CALENDARS AND CLOCKS
Learn about the invention of early clocks, calendars, the quartz watch, timekeeping devices and the science of time.
CALCULATORS
Timelines covering calculator patents since 1917.Learn about the history of Texas Instruments, the origins of the electronic calculator, the hand-held calculator and more.
CAMERAS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
The history of the camera, including Camera Obscura, photography, the significant processes of photography, and who invented the polaroid and photographic film.
CANS AND CAN OPENERS
A timeline of tin cans - learn how cans are made, filled and recycled. The history of the first can opener.
CANADIAN INVENTIONS
Canadian inventors have patented more than one million inventions.
CANDY
The delectable history of candy.
CARBORUNDUM
Edward Goodrich Acheson invented carborundum. Carborundum is the hardest man-made surface and was essential to ushering in the industrial age.
CARD GAMES
The history of playing cards and card games like Uno.
CARDIAC PACEMAKER
Wilson Greatbatch invented an implantable cardiac pacemaker.
CARMEX
Carmex is a salve for chapped lips and cold sores invented in 1936.
CARS
The history of the automobile covers over one hundred years. Learn about the patents and famous car models, view timelines, read about the first gasoline powered car, or about electric vehicles.
CAROUSELS
The interesting history behind the carousel and other circus and theme park innovations.
CASH REGISTERS
James Ritty invented what was nicknamed the "Incorruptible Cashier" or the cash register.
CASSETTE TAPES
In 1963, the Philips company became the first company to demonstrate the compact audio cassette.
CAT EYES
Percy Shaw patented his road-safety invention called cat eyes, in 1934 when he was only 23.
CATHETER
Thomas Fogarty invented the embolectomy balloon catheter. Betty Rozier and Lisa Vallino co-invented the intravenous catheter shield. Ingemar Henry Lundquist invented the over the wire balloon catheter that is used in the majority of angioplasty procedures in the world.
CATHODE RAY TUBE
Electronic television is based on the invention of the cathode ray tube, which is the picture tube found in modern television sets.
CAT SCANS
Robert Ledley invented "diagnostic X-Ray systems", known as CAT-Scans.
CCD
George Smith and Willard Boyle received a patent for Charge-Coupled Devices or CCDs.
CELL (MOBILE) PHONES
How the FCC slowed the progress of a cellular phone system.
CELLOPHANE FILM
Cellophane film was invented by Jacques Brandenberger in 1908. Cellophane ® is the registered trademark of Innovia Films Ltd of Cumbria UK.
CELSIUS THERMOMETER
Swedish astronomer, Anders Celsius invented the centigrade scale and celsius thermometer.
CENSUS
In 1790, the First Census of the United States was taken.
CHAIN SAWS
The history behind the humble chain saw.
CHAMPAGNE
French monks were the first to bottle a sparkling form of wine called Champagne, named after the Champagne region of France.
CHAPSTICK
The history of Chapstick and its inventor.
CHEERLEADING (POMPOMS)
Pompoms and the history of cheerleading innovations.
CHEESE IN A CAN
The history of "Cheese in a Can".
CHEESE SLICER
The cheese-slicer is a Norwegian invention.
CHEESECAKE AND CREAM CHEESE
Cheesecake is believed to have originated in ancient Greece.
CHEWING GUM
The history of chewing gum and bubble gum.
CHIA PETS
Animal figurines have been designed which have live herbs that simulate the fur or hair of a particular animal.
CHINESE INVENTIONS
Learn about the kite, chopsticks, umbrellas, gunpowder, firecrackers, the steelyard, abacus, cloisonné, ceramics, papermaking, and more.
CHOCOLATE
The history behind chocolate, chocolate bars and chocolate chip cookies.
CHRISTMAS RELATED
The history of candy canes, Christmas lights and Christmas trees.
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
In 1882, the first Christmas tree was lit by the use of electricity.
CIGARETTES
This history of tobacco related products.
CLARINET
The clarinet evolved from an earlier instrument called the chalumeau, the first true single reed instrument.
CLERMONT (STEAMBOAT)
Robert Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, became the first successful steam-propelled vessel.
CLONING
The history of reproductive and therapeutic.
CLOSED CAPTIONING
Television closed captions are captions that are hidden in the television video signal, invisible without a special decoder.
