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- Patent #610,040, Carburetor Improvements by Henry Ford, Granted August 30, 1898 - Henry Ford received a patent in August 1898 for an improved automobile carburetor -- the device that mixes the fuel and air sent to an engine's cylinders. It was part of Ford's work to design and build his first marketable automobile. Ford's first company, the Detroit Automobile Company, was formed in July 1899 but closed after 15 months.
- August 30, 1898
- Collections - Artifact
Patent #610,040, Carburetor Improvements by Henry Ford, Granted August 30, 1898
Henry Ford received a patent in August 1898 for an improved automobile carburetor -- the device that mixes the fuel and air sent to an engine's cylinders. It was part of Ford's work to design and build his first marketable automobile. Ford's first company, the Detroit Automobile Company, was formed in July 1899 but closed after 15 months.
- Henry Ford Driving the Quadricycle near Cass Park in Detroit, 1896 - This photograph shows Henry Ford, age 33, with his Quadricycle in Detroit in the fall of 1896. He built his first gasoline powered vehicle with help from some friends in a shed behind a house he and his wife, Clara, rented.
- 1896
- Collections - Artifact
Henry Ford Driving the Quadricycle near Cass Park in Detroit, 1896
This photograph shows Henry Ford, age 33, with his Quadricycle in Detroit in the fall of 1896. He built his first gasoline powered vehicle with help from some friends in a shed behind a house he and his wife, Clara, rented.
- Calculating and Printing Machine, Made by Leon Bollee, France, circa 1900 - Leon Bollee manufactured automobiles in France from 1895 until his death in 1913. He also invented a series of mechanical calculating machines -- forerunners of the electric calculator. Bollee made an important contribution to aviation when he provided Wilbur Wright with workspace and a crew of mechanics for Wright's successful airplane demonstrations at Le Mans, France, in 1908.
- circa 1900
- Collections - Artifact
Calculating and Printing Machine, Made by Leon Bollee, France, circa 1900
Leon Bollee manufactured automobiles in France from 1895 until his death in 1913. He also invented a series of mechanical calculating machines -- forerunners of the electric calculator. Bollee made an important contribution to aviation when he provided Wilbur Wright with workspace and a crew of mechanics for Wright's successful airplane demonstrations at Le Mans, France, in 1908.
- Francis Jehl's Notes to Thomas Edison for the Incandescent Lamp Lighting during Light's Golden Jubilee, 1929 - To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the incandescent electric lamp, Henry Ford hosted the Light's Golden Jubilee event in Dearborn, Michigan. During the festivities, Thomas Edison and former assistant Francis Jehl re-enacted the 1879 test of Edison's first successful light bulb in Greenfield Village's detailed reproduction of his Menlo Park Laboratory. Jehl provided the elderly inventor with handwritten notes to help guide Edison through the re-enactment.
- October 21, 1929
- Collections - Artifact
Francis Jehl's Notes to Thomas Edison for the Incandescent Lamp Lighting during Light's Golden Jubilee, 1929
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the incandescent electric lamp, Henry Ford hosted the Light's Golden Jubilee event in Dearborn, Michigan. During the festivities, Thomas Edison and former assistant Francis Jehl re-enacted the 1879 test of Edison's first successful light bulb in Greenfield Village's detailed reproduction of his Menlo Park Laboratory. Jehl provided the elderly inventor with handwritten notes to help guide Edison through the re-enactment.
- Henry Ford Driving His Quadricycle in Detroit, Michigan, 1896 - This photograph shows Henry Ford, age 33, with his first gasoline-powered vehicle in October of 1896. He built the Quadricycle with help from some friends in a shed behind a house he and his wife, Clara, rented.
- October 01, 1896
- Collections - Artifact
Henry Ford Driving His Quadricycle in Detroit, Michigan, 1896
This photograph shows Henry Ford, age 33, with his first gasoline-powered vehicle in October of 1896. He built the Quadricycle with help from some friends in a shed behind a house he and his wife, Clara, rented.
- Edison Dynamo Used on SS Columbia, 1880 - For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.
- 1880
- Collections - Artifact
Edison Dynamo Used on SS Columbia, 1880
For Thomas Edison, successful experimental results were but a prelude to continual improvements that would lead to commercial implementation. This dynamo is from the first lighting system he sold -- installed on a ship, four months after the December 1879 experimental demonstration. Its crude finish, at odds with the highly advanced technology it embodied, suggests Edison's impatient eagerness to move from experiment to market.
- Thomas Edison Perfecting His Wax Cylinder Phonograph, 1888 - Throughout his life, Thomas Edison continued to develop the phonograph he had invented in 1877. On June 11, 1888, Edison launched a round-the-clock session with his assistants to perfect the phonograph. When he emerged from his West Orange, New Jersey, laboratory days later, the exhausted, slumping inventor posed for this photograph with his improved machine.
- June 10, 1888
- Collections - Artifact
Thomas Edison Perfecting His Wax Cylinder Phonograph, 1888
Throughout his life, Thomas Edison continued to develop the phonograph he had invented in 1877. On June 11, 1888, Edison launched a round-the-clock session with his assistants to perfect the phonograph. When he emerged from his West Orange, New Jersey, laboratory days later, the exhausted, slumping inventor posed for this photograph with his improved machine.
- Patent Model of Edison's Printing Telegraph Improvement, 1872 -
- 1872
- Collections - Artifact
Patent Model of Edison's Printing Telegraph Improvement, 1872
- Wright Brothers Piloting Their 1902 Glider in 1903, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina - The Wright brothers' 1902 glider was their third aircraft tested at Kill Devil Hills in as many years. It was also the first built with aerodynamic calculations based on the Wrights' own wind tunnel tests. The improvements in performance were stunning. The brothers made more than 700 glides in 1902. Many were over 500 feet long, and some exceeded 600 feet.
- October 21, 1903
- Collections - Artifact
Wright Brothers Piloting Their 1902 Glider in 1903, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
The Wright brothers' 1902 glider was their third aircraft tested at Kill Devil Hills in as many years. It was also the first built with aerodynamic calculations based on the Wrights' own wind tunnel tests. The improvements in performance were stunning. The brothers made more than 700 glides in 1902. Many were over 500 feet long, and some exceeded 600 feet.
- Patent Model of Edmondson's Circular Calculating Machine, 1883 - Mechanical calculators used gears, cogs, levers, and rotating drums to solve mathematical problems indirectly. While Edmondson's Circular Calculator was rugged and reliable, its "stepped drum" system required people to slide plates and levers, making it difficult to master and time-consuming to operate. By the late 19th century, improved adding machines became popular, helping to reduce the common errors of human calculation.
- 1883
- Collections - Artifact
Patent Model of Edmondson's Circular Calculating Machine, 1883
Mechanical calculators used gears, cogs, levers, and rotating drums to solve mathematical problems indirectly. While Edmondson's Circular Calculator was rugged and reliable, its "stepped drum" system required people to slide plates and levers, making it difficult to master and time-consuming to operate. By the late 19th century, improved adding machines became popular, helping to reduce the common errors of human calculation.