| ~300BC | 
  Gunpowder and rockets invented 
in China | 
 
  
 | 1045 | 
  The use of gunpowder and
rockets formed an integral aspect of Chinese military tactics | 
 
  
 | 1241 | 
  Rocket seems to have arrived 
in Europe used by the Mongols against Magyar forces at the battle of Sejo | 
 
  
 | 1258 | 
  Rockets appear in Arab literature | 
 
  
 | 1268 | 
  Arabs adopted the rocket
into their own arms inventory and, during the Seventh Crusade, used them
against the French Army of King Louis IX | 
 
  
 | 1429 | 
  Rockets in use at the siege 
of Orleans during the Hundred Years War against the English. | 
 
  
 | 1800s | 
  Arrays of grandfather clocks 
most accurate clock. | 
 
  
 | 1812 | 
  Rockets came to the New
World during the War of 1812. | 
 
  
 | 1845 | 
  US Naval Observatory begins 
dropping a ball at noon for setting of the clocks of the fleet. | 
 
  
 | 1847 | 
  Rockets where used March
24, 1847 against Mexican forces   
at the siege of Veracruz by Captain Robert E. Lee | 
 
  
 | 1875 | 
  George R. Carey of Boston 
proposes a television system in which every picture element is transmitted 
simultaneously, each over a separate circuit | 
 
  
 | 1880 | 
  The principle of scanning 
an image is proposed, by E. E. Sawyer in the U. S., Maurice Leblanc in France,
and others | 
 
  
 | 1887  
         
       | 
  First private-line telegraph 
service, for L. H. Taylor & Co., brokers, between their offices in New
York and Philadelphia. | 
 
  
 | 1888 | 
  First line telegraph service 
for news media customer, Globe Newspaper Company, between New York and Boston. | 
 
  
 | February 7, 1895 | 
  First Morse keyboard transmitter 
by E. E. Kleinschmidt | 
 
  
 | September 1895  | 
  Guglielmo Marconi, begins 
radio expermints. | 
 
  
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 | Fall 1898 | 
  Notre Dame Professor Jerome 
Green sends messages a distance of  about a mile by wireless telegraphy. 
According to Notre Dame Professor Barry Keating, this is the first wireless 
transmission of any significant distance in North America | 
 
  
 | 1900 | 
  University of Wisconsin
professors and students begin experimenting with radio transmission using
spark | 
 
  
 | 1900 | 
  The term television is coined 
by Constantin Perskyi at the International Electricity Congress, part of the
1900 Paris  Exhibition | 
 
  
 | Dec, 12 1901. | 
  Marconi received the first 
transatlantic radio signal on Signal Hill | 
 
  
 | 1904 | 
  The diode (dual element
tube) was invented by John Ambrose fleming | 
 
  
 | April 30 1904 | 
  RADAR patent(Germany) by
Christian Hulsmeyer | 
 
  
 | 1906 | 
  The triode invented by Lee 
de Forest | 
 
  
 | Jan. 13, 1906 | 
  First ad for a radio, Scientific 
American, a Telimco, $7.50 | 
 
  
 | Dec. 24, 1906.  | 
  Fessenden transmits voice 
program from Brant Rock MA | 
 
  
 | 1908.  | 
  Berlin Convention assigned 
N, W, and some K to U. S. (Call letters) | 
 
  
 | 1908.  | 
  A. Frederick Colllins broadcasts 
voice and music using an arc transmitter in Newark. | 
 
  
 | 1909.  | 
  Harriet Blatch, De Forest's 
mother-in-law, speaks in favor of women's suffrage; De Forest claims the first 
propaganda broadcast | 
 
  
 | Mar. 18, 1909.  | 
  First ham transmission,
as Einar Dessau of Denmark talks to a government radio post about 6 mi away | 
 
  
 | May 31, 1910 | 
  Howard Krum worked out the 
start-stop method of data synchronization | 
 
  
 | June 24, 1910 | 
  . U. S. approves act requiring 
radio equipment on certain passenger-carrying vessels | 
 
