, Adrian Bochet and Frederic Dyckhoff. **first diesel motorship was also the first diesel–electric ship, the Russian tanker ''Vandal (tanker), Vandal'' from Branobel, which was launched in 1903 *1904 - The first non-experimental trolleybus system was a seasonal municipal line installed near Hull, MA, Nantasket Beach in 1904; the first year-round commercial line was built to open a hilly property to development just outside Los Angeles in 1910. *1906 - Early hydrofoil used by Enrico Forlanini. *1907 - The London Electrobus Company started running a service of battery-electric buses between London's Victoria Station and Liverpool Street on 15 July 1907. *1908 - the Kohlerer-funicular went into service in Bolzano. It was the first modern (enclosed) Aerial lift, cable car in the world to carry passengers. *1908 – First mass-produced automobile- Henry Ford develops the assembly line method of automobile manufacturing with the introduction of the Model T, Ford Model T. *1910 - Fabre Hydravion first seaplane. *1911 – ''Selandia'' launched – First ocean-going, diesel engine-driven ship. *1912 - The world's first diesel locomotive (a diesel-mechanical locomotive) was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway in Switzerland. *1912 - Articulated vehicle, Articulated trams, invented and first used by the Boston Elevated Railway. *1914 - The first application of railway electric traffic light signals was by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad's use of the US&S "Style L" colour light signal on their line through the Pacific Northwest. *1915 **The Luftkissengleitboot Hovercraft – First hovering vehicle was created by Dagobert Müller. It could only travel on water. **Motorized scooter invented. **A British commission was tasked with creating a vehicle able to cross a 4 ft wide trench – the tank. *1916 – First tank prototype, nicknamed "mother", was created by Britain during World War I. *1919 - HD-4 first hydroplane (boat), hydroplane launched by Alexander Graham Bell. *1923 - First controlled autogyro rotorcraft flight in Cierva C.4. *1924 - The world's first functional diesel locomotive (diesel-electric locomotive) (Russian locomotive class E el-2, Eel2 original number Юэ 001/Yu-e 001) started operations, designed by a team led by Yuri Lomonosov and built 1923–1924 by Maschinenfabrik Esslingen in Germany. *1926 – Robert Goddard (scientist), Robert Goddard launches the first bipropellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. *1928 - First Moth (dinghy) built in Inverloch, Victoria, Inverloch. *1932 - The first electric golf cart was custom-made in 1932, but did not gain widespread acceptance. *1935 – First flight of the DC-3, one of the most significant transport aircraft in the history of aviation. *1939 - 20 June - First rocket powered aircraft, the Heinkel He 176, takes flight. *1939 – 27 August - First jet engine aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, takes flight. *1940 - First fully articulated bus Isotta Fraschini TS40. *1942 – V-2 rocket, V2 rocket covers a distance of . *1943 - Traffic cone invented. *1947 – Chuck Yeager in the Bell X1 completes the first supersonic manned flight.


