History of transport
215 inventions by year: what each evolved from and what it led to.
How the inventions are connected
- Drais’s running machine → Michaux velocipede → Penny-farthing → Rover safety bicycle → Bicycle → Motorcycle → Sidecar motorcycle
- Sledge → Cart → Carriage → Car → Bus
- Paddle steamer → Screw steamship → Ocean liner
- Caravel → Galleon → Clipper
- Odometer → Taximeter → Ride-hailing app
| Year | Invention | What it is | Evolved from | Led to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8000 BC | Oar | A lever for rowing. | ||
| 8000 BC | Boat | A small vessel propelled by oars. | Sailing ship | |
| 8000 BC | Hull | The displacing shell of a ship. | ||
| 7000 BC | Sledge | A vehicle on runners. | Cart, Bobsleigh | |
| 6000 BC | Skis | Runners for travelling over snow. | Snowboard | |
| 4000 BC | Snowshoes | A wide support that spreads weight over snow. | ||
| 3500 BC | Cart | A wheeled vehicle drawn by animals. | Sledge | Chariot, Carriage |
| 3500 BC | Sail | A sheet of cloth that uses the force of the wind. | ||
| 3500 BC | Bit and bridle | Harness for controlling a horse. | ||
| 3000 BC | Sailing ship | A ship driven by the wind. | Boat | |
| 3000 BC | Ice skates | A blade on a shoe for gliding on ice. | Roller skates | |
| 2000 BC | Anchor | A weight with flukes for holding a ship in place. | ||
| 2000 BC | Spoked wheel | A lighter wheel that first appeared on chariots. | Bicycle wheel | |
| 2000 BC | Chariot | A light two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle. | Cart | |
| 2000 BC | Kayak | A light paddle boat of the Arctic peoples. | ||
| 700 BC | Saddle | A seat for a rider. | Stirrup | |
| 330 BC | Diving bell | A bell filled with air for working underwater. | Diving suit | |
| 15 BC | Odometer | A distance counter; described by Vitruvius. | Taximeter | |
| 100 | Sternpost rudder | A rudder hung on the sternpost (China; Europe from the 12th century). | ||
| 100 | Rudder | A pivoting plate for steering a ship. | ||
| 100 | Catamaran | A vessel with two hulls. | ||
| 200 | Lateen sail | A triangular sail that lets a ship sail against the wind. | ||
| 300 | Stirrup | A foot support for a rider. | Saddle | |
| 500 | Horse collar | A harness that let a horse pull heavy loads without choking. | ||
| 500 | Horseshoe | Iron protection for a hoof. | ||
| 800 | Keel | The longitudinal beam of a ship’s bottom. | ||
| 1400 | Anchor windlass | A ship’s winch for raising the anchor. | ||
| 1450 | Caravel | A light sailing ship of the Age of Discovery. | Galleon | |
| 1500 | Carriage | A covered horse-drawn coach on springs. | Cart | Stagecoach, Car |
| 1550 | Galleon | A large multi-deck sailing ship. | Caravel | Clipper |
| 1550 | Wagonway | Mine roads with wooden rails. | Railway track | |
| 1574 | Chip log | A device for measuring a ship’s speed (a log line with knots). | ||
| 1600 | Stagecoach | A multi-seat horse-drawn coach. | Carriage | |
| 1600 | Yacht | A sailing or motor vessel for leisure. | ||
| 1760 | Roller skates John Joseph Merlin | Shoes on wheels. | Ice skates | |
| 1767 | Railway track | A track of rails on sleepers. | Wagonway | Time zones |
| 1769 | Steam carriage | Cugnot’s steam wagon — the first self-propelled vehicle. | Car | |
| 1789 | Flanged wheel | A wheel with a rim that keeps it on the rail. | ||
| 1800 | Sleeper | A crosspiece that holds the rails. | ||
| 1800 | Wheelset | Two wheels rigidly fixed to an axle. | ||
| 1804 | Steam locomotive | A locomotive with a steam engine; the first was Trevithick’s. | Diesel locomotive | |
| 1804 | Leaf spring | A stack of springy steel leaves; suspension of carriages and trucks. | Suspension | |