  
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 | 1911 | 
  First U. S. radio license 
issued to George Hill Lewis of Cincinnati | 
 
  
 | 1911 | 
  Electric automobile starter 
demonstrated.  | 
 
  
 | May 25, 1911.  | 
  Commerce Department issues 
Certificate of Skill to James M. Baskerville, serial number 1 | 
 
  
 | July 1, 1911.  | 
  Radio Division of Dept.
of Commerce established, to enforce Radio Act of June 24, 1910 | 
 
  
 | 1912 | 
  First tube audio amplifiers. | 
 
  
 | 1912.  | 
  Experimental station at
U of Minnesota attempted to air football games using a spark transmitter and
regular  telegraph signals | 
 
  
 | Aug. 26, 1914.  | 
  Radio Operator, Commercial 
Extra First Class, license number 1 issued to Elmo Neale Pickerill; qualified 
by demonstrating a skill of 32 wpm in Continental Morse Code and 35 wpm in
American Morse | 
 
  
 | 1915 | 
  University of Wisconsin
broadcast daily weather reports for farmers in morse code. | 
 
  
 | 1915:  | 
  Teletype offers speeds of 
30 or 50 words per minute. | 
 
  
 | 1916.  | 
  2ZK New Rochelle NY broadcasts 
music regularly | 
 
  
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 | 1917 | 
  Dept. of Commerce suspends 
all amateur licenses except Westinghouse | 
 
  
 | 1918 | 
  Armstrong invents the superheterodyne 
receiver | 
 
  
 | July 31, 1918.  | 
  U. S. government takes over 
all wireless land stations except for some high-power stations | 
 
  
 | Oct. 17, 1919.  | 
  Radio Corporation of America 
formed, incorporating in Delaware | 
 
  
 | Fall, 1919.  | 
  Wartime ban is lifted | 
 
  
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 | about 1919 | 
  Keyboard-controlled cam-type 
start-stop permutation code transmitters were developed by Charles and Howard
Krum | 
 
  
 | 1919 | 
  Goddard began his experiments 
in rocketry while studying for his doctorate at Clark University in Worcester, 
Mass. He first attracted   
attention in 1919 when he published a paper titled, "A Method of Reaching 
Extreme Altitudes." | 
 
  
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 | 1920 | 
  First licensed general broadcast 
station on the air KDKA | 
 
  
 | Oct. 14, 1920.  | 
  FIRST COLLEGE RADIO STATION 
was WRUC | 
 
  
 | Summer, 1921.  | 
  Hoover authorizes 360 and 
400 meters | 
 
  
 | Dec. 1, 1921.  | 
  2nd wavelength 
(485 m) authorize, for crop & weather reports | 
 
  
 | May 19, 1922.  | 
  Charles Francis Jenkins
achieves his first successful laboratory television transmission | 
 
  
 | May 15, 1923.  | 
  The AM broadcast band is
opened (550-1350 kHz) (previously, stations generally operated on 360 meters | 
 
  
 | Dec. 29, 1923.  | 
  Zworykin applies for a patent 
for an all-electronic television system. | 
 
  
 | June 13, 1925.  | 
  Charles Francis Jenkins
achieves the first synchronized transmission of pictures and sound, | 
 
  
 | 1926 | 
  Sound on disk system for
film introduced | 
 
  
 | March 16, 1926 | 
  Goddard launched first liquid-powered 
rocket  | 
 
  
 | Dec. 1926.  | 
  WGY's TV station*, video
37.8 meters, sound 755 kHz | 
 
  
 | 1927. | 
  International Radiotelegraph 
Conference in Washington assigns remaining K calls to U. S.; | 
 
  
 | 1927 | 
  Negative feedback amplifier 
invented by Harold S. Black | 
 
  
 | May 5, 1927 | 
  FRC sets 15 min interval
for station identification.  | 
 
  
 | Aug. 4, 1927.  | 
  FIRST RADIO STATION OPERATING 
A 100-KILOWATT TRANSMITTER | 
 
  
 | Early 1928 | 
  FRC proposes 164 stations 
be deleted | 
 
  
 | Jan. 13, 1928.  | 
  Alexanderson demonstrates 
the GE system and announces the beginning of television broadcasting. | 
 
  
 | June 27, 1929.  | 
  First public demonstration 
of color TV | 
 
  
 | Sept. 30, 1930.  | 
  Lowell Thomas first radio 
network news broadcast | 
 
  
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 | 1930 | 
  Model 15 Teletype introduced  | 
 
  
 | 1931 | 
  The Shortt clock accurate 
to 1 mSec ( a mechnical device). | 
 
  
 | November, 1931  | 
  the Bell System inaugurated 
the teletypewriter exchange service (TWX) | 
 