Late 20th Century

*1950 - First Heritage railway. *1952 - Supramar launched the first commercial high-speed craft, a hydrofoil. *1952 - de Havilland Comet first commercial jet air liner. *1955 – First nuclear marine propulsion, nuclear-powered vessel, , a submarine, is launched. *1956 - Demonstration of SR.N1, first modern hovercraft by Christopher Cockerell. *1957 **Sputnik 1 – First artificial satellite to be launched into orbit. **''Gateway City'' – World's first purpose-built container ship, enters service. **First flight of the Boeing 707 – First commercially successful jet airliner. *1959 - The first modern fuel cell vehicle was a modified Allis-Chalmers farm tractor, fitted with a 15 kilowatt fuel cell, around 1959. *1961 – Vostok 1, first crewed space mission, designed by Sergey Korolyov, makes two orbits around the Earth with Yuri Gagarin. *1962 - The first ascending-gliding parachute was developed by Pierre-Marcel Lemoigne in 1962. *1964 - Shinkansen first high-speed rail. *1966 - Caspian Sea Monster ground effect vehicle introduced. *1967 - Automatic train operation introduced on London Underground. *1968 - Space hopper invented. *1969 **First flight of the Boeing 747 – First commercial widebody airliner. **NASA rocket technology, spurred on by the US/Russia Space Race – Makes the first Apollo 11, crewed Moon landing a reality. **Lolo ball invented. *1971 – Salyut 1, first space station, launched by Soviet Union. **Runcorn busway was the world's first bus rapid transit system. *1973 - Stadtbahnwagen B premetro, hybrid tram-train on heavy rail tracks developed. First modern premetro since interurbans. *1975 – Morgantown PRT, first Personal Rapid Transit system to be installed. *1976 – Concorde makes the world's first commercial passenger-carrying supersonic flight. *1977 - The first self driving car, semi-automated car was developed in 1977, by Japan's Tsukuba Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, which required specially marked streets. *1980 - Modern
guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of schedules even during rush hours. Unlike trolleybuses or rubber-tired tra ...
passenger service introduced in Essen. *1981 – Maiden flight of the Space Shuttle. *1981 - The first fully Automated guideway transit driverless people mover train technology introduced on Port Island Line, Japan. *1983 - First Automated guideway transit driverless metro, and one of the first fully driverless train technologies, Véhicule Automatique Léger introduced in Lille Metro, France. *1984 - First commercial maglev, albeit low-speed opens in Birmingham. *1985 - Sinclair C5, the first mass-produced electric battery velomobile launched. *1989 - Snakeboard invented. *1990 - First transport simulation computer game Railroad Tycoon released. *1990 - ADtranz low floor tram world's first completely low-floor tram introduced. *1994 – Channel Tunnel opens. *1994 - Modern kickbike invented in Finland. *1997 – First Shinkansen#Maglev (Chuo Shinkansen), Maglev train prototypes are tested in Japan. *1997 - Toyota RAV4 EV, first nickel-metal hydride batteries (NiMH) electric car. Toyota Prius first mass-produced full hybrid car. *1997 - Nissan R'nessa, first short-run production lithium-ion battery electric car. *1998 - First ion-propulsion spacecraft Deep Space 1 launched. *1998 - Honda Raccoon Compo, first folding bicycle, folding electric bicycle in Japan. *1999 - Trikke (wiggle scooter) invented. *2000 - Honda Step Compo, first folding bicycle, folding electric bicycle internationally available. *2000 - TransMilenio, first modern bus rapid transit.


21st century

*2001 - Germany trials capa vehicle hybrid buses in Nuremberg using an ultracapacitor to store electrical energy. *2002 – Segway PT self-balancing personal transport was launched by inventor Dean Kamen. *2003 - Concorde makes last passenger flight. *2003 - First modern Ground-level power supply technology, Bordeaux tramway. *2003 - Germany introduces capa vehicle trams in Mannheim. *2003 - NE Train trials first hybrid train to use lithium-ion batteries. *2004 – Shanghai Maglev Train, First commercial high speed Maglev train starts operation between Shanghai and its airport. *2004 - First modern urban transit aerial cable car Metrocable (Medellín). *2008 - Tesla Roadster (2008), Tesla Roadster, first mass production lithium-ion battery electric car. *2009 - Škoda 15 T world's first completely low-floor tram with articulated bogies introduced. *2010s - Mobile apps and online platforms for finding, planning, offering and booking affordable public transport such as buses as well as carsharing, bicycle sharing system, bicycle sharing and carpooling emerge and are becoming popular along with associated transportation infrastructure networks (examples: BlaBlaCar, Flixbus) *2010 – ULTra (rapid transit), the first modern commercial Personal Rapid Transit system to be installed. Started operations at Heathrow Airport. *2010 - IKAROS spacecraft launched with solar sail propulsion. *2013 - Self-balancing scooter invented. *2015 - In March, CSR Corporation Limited, China South Rail Corporation (CSR) demonstrated the world's first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle tramcar at an assembly facility in Qingdao. *2015 - Navya SAS launch first autonomous bus, Navya Autonom Shuttle at Sheba Medical Center, Israel. *2016 - First hydrogen fuel cell powered passenger aircraft flight DLR HY4. *2017 - First 100% low-floor tram Ground-level power supply technology, ''TramWave'', opening of Trams in Zhuhai, Zhuhai tram China. *2018 - First driverless trams in Potsdam, Germany tested. *2018 - First mass-produced hydrogen fuel cell car, Toyota Mirai. *2018 - First electroaerodynamic thrust winged Ion-propelled aircraft test flight of MIT EAD Airframe Version 2 using ionic wind. *2018 – First commercial Hydrail, hydrogen-powered passenger train, Alstom Coradia Lint, launches in Lower Saxony, Germany. *2019 - The Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit opens in China. *~2016-2021 – Various first advanced trials of various types of autonomous delivery vehicles.