| 1807 | Paddle wheel | A wheel with blades that pushes a ship. | ||
| 1807 | Paddle steamer | A ship with a steam engine and paddle wheels (Fulton). | Screw steamship | |
| 1817 | Handlebar | A lever for steering the front wheel. | ||
| 1817 | Drais’s running machine Karl Drais | A two-wheeled machine without pedals: the rider pushed off with their feet. The ancestor of the bicycle. | Bicycle, Michaux velocipede | |
| 1817 | Tugboat | A vessel for towing. | ||
| 1827 | Differential | A gear that lets the wheels on one axle turn at different speeds. | ||
| 1829 | Stephenson’s Rocket | Stephenson’s locomotive with a multi-tube boiler. | ||
| 1830 | Bogie | A pivoting frame with wheelsets. | ||
| 1830 | Railway coupling | A device for joining railway cars; in Russia, the SA-3 automatic coupler. | ||
| 1832 | Railway switch | A device for moving a train from one track to another. | ||
| 1836 | Propeller | A bladed screw that drives a ship or an aircraft. | Archimedes’ screw | |
| 1837 | Diving suit | A suit with a copper helmet (Siebe). | Diving bell | Aqualung, Spacesuit |
| 1839 | Screw steamship | A steamship with a propeller. | Paddle steamer | Ocean liner |
| 1841 | Railway semaphore | A signal that allows or forbids movement. | Optical telegraph | Traffic light |
| 1845 | Clipper | A fast sailing ship with sharp lines. | Galleon | |
| 1850 | Ballast tank | A tank filled with water for diving. | ||
| 1850 | Ferry | A vessel for carrying people and vehicles. | ||
| 1858 | Ocean liner | A large passenger ship. | Screw steamship | |
| 1860 | Pedal | A foot rest at the end of a crank. | ||
| 1863 | Michaux velocipede | A bicycle with pedals on the front wheel (the “boneshaker”). | Drais’s running machine | Cycle rickshaw, Tricycle, Penny-farthing, Bicycle |
| 1863 | Metro | An urban railway separated from the streets; the first was in London. | ||
| 1864 | Icebreaker | A ship for leading others through ice (Pilot, Yermak). | ||
| 1865 | Sleeping car Theodore Tuttle Woodruff | A railway car with berths (Pullman). | ||
| 1866 | Cable car | Cabins on a suspended cable. | ||
| 1868 | Traffic light J. P. Knight | A signal for controlling traffic (London; electric in 1912). | Railway semaphore | |
| 1869 | Air brake George Westinghouse | Westinghouse’s brake worked by compressed air. | Anti-lock braking system (ABS) | |
| 1869 | Freewheel Shozaburo Shimano | Lets the wheel turn while the pedals are still. | ||
| 1870 | Spoke | A tensioned rod that connects a wheel’s rim to its hub. | ||
| 1870 | Bicycle wheel | A light spoked wheel with a hub on bearings and a tyre. | Spoked wheel | |
| 1870 | Penny-farthing Eugène Meyer | A bicycle with a huge front wheel and pedals on it. | Michaux velocipede | Rover safety bicycle |
| 1872 | Track circuit William Robinson | An electric circuit through the rails that detects a train (Robinson). | ||
| 1872 | Automatic block signalling | The track is divided into blocks with automatic signals. | ||
| 1878 | Refrigerator car | A cooled railway car for perishable goods. | ||
| 1878 | Tanker | A ship for liquid cargo (the Nobels’ Zoroaster). | ||
| 1879 | Electric locomotive Robert Davidson | A locomotive with electric motors powered from overhead lines (Siemens). | ||
| 1879 | Funicular | A cable railway on rails up a steep slope. | ||
| 1880 | Pantograph | A linkage that collects current from the overhead wire. | ||
| 1880 | Clutch Carl Benz | A unit that connects and disconnects the engine and the transmission. | ||
| 1880 | Cycle rickshaw | A pedal-driven three-wheeled carriage. | Michaux velocipede | |
| 1880 | Tricycle Stephan Farffler | A three-wheeled bicycle or motorcycle. | Michaux velocipede | |
