Timeline of Irish inventions and discoveries
Irish inventions and discoveries are objects, processes or techniques which owe their existence either partially or entirely to an Irish person. Often, things which are discovered for the first time, are also called "inventions", and in many cases, there is no clear line between the two. Below is a list of such inventions.
Pre-history
[edit]6th century
[edit]14th century
[edit]- Caid (precursor to modern Gaelic football).[3]
- The Northern Reginians Anthem[4]
- Whiskey
17th century
[edit]- Irish road bowling.[5]
- 1661: Modern chemistry founded by Robert Boyle with the publication of The Sceptical Chymist.[6]
- 1662: Boyle's law discovered by Robert Boyle.[7]
- 1680s: European adaptation of Drinking chocolate - Hans Sloane.[8] However, this "adaption" is highly disputed. According to historian James Delbourgo, the Jamaicans were brewing “a hot beverage brewed from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon” as far back as 1494.[9]
18th century
[edit]- 1730: Entrepreneurship discovered by Richard Cantillon.[10]
19th century
[edit]- 1805: Beaufort scale created by Francis Beaufort.[11]
- 1809: Milk of Magnesia discovered by James Murray.[12]
- 1813: Clanny safety lamp created by William Reid Clanny.[13]
- 1820:
- Trinity Peninsula discovered by Edward Bransfield.[14]
- Modern meat curing and the Bacon Rasher were invented by Henry Denny, a Waterford butcher.[15]
- 1821: The development of "Extra Stout" beer by Arthur Guinness II and others.[16]
- 1830: Coffey still patented by Aeneas Coffey.[17]
- 1831: Intravenous therapy in the treatment of cholera discovered by William Brooke O'Shaughnessy.[18]
- 1832: Kyanising patented by John Howard Kyan.[19]
- 1834: The game of Croquet.[20]
- 1836: Induction coil created by Nicholas Callan.[21]
- 1838: Screw-pile lighthouse created by Alexander Mitchell.[22]
- 1843: Quaternion discovered by William Rowan Hamilton.[23]
- 1844: Hypodermic needle created by Francis Rynd.[24]
- 1846: Four-cup anemometer created by Thomas Romney Robinson.
- 1848: Kelvin scale created by Lord Kelvin.[25]
- 1851: Binaural stethoscope created by Arthur Leared.[26]
- 1856: Icosian calculus discovered by William Rowan Hamilton.[27]
- 1857: "Seismology" coined by Robert Mallet.[28]
- 1859: Greenhouse effect proven by John Tyndall.[29]
- 1865: The first Transatlantic telegraph cable pioneered by Lord Kelvin on Valentia Island.[30]
- 1866: The Standard drop method of hanging developed by Dr Samuel Haughton.[31]
- 1877: Brennan torpedo patented by Louis Brennan.[32]
- 1879: The rules of Hurling first standardised with the foundation of the Irish Hurling Union.[33]
- 1881: Stoney units discovered by George Johnstone Stoney.[34]
- 1885: Cream cracker created by Joseph Haughton.[35]
- 1886: Graphophone created by Chichester Bell.
- 1888: Gregg shorthand created by John Robert Gregg.[36]
- 1889: Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction discovered by George Francis FitzGerald.[37]
- 1891: "Electron" coined by George Johnstone Stoney.[38]
- 1894:
- Joly colour screen created by John Joly.[39]
- Cohesion-tension theory discovered by John Joly and Henry Horatio Dixon.[40]
- 1897: USS Holland launched by John Philip Holland.[41]
- Saccharimeter created by John Hewitt Jellett.[42]
20th century
[edit]- 1900: Reflector sight created by Howard Grubb.[43]
- 1903: Gyro monorail patented by Louis Brennan.[44]
- 1905: Underground conveyor belt created by Richard Sutcliffe.[45]
- 1914: Dublin method discovered by John Joly.[46]
- 1926: Three-point linkage patented by Harry Ferguson.[47]
- 1931:
- Drumm Battery Train created by James J. Drumm.[48]
- Sudocrem created by Dublin pharmacist Thomas Smith.
- 1932: The first disintegration of an atomic nucleus by artificially accelerated protons (splitting the atom) discovered by Ernest Walton et al.[49]
- 1936: Synge's theorem discovered by John Lighton Synge.
- 1946: Ejection seat - first live test of a reliable, successful modern ejection seat created by James Martin.[50]
- 1947: Duty-free shopping created by Brendan O'Regan.[51]
- 1950: Flavoured potato crisps created by Joseph Murphy[52]
- 1954: Clofazimine discovered by a medical research team led by Vincent Barry.
- 1960s: Portable defibrillator created by Frank Pantridge.[53]
- 1970s: Avermectin discovered by William C. Campbell.[54]
21st century
[edit]- 2000s: Sugru developed by Jane Ní Dhulchaointigh in the early 2000s.[55]
- 2010: Spice bag, invented in The Sunflower takeaway in Templeogue, Dublin in 2010.[56]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "The ancient Irish alphabet Ogham explained". IrishCentral.com. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Association, Gaelic Athletic (15 December 2015). "GAA: Hurling History and Evolution". www.gaa.ie.
- ^ Foxall, Damian (2011). Ocean Fever: The Damian Foxall Story. The Collins Press. p. 41. ISBN 9781848899490.
- ^ Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland, p.785, footnote for year 1405. This is likewise in the Annals of Connacht entry for year 1405: Annals of Connacht.