  
 | 1932 | 
  the German Army was beginning 
to show an interest in the German Rocket Society's efforts, and in July of
that year, a "Mirak" rocket was launched as a demonstration for the head
of the newly created German Army rocket research group, Captain (later Major
General) Walter Dornberger. Mirak didn't impress Dornberger. Von Braun did. | 
 
  
 | 1932 | 
  Radio waves from space discovered 
by Karl Jansky of Bell Labs | 
 
  
 | December 1934 | 
  ,von Braun scored his first 
successes with an A2 rocket powered by ethanol and liquid oxygen | 
 
  
 | late 30s | 
  Model 26 Teletype intorduced | 
 
  
 | 1935 | 
  .FCC allows broadcast stations 
to re-broadcast their signals on the 10-meter shortwave band. | 
 
  
 | 1935 | 
  British start developing
RADAR | 
 
  
 | 1936 | 
  USNO drops last ball | 
 
  
 | 1936 | 
  The BBC test two television 
systems | 
 
  
 | 1936 | 
  Telefunken provides TV coverage 
of the 36 Olympics | 
 
  
 | June 12, 1936.  | 
  FIRST RADIO STATION WITH
500,000-WATT POWER | 
 
  
 | June 5, 1937 | 
  The klystron invented by
Russell Varian | 
 
  
 | Oct. 13, 1937.  | 
  FCC adopts new television 
allocations: seven channels between 44 and 108 MHz (44-50, 50-56, 66-72,  
78-84, 84-90, 96-102, and 102-108 MHz), and 12 additional channels from 156-194
MHz. | 
 
  
 | Oct 22, 1938 | 
  Xerography invented by Chester 
Carlson | 
 
  
 | Oct. 30, 1938.  | 
  War of the Worlds broadcast; 
WIBC* Indianapolis IN 8 a.m. (officially on air next day) | 
 
  
 | 1939 | 
  Teletype speed reaches 75 
words per minute.  | 
 
  
 | 1939 | 
  Electron microscopes offer 
for sale by Siemens and Halske | 
 
  
 | 1939 | 
  Atom split by Otto Hahn
and Lise Meitner | 
 
  
 | Feb 26, 1939 | 
  RCA begins experimental
TV broadcasting  | 
 
  
 | July 24, 1939  | 
  FM broadcasting begins on 
43.0MHz  | 
 
  
 | 1940 | 
  The Megnetron invented by 
Boot and Randall | 
 
  
 | Aug. 29, 1940.  | 
  Peter Goldmark of CBS announces 
his invention of a color TV system. | 
 
  
 | Apr. 30, 1941.  | 
  The FCC approves the NTSC 
standards and authorizes commercial TV to begin on July 1. | 
 
  
 | March 1942 | 
  Fist A4 (V2) rocket flies | 
 
  
 | 1943 | 
  Practical PC board invented 
by Paul Eisler | 
 
  
 | 1944 | 
  Teletype speed reaches 100 
words per minute. | 
 
  
 | September 1944  | 
  V2s, were launched against 
London | 
 
  
 | 1945 | 
  The ENIAC become operational | 
 
  
 | Nov. 8, 1945 | 
  John von Neumann presented 
the basic design of the stored program computer | 
 
  
 | June 27, 1945.  | 
  FCC allocates 88-108 MHz
for FM broadcasting | 
 
  
 | 1945 | 
  Goddard dies holding 214
patents in rocketry | 
 
  
 | Mar. 1, 1946.  | 
  Modern channel allocation 
system goes into effect for television | 
 
  
 | July 11, 1949.  | 
  FCC announces TV allocation 
plan; to add 68 UHF channels to the present 12 VHF channels | 
 
  
 | Dec 23, 1947 | 
  John Bardeen and Walter
Brattain demonstrate the point contact transistor | 
 
  
 | 1950 | 
  A two-stage Bumper rocket 
became the first of hundreds to be launched from "the Cape." | 
 
  
 | Oct. 10, 1950.  | 
  The FCC approves CBS color 
TV system | 
 
  
 | 1950 | 
  First magnetic core memory | 
 
  
 | 1951 | 
  First Univac delivered to 
the Census | 
 
  
 | Late June 1951.  | 
  RCA demonstrates its new
electronic color system. | 
 
  
 | Apr. 29, 1952.  | 
  The first multiplex broadcast 
during regular programming(stereo) | 
 
  
 | 1954 | 
  First high voltage DC power 
line (Sweden) | 
 
  
 | Oct. 12, 1955 | 
  . The first SCA grants are 
made | 
 
  
 | 1953 | 
  Last of the Swortt clocks 
replaced by quartz crystal clock at NBS. | 
 