| 1881 | Electric car | A car driven by an electric motor powered by an on-board battery. Trouvé’s three-wheeled electric vehicle (1881) is older than Benz’s… | Self-driving car | |
| 1881 | Tram | Electric rail transport in cities (Pirotsky, Siemens). | ||
| 1882 | Trolleybus | Trackless electric transport powered from overhead wires. | ||
| 1885 | Bicycle Karl Drais, Kirkpatrick Macmillan | A two-wheeled machine with a pedal-driven chain to the rear wheel; the modern layout is Starley’s “safety bicycle”. | Drais’s running machine, Rover safety bicycle, Michaux velocipede | Motorcycle, Electric bicycle, Wright Flyer, Moped |
| 1885 | Carburettor | Mixes fuel with air before it enters the cylinders. | Fuel injection | |
| 1885 | Motorcycle | A two-wheeled machine with an internal combustion engine. | Bicycle | Sidecar motorcycle |
| 1885 | Bicycle drivetrain | Pedals, cranks, sprockets and chain: they transfer the force of the legs to the rear wheel. | ||
| 1885 | Rover safety bicycle | Starley’s bicycle with a chain drive to the rear wheel. | Penny-farthing | Bicycle |
| 1885 | Bicycle frame | The load-bearing structure that ties together the wheels, drivetrain and saddle. | ||
| 1885 | Supercharger | A compressor driven by the engine. | ||
| 1886 | Car Ferdinand Verbiest | A self-propelled vehicle that needs no rails; Benz’s car is considered the first practical one. | Steam carriage, Carriage | Bus, Truck, Armoured car |
| 1886 | Chassis frame | A ladder frame on which the units are mounted. | Monocoque | |
| 1886 | Car body | A car’s load-bearing shell. | ||
| 1887 | Bicycle brake | Pads or a disc that slow the wheel by friction. | ||
| 1888 | Pneumatic tyre | An inflatable rubber tyre; John Dunlop created the practical design for the bicycle. | ||
| 1888 | Speedometer | A speed indicator (eddy-current type). | ||
| 1890 | Folding bicycle | A bicycle with a hinged frame. | ||
| 1891 | Taximeter Friedrich Wilhelm Gustav Bruhn | A device for calculating the fare (Bruhn). | Odometer | Ride-hailing app |
| 1894 | Transmission (gearbox) | A set of gears that changes the ratio between engine and wheel speed. | ||
| 1894 | Steering wheel | A wheel for steering a car. | ||
| 1894 | Manual gearbox | A stepped gearbox with manual shifting (Panhard et Levassor). | ||
| 1895 | Electric bicycle | A bicycle with an assisting electric motor. | Bicycle | |
| 1895 | Bus | A motor vehicle for carrying passengers. | Car | |
| 1895 | Recumbent bicycle | A bicycle with a reclining seat. | ||
| 1896 | Truck | A motor vehicle for carrying goods (Daimler). | Car | Ambulance, Amphibious vehicle |
| 1897 | Brake pad Bertha Benz | A brake’s friction lining. | ||
| 1897 | Silencer | Damps exhaust noise. | ||
| 1897 | Radiator | The heat exchanger of a cooling system. | ||
| 1897 | Bike lane | A dedicated lane for bicycles. | ||
| 1898 | Headlight | A car’s lamp. | ||
| 1898 | Coaster brake | A brake in the rear hub, applied by pedalling backwards. | ||
| 1900 | Suspension | Springs and shock absorbers between the wheels and the body. | Leaf spring | |
| 1900 | Kick scooter | Two wheels, a deck and handlebars; moves when you push off with a foot. | Electric scooter | |
| 1900 | Dashboard | The driver’s panel of gauges. | ||
| 1900 | Four-wheel drive | Drive to all wheels. | ||
| 1900 | Propeller shaft | A shaft that carries torque from the gearbox to the axle. | ||
| 1900 | Handbrake | A mechanical brake with a lever. | ||
| 1901 | Shock absorber | Damps the oscillations of the suspension. | ||
| 1901 | Air suspension | Suspension on air bags. | ||
| 1901 | Monorail | A train on a single beam (Wuppertal). | ||