- ^ "Road Bowling". Culture Northern Ireland. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Principe, Lawrence (5 January 2011). "In retrospect: The Sceptical Chymist". Nature. 469 (7328): 30–31. Bibcode:2011Natur.469...30P. doi:10.1038/469030a.
- ^ "Boyle's law - chemistry". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "More than just the chocolate man: The story of Hans Sloane". The Irish News. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Eveleth, Rose (12 February 2014). "Chocolate Milk Was Invented in Jamaica". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
- ^ "How Entrepreneurship Theory Created Economics". Mises Institute. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "Beaufort scale". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Stomach upset innovator honoured". BBC News. 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Brief History of the Miner's Flame Safety Lamp Archived 26 August 2003 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Edward Bransfield - British explorer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "10 Irish inventions that changed the world".
- ^ Yenne, Bill (2007). Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint. John Wiley & Sons. p. 205. ISBN 9780470120521.
- ^ Carlton, Carla Harris (2017). Barrel Strength Bourbon: The Explosive Growth of America's Whiskey. Clerisy Press. p. 113. ISBN 9781578605767.
- ^ Moon, J. B. (1967). "Sir William Brooke O'Shaughnessy: The foundations of fluid therapy and the Indian telegraph service". New England Journal of Medicine. 276 (5): 283–284. doi:10.1056/NEJM196702022760509. PMID 5333950.
- ^ Standards, United States National Bureau of (1927). Standards and Specifications in the Wood-using Industries: Nationally Recognised Standards and Specifications for Wood and Manufactures Thereof Including Paper and Paper Products ... October 5, 1927 ... U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 76.
- ^ "An Irishwoman's Diary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "History is made as Darver man gets science award". Independent.ie. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Kenneth L Mitchell (30 June 2015). "Alexander Mitchell: the blind Irish engineer who enabled seafarers to see in the dark". Engineers Journal Ireland. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Sir William Rowan Hamilton - Irish mathematician and astronomer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "The Irish doctor who invented the syringe". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "Discoveries - Lord Kelvin - National Library of Scotland". digital.nls.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Prynne, Miranda (201). "A history of the stethoscope". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ William Rowan Hamilton (1856). "Memorandum respecting a new System of Roots of Unity" (PDF). Philosophical Magazine. 12: 446.
- ^ Society, The Royal (22 January 2005). "Robert Mallet and the 'Great Neapolitan earthquake' of 1857". Notes and Records. 59 (1): 45–64. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2004.0076. ISSN 0035-9149. S2CID 71003016.
- ^ Graham, Steve (8 October 1999). "John Tyndall : Feature Articles". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "Atlantic Cable". special.lib.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Galvin, Anthony (2016). Old Sparky: The Electric Chair and the History of the Death Penalty. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. p. 33. ISBN 9781510711358.
- ^ "Brief History of the Torpedo". Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ^ "How Dublin Saved Hurling". www.dublincity.ie. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ Ray, T. P. "Stoney's fundamental units". Irish Astronomical Journal, Vol. 15, p. 152, 1981 15 (1981): 152.
- ^ "Cream Crackers – An Authentically Irish Snack". Irish American Mom. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ "John Robert Gregg - American stenographer". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
- ^ FitzGerald, George Francis (1889), , Science, 13 (328): 390, Bibcode:1889Sci....13..390F, doi:10.1126/science.ns-13.328.390, PMID 17819387, S2CID 43610293
- ^ G. Johnstone Stoney (1894). "Of the "Electron," or Atom of Electricity". Phil. Mag. 5. 38: 418–420.
- ^ Hirsch, Robert (2014). Exploring Color Photography Sixth Edition: From Film to Pixels. CRC Press. p. 21. ISBN 9781317911159.
- ^ Dixon, Henry H.; Joly, J. (1894). "On the ascent of sap". Annals of Botany. 8: 468–470.
- ^ "John Holland Father of the Modern Submarine". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
- ^ Irish Scientists and Inventors. Irish Patents Office.
- ^ Lockyer, Sir Norman (1902). Nature. Macmillan Journals Limited. p. 227. Retrieved 13 April 2018 – via Internet Archive.
grubb for sighting devices for guns.
- ^ Graham, R (February 1973). "Brennan, His Helicopter and other Inventions". Aeronautical Journal. 77 (746): 74–82. doi:10.1017/S0001924000040318. S2CID 117531165.
- ^ "Who Invented the Conveyor Belt?", SpanTech, retrieved 20 June 2024
- ^ "The Irish man who brought radiotherapy forward". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Harry Ferguson: Planes, tractors and automobiles". BBC Timelines. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Flashback 1931 - first journey of battery-powered train - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Cambridge Physics - Splitting the Atom
- ^ "British History - Ejection Seat". BBC - Primary History. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Tributes paid to Clare man who pioneered duty free at Shannon". The Irish Times. 4 February 2008.
- ^ "Joe 'Spud' Murphy: The Man Who Gave Potato Chips Flavor". HuffPost. 20 April 2012.
- ^ Crutchley, Peter (3 October 2016). "'Father of emergency medicine' celebrated". BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Campbell WC (May 2012). "History of avermectin and ivermectin, with notes on the history of other macrocyclic lactone antiparasitic agents". Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. 13 (6): 853–865. doi:10.2174/138920112800399095. PMID 22039784.
- ^ "Kilkenny woman invents best thing since blu-Tack and Sellotape". Kilkenny People. 25 January 2010. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ Who invented the spice bag?, retrieved 21 December 2020 (Originally broadcast on The Business on RTE Radio 1 on 27/08/2016.)
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