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July 4, 1776: Preserving the Declaration
The Declaration of Independence is signed. It will take 127 years before someone gets around to saying, "Hey, maybe we should preserve this thing."
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Sept. 27, 1822: Deciphering the Rosetta Stone Unlocks Egyptian History
Jean-François Champollion shows a draft translation of the mysterious Rosetta stone and demonstrates to the world how to read the voluminous hieroglyphics left behind by the scribes of ancient Egypt.
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Nov. 17, 1749: Father of Modern Canning Born
1749: Nicolas Appert is born. He will invent the modern food-canning process while trying to help Napoleon conquer Europe. By 1795, France was in an expansionist mood and quarreling with its neighbors....
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July 15, 1783: Marquis Invents Steamboat, Misses Esteem Boat
A young French nobleman demonstrates the first successful steamboat on the River Saone at Lyon. But as for fortune, and as for fame: nada.
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Aug. 17, 1807: ‘Fulton’s Folly’ Steams up the Hudson
The steamboat is considered unstable, even unsafe, but that doesn't stop Robert Fulton from demonstrating that with a little pluck and a lot of work, the thing can be commercially successful.
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Sept. 22, 1792: Day One of Revolutionary Calendar
When people who study the French Revolution read about the Uprising of Vendémiaire or the Insurrection of 12 Germinal An III, most simply scratch their heads and wonder, Vendémiaire? Germinal? An III?...
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March 13, 1842: Henry Shrapnel Dies, But His Name Lives On
The death of a British officer whose anti-personnel shell revolutionized the use of artillery in warfare.
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March 20, 1800: Volta’s Battery Shows Potential
At the close of the 18th century, an Italian physicist creates an invention that will drive innovation in the 19th century and define technology in the 20th.
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April 25, 1859: Big Dig Starts for Suez Canal
Dig like an Egyptian: The Suez Canal made the world significantly smaller.
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