| 1902 | Car brake | A disc or drum brake that sheds speed through friction. | ||
| 1902 | Spark plug | Ignites the mixture with an electric spark (Bosch). | ||
| 1902 | Hub gear | Hidden gears inside the wheel hub (Sturmey-Archer). | ||
| 1902 | Brake caliper | A unit with pistons that presses the pads against the disc. | ||
| 1902 | Drum brake | Shoes press against the inside of a drum (Renault). | ||
| 1903 | Windscreen wiper Mary Anderson | A blade that clears the windscreen (Mary Anderson). | ||
| 1903 | Sidecar motorcycle | A motorcycle with a side car. | Motorcycle | |
| 1904 | Continuous track | A closed loop of track links driven by a sprocket; spreads the vehicle’s weight. | ||
| 1904 | Holt tracked tractor | An agricultural tractor on tracks built by the Holt company. | Tank, Bulldozer | |
| 1904 | Road wheel | A wheel that rolls along the inside of a track. | ||
| 1904 | Fire truck | A vehicle with a pump and a ladder. | Fire pump | |
| 1904 | Track link | A link of a track. | ||
| 1905 | Turbocharger | A turbine driven by exhaust gases turns a compressor (Büchi). | ||
| 1905 | Torque converter Hermann Föttinger | A fluid coupling that multiplies torque (Föttinger). | ||
| 1905 | Derailleur | A mechanism that moves the chain between sprockets. | ||
| 1906 | Hydrofoil | Foils lift the hull out of the water (Alekseyev’s Raketa). | ||
| 1906 | Coil spring | A helical spring in a car’s suspension. | ||
| 1907 | Outboard motor | A detachable motor with a propeller (Evinrude). | ||
| 1908 | Tyre tread | The pattern on a tyre for grip. | ||
| 1910 | Sports car | A light, fast car. | Racing car | |
| 1910 | Ignition coil | A transformer that produces high voltage for the spark. | ||
| 1911 | Starter motor | An electric motor for starting a combustion engine (Kettering). | Crank | |
| 1911 | Rear-view mirror | A mirror for seeing behind. | ||
| 1911 | Road markings | Lines on the road. | ||
| 1912 | Car battery | A lead–acid starter battery. | ||
| 1912 | Bulbous bow | A bulge at the bow that reduces wave resistance. | ||
| 1918 | Hydraulic brake | A brake actuated by fluid (Lockheed). | ||
| 1922 | Monocoque | A body that is also the frame (Lancia Lambda). | Chassis frame | |
| 1924 | Diesel locomotive | A locomotive with a diesel engine and electric transmission. | Steam locomotive | |
| 1924 | Motorway | A high-speed road without crossings. | ||
| 1924 | Alloy wheel | A wheel rim made of aluminium alloy. | ||
| 1925 | Fuel injection | Delivering fuel through injectors under pressure. | Carburettor | |
| 1925 | Pickup truck | A light truck with an open bed. | ||
| 1925 | Ship stabilizer | Gyroscopic or fin stabilizers against rolling. | ||
| 1925 | Turn signal | A light signal for a manoeuvre. | ||
| 1926 | CV joint | A constant-velocity joint. | Universal joint | |
| 1928 | Synchromesh | Matches gear speeds during shifting. | ||
| 1928 | Interchange | A multi-level road junction (the “cloverleaf”). | ||
| 1930 | Intercooler | A cooler for the charge air. | ||
| 1934 | Ski lift | T-bar and chair lifts. | ||
| 1934 | Cat’s eye | A retroreflector set in the road surface (Shaw). | ||
| 1935 | Parking meter Carl Magee | A device for paying for parking (Magee). | Vending machine | |
| 1936 | Bike light with dynamo | A lamp powered by a dynamo driven by the wheel. | ||
| 1939 | Automatic transmission | A gearbox with a torque converter and planetary gear sets (Hydra-Matic). | ||
| 1946 | SUV | A civilian off-road vehicle (Willys Jeep Station Wagon). | Military jeep | |
| 1946 | Motor scooter | A motorcycle with a step-through frame (Vespa). | ||
| 1946 | Radial tyre | A tyre with radial cords (Michelin X). | ||