CLOTHES AND CLOTHING RELATED
The history of what we wear: blue jeans, the bikini, the tuxedo, fabrics, fasteners, and more.
COAT HANGERS
Today’s wire coat hanger was inspired by a clothes hook patented in 1869 by O. A. North.
COCA-COLA
"Coca-Cola" was invented by Dr. John Pemberton in 1886.
COCHLEAR IMPLANTS (THE BIONIC EAR)
The cochlear implant is a prosthetic replacement for the inner ear or cochlea.
COFFEE
The history of the cultivation of coffee and innovations in brewing methods.
COLD FUSION ENERGY
Viktor Schauberger was the "father of cold fusion energy" and the designer of the first non-energy consuming "flying disc".
COLOR TELEVISION
Color television was by no means a new idea, a German patent in 1904 contained the earliest proposal—RCA color television system—Living Color.
COLT REVOLVER
Samuel Colt invented the first revolver aptly named the Colt revolver.
COMBUSTION ENGINE (CAR)
History of the internal combustion engine.
COMBUSTION ENGINE (DIESEL)
Rudolf Diesel was the father of the "diesel-fueled" internal combustion engine or diesel engine.
COMIC BOOKS
The history of comics.
COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATED
History, timeline, and innovations.
COMPACT DISCS
James Russell invented the compact disc in 1965. Russell was granted a total of 22 patents for various elements of his system.
COMPASS
The history of the magnetic compass.
COMPUTERS
An index to famous persons in the computer business, over twenty-six fully illustrated features cover the history of computers from 1936 until today.
COMPUTERS (APPLE)
On April Fool's Day, 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs released the Apple I computer and started Apple Computers.
COMPUTER CHESS
Dietrich Prinz wrote the original chess playing program for a general purpose computer.
COMPUTER GAME
This history is more fun than a joy stick. Steve Russell invented the computer game called "SpaceWar." Nolan Bushnell invented the game called "Pong."
COMPUTER KEYBOARD
The invention of the modern computer keyboard began with the invention of the typewriter.
COMPUTER PERIPHERALS
Compact disks, the computer mouse, computer memory, disk drives, printers and other peripherals are discussed.
COMPUTER PRINTERS
The history of printers used with computers.
COMPUTERIZED BANKING
ERMA (Electronic Recording Method of Accounting) began as a project for the Bank of America in an effort to computerize the banking industry.
CONCRETE AND CEMENT
Concrete was invented by Joseph Monier.
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
The history of construction and building materials.
CONTACTS AND CORRECTIVE LENSES
The history of corrective lenses—from the oldest known glass lens to modern contact lenses.
COOKIES AND CANDY
Enjoy some snack food history and learn how the Fig Newton got named, how cotton candy works, and all about chocolate-chip cookies.
CORDITE
Sir James Dewar was the co-inventor of cordite, a smokeless gunpowder.
CORKSCREWS
This illustrated history of cork extractors explains the origins of this humble invention, found in households all over the world.
CORN FLAKES
The kooky history of Corn Flakes and other breakfast cereals.
CORTISONE
Percy Lavon Julian synthesized the medicines physostigmine for glaucoma and cortisone. Lewis Sarett invented a synthetic version of the hormone cortisone.
COSMETICS
The history of cosmetics and hair products.
COTTON GIN
Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin on March 14, 1794. The cotton gin is a machine that separates seeds, hulls and other unwanted materials from cotton after it has been picked. See also: The Cotton Gin Patent.
CRASH TEST DUMMIES
GM developed this test device nearly 20 years ago, to provide a biofidelic measurement tool -- a crash dummy that behaves very similarly to human beings.
CRAYONS
The Crayola Company's founders invented the first crayon.
CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER
Seymour Cray was the inventor of the Cray Supercomputer.
CREDIT CARDS
Learn about credit, credit cards, and the first banks to issue them.
CROSSWORD PUZZLES
The crossword puzzle was invented by Arthur Wynne.
CUISINARTS AND OTHER KITCHEN APPLIANCES
Carl Sontheimer invented the Cuisinart.
CYCLOTRON
Ernest Lawrence invented the cyclotron, a device that greatly increased the speed with which projectiles could be hurled at atomic nuclei.