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Milestones in Transportation

On the Road

Most people think Henry Ford invented the automobile. But in fact, the modern automobile was invented in Germany by Karl Benz in 1885. The first American cars were made by the Duryea Brothers in 1892. In 1908, Ford produced an inexpensive assembly line car, the Model T.

Library of Congress

6500 B.C.: The wheel is invented by the Sumerians.

3500: Animals pull wheeled vehicles in Mesopotamia.

44: The wheelbarrow is invented by the Chinese.

A.D. 1769: The first steam-powered vehicle, with three wheels, is invented in France.

1791: The bicycle is invented in Scotland.

1792: The ambulance is created for Napoleon's army.

1839: The electric car is invented in Scotland.

1869: The modern motorcycle is invented in Germany.

1871: The cable streetcar is invented in the United States.

1885: The first car with internal-cumbustion engine is invented in Germany.

1892: The first car is run by gasoline in the United States.

1892: The tractor is invented in the United States.

1893: The license plate is invented in France.

1895: The diesel engine is invented in Germany.

1905: The hybrid car is invented in the United States.

1908: The Model T car is the first car mass produced on an assembly line in the United States.

1923: The traffic signal is invented in the United States.

1959: The seat belt is invented in Sweden.

1980: Rollerblades are invented in the United States.

2001: The Segway human transporter is invented in the United States.

For more inventions, see Inventions & Discoveries.

Transportation

In the Air

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