What technological advances had been made by 1860?

Answer 1

Here is a list of arguably the most important ones. I will concentrate on inventions preceding the 1860's by only 200 years otherwise you would end up with a vast list encompassing all sorts of innovations.

• The steam engine. The variety that graced the Victorian era can be attributed to the work of Thomas Newcome and James watt. Most notably James Watt.
• The Railway. The first working line was laid down and opened between Manchester and Liverpool in 1832. Described as an invention to make the world smaller, it had many pioneers most notably George Stevenson and family.
• The Davy lamp. This invention protected miners from flammable gases that would have otherwise ignited in the presence of a naked flame. Its Inventor was Sir Humphry Davy.
• The Printing Press. Monumental in making ideas available to everyone, from newspapers to books. Prior to its invention all books were made by the arduous process of hand copying.
• Propeller driven ships. Isambard Kingdom Brunel demonstrated the supirior power of using propellers over conventional paddles during a race between two Royal Navy ships.
• The Sextant
• The Telescope
• Photography. This was just arriving by the 1860's.

Answer 2

In 1885 Charles F. Brush dreamed of producing free electricity and set about inventing the world's first wind turbine. Completed in 1888 it was 60 feet tall, nearly 60 feet around and powered a 12kW dynamo.

Answer 3

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