  
 | Dec. 17, 1953.  | 
  FCC reverses its 1951 decision 
and approves the RCA/NTSC color system. | 
 
  
 | Sept. 16, 1953.  | 
  Conelrad tested nationally | 
 
  
 | 1954 | 
  First MASER built by Townes | 
 
  
 | Nov 30, 1956 | 
  First on the air use of
a video recorder | 
 
  
 | 1957 | 
  Teleprinter introduces teletype 
speeds of 300 words per minute. | 
 
  
 | 1957 | 
  Light water reactors come 
on line | 
 
  
 | Oct 4, 1957  | 
  Sputnik launched by the
USSR | 
 
  
 | January 31 1958 | 
  A version of the Redstone 
rocket, known as the Jupiter C, on, 1958, was used to launch America's first
satellite, Explorer | 
 
  
 | 1958 | 
  NASA was established | 
 
  
 | 1958 | 
  Jack Kiby of TI invents
the integrated circuit | 
 
  
 | 1958 | 
  LASER described by Townes 
and Bell Labs | 
 
  
 | early 60s | 
  Western Union introduced
Telex to the U.S. | 
 
  
 | 1960 | 
  Von Braun, his team, and
the entire Army Ballistic Missile Agency were transferred to NASA | 
 
  
 | 1960 | 
  Echo first (passive)communications 
satellite launched | 
 
  
 | 1960 | 
  PDP-1 introduce by DEC | 
 
  
 | April 13 ,1960 | 
  US Navy launches first navigational 
satellite | 
 
  
 | May 16, 1960 | 
  First LASER built by Maiman 
at Hughes | 
 
  
 | 1962 | 
  MOS ICs developed | 
 
  
 | July 9, 1962.  | 
  Telstar first active communications 
satellite is launched into orbit | 
 
  
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 | Apr. 30, 1964.  | 
  Television sets manufactured 
as of this date are required to receive UHF channels. | 
 
  
 | 1965 | 
  Intelstat I (Early Bird)
Launched first commercial communications satellite. | 
 
  
 | 1965 | 
  The PDP-8 introduce by DEC 
first computer built from ICs | 
 
  
 | 1966 | 
  Atomic clocks replace quartz 
crystals clocks at NBS | 
 
  
 | 1969 | 
  Arpanet establish by the
DOD | 
 
  
 | July 1969 | 
  On July 20, 1969, a transmission 
from the Moon's Sea of Tranquility reported "the Eagle has landed." | 
 
  
 | 1970s | 
  Decline in usage begins
as electronic data processing replaces many telegraph functions. | 
 
  
 | 1970 | 
  At its peak in 1970, TWX
service could transmit data at 150 bits per second | 
 
  
 | 1970  | 
  Corning Glass develops optical 
glass fibers | 
 
  
 | 1970 | 
  Bell Labs demonstrates room 
temp. semiconductor LASERs | 
 
  
 | 1971 | 
  First microprocessor developed. 
The 4004 developed by Hoff at Intel. | 
 
  
 | 1972 | 
  CT (computer topography)
scanner was announced by the British Institute of Radiology Congress | 
 
  
 | May 14, 1973 | 
  Skylab orbited | 
 
  
 | May 22, 1973 | 
  Xerox start development
of Ethernet | 
 
  
 | 1975 | 
  Consumer video recorders
become available.  | 
 
  
 | Jan 1975 | 
  The Altair computer introduced. | 
 
  
 | 1976 | 
  Apple incorporated | 
 
  
 | Fall 1976 | 
  PFRC founded | 
 
  
 | 1980s | 
  Wireless and digital methods 
accelerate decline of the telegraph | 
 
  
 | Aug 12, 1981 | 
  IBM introduces the PC | 
 
  
 | 1983 | 
  The audio CD is introduced | 
 
  
 | 1984 | 
  Apple introduces the Macintosh | 
 
  
 | 1984 | 
  Ma Bell is broken up | 
 
  
 | 1990 | 
  The WEB is born | 
 
  
 | 1990 | 
  Hubble space telescope launched | 
 
  
 | 1991. | 
  :AT&T exits telegraph 
service (TWX) | 
 
  
 | 1995 | 
  1GB RAMs announced  | 
 
  
 | 1999 | 
  Construction begins on the 
International Space Station. | 
 
  
 | 2000 | 
    |