| 1949 | MacPherson strut | A common layout of independent suspension. | ||
| 1950 | Bow thruster | A transverse propeller for manoeuvring. | ||
| 1950 | Skateboard | A board on four wheels. | ||
| 1950 | Moped | A light motorcycle with pedals. | Bicycle | |
| 1950 | Racing car | A car for competitions (Formula One). | Sports car | |
| 1951 | Power steering | Hydraulic or electric steering assistance. | ||
| 1952 | Crumple zone | Parts of the body that absorb crash energy (Barényi). | ||
| 1954 | Water-jet propulsion | Propulsion by a jet of water ejected by a pump. | ||
| 1954 | Speed radar | A device for measuring the speed of cars. | ||
| 1956 | Shipping container | A standard steel box (McLean). | ||
| 1956 | Container ship | A ship for standard containers. | ||
| 1958 | Continuously variable transmission | A stepless transmission with a belt and conical pulleys. | ||
| 1958 | Cruise control Ralph Teetor | Holds the speed automatically. | Centrifugal governor | |
| 1959 | Nuclear icebreaker | The icebreaker Lenin — the first nuclear-powered surface ship. | Small modular reactor | |
| 1959 | Seat belt | Volvo’s three-point belt (Nils Bohlin). | ||
| 1959 | Hovercraft Christopher Cockerell | Cockerell’s craft that floats above the surface. | ||
| 1959 | LNG carrier | A ship for LNG. | ||
| 1960 | Alternator | An AC generator with a rectifier. | ||
| 1964 | High-speed train | A train running at 200+ km/h; the first was the Shinkansen. | ||
| 1965 | Bike sharing | Public bicycles. | ||
| 1966 | Rear wing | An inverted wing that presses the car onto the road. | ||
| 1967 | Regenerative braking | When braking, the electric motor works as a generator and charges the battery. | ||
| 1968 | Engine control unit | A microcomputer that controls the engine. | ||
| 1970 | Parking sensor | Ultrasonic distance sensors. | ||
| 1972 | Jet ski | A water motorcycle with a water jet. | ||
| 1973 | Airbag | An inflatable cushion that deploys in a crash. | ||
| 1974 | Bus rapid transit | Buses on dedicated lanes (Curitiba). | ||
| 1975 | Catalytic converter | Neutralizes exhaust gases catalytically. | ||
| 1977 | Mountain bike | A bicycle for rough terrain with wide tyres. | ||
| 1978 | Anti-lock braking system (ABS) | Keeps the wheels from locking up during braking. | Air brake | |
| 1984 | Maglev | A train on magnetic levitation. | Hyperloop (concept) | |
| 1986 | CAN bus | A network of a car’s electronic units (Bosch). | ||
| 1987 | Car sharing Nikita Khrushchev | Renting cars by the minute. | ||
| 1990 | Suspension fork | A front fork with a shock absorber. | ||
| 1990 | Car navigator | A navigator with a map and a GPS receiver. | Smartphone | |
| 1997 | Hybrid car | A car with a combustion engine and an electric motor (Toyota Prius). | ||
| 2000 | Electric scooter | A kick scooter with an electric motor and a battery. | Kick scooter | |
| 2001 | Segway Dean Kamen | A self-balancing two-wheeled vehicle. | Hoverboard | |
| 2008 | Traction battery | An electric car’s battery made of hundreds or thousands of lithium-ion cells. | ||
| 2009 | Self-driving car | A car driven by a computer using sensor data. | Electric car | |
| 2009 | Ride-hailing app | Ordering a car from a smartphone. | Taximeter | |
| 2010 | Charging station | A device for charging an electric car. | ||
| 2010 | Electric unicycle Trevor Blackwell | A self-balancing one-wheeled vehicle. | ||
| 2013 | Hoverboard Shane Chen | A self-balancing platform on two wheels. | Segway | |
| 2013 | Hyperloop (concept) Elon Musk | Capsules in a low-pressure tube. | Maglev, Pneumatic tube | |
| 2014 | Hydrogen car | An electric car with a fuel cell (Toyota Mirai). |