2020s


Transportation technologies in society

*2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic, partly due to COVID-19 lockdown, lockdowns, temporarily drastically reduces the use of surface (including Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, public) and Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, air transport technologies. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment#Cycling, Cycling is an exception to this and increased during the pandemic, along with bike-sales. *2022 – A study for the first time attempts to assess and quantify Effects of the car on societies#Public or external costs, complete societal Economics of car use, costs of cars (i.e. car-use, etc) by quantifying externality, externalities. *2022 – A study estimates the air pollution impacts on climate change and the ozone layer from rocket launches and re-entry of reusable components and space debris, debris in 2019 and from a theoretical future space industry extrapolated from the "billionaire space race". It concludes that substantial effects from routine space tourism should "motivate space law, regulation".


Sustainable transport

*2020 - First commercial flight of a Hydrogen-powered aircraft, hydrogen fuel cell plane. *2020 - Google Maps begins including Bicycle-sharing system, bike shares in its widely-used Journey planner, route planning functionality. *Early 2020s – Researchers investigate safe ways of Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, public transport during the COVID-19 pandemic. *2022 - The first rail line entirely run by Hydrail, hydrogen-powered trains debuts in Germany.


Autonomous vehicles

Milestones in autonomous sustainable / public transport vehicles are also listed in this section. *2020 - CR400BF-C 'Fuxing Hao', a variant of CR400 Fuxing series, running on Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway is the world first high-speed rail service capable of driverless automation in commercial operations. The specific Grade of Automation (GoA) was not announced. *Early 2020s - Multiple electric, autonomous buses open for public transport – albeit with a local professional driving-assistant – are being launched around the world after the first such bus started operating for the general public in a Swiss town in 2018. *2021 – The pilot project of the "world's first self-driving train, automated, driverless train" is launched in the city of Hamburg, Germany. The conventional, standard-track, non-metro train technology could, according to reports, theoretically be implemented for rail transport worldwide and is reported to also be substantially more Energy conservation, energy efficient. *2021 – The world's first urban Unmanned surface vehicle, autonomous vessels, Roboats, are deployed in the canals of Amsterdam, Netherlands. The ships developed by three institutions could carry up to five people, waste management, collect waste, Autonomous logistics, deliver goods, and provide "on-demand infrastructure". *2021 – The first Unmanned surface vehicle#Cargo, autonomous cargo ship, MV Yara Birkeland, MV ''Yara Birkeland'' is launched in Norway. The fully Electric boat, electric ship is expected to substantially reduce the need for truck journeys.


See also

* in science and technology * in aviation * in rail transport * Maritime timeline * Timeline of automobiles *Timeline of aviation *Timeline of historic inventions *History of the bicycle *History of the electric vehicle *Timeline of motorized bicycle history *Timeline of railway history *History of rapid transit *Timeline of spaceflight *Timeline of three longest spans *Ufology


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline of Transportation Technology Transport timelines, Transportation technology