1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Inventors

20th Century Timeline - The Industrial Thirties
20th Century - the technology, science, and inventions

By , About.com Guide

20th century

20th century invention polaroid camera

LOC

1930

  • Scotch tape patented by 3M engineer, Richard G. Drew.
  • The frozen food process patented by Clarence Birdseye.
  • Wallace Carothers and DuPont Labs invents neoprene.
  • The "differential analyzer", or analog computer invented by Vannevar Bush at MIT in Boston.
  • Frank Whittle and Dr Hans von Ohain both invent a jet engine.

1931

1932

  • Polaroid photography invented by Edwin Herbert Land.
  • The zoom lens and the light meter invented.
  • Carl C. Magee invents the first parking meter.
  • Karl Jansky invents the radio telescope.

1933

1934

  • Englishmen, Percy Shaw invents cat eyes or roads reflectors.
  • Charles Darrow claims he invented the game Monopoly.
  • Joseph Begun invents the first tape recorder for broadcasting - first magnetic recording.

1935

1936

  • Bell Labs invents the voice recognition machine.
  • Samuel Colt patents the Colt revolver.

1937

1938

  • The ballpoint pen invented by Ladislo Biro.
  • Strobe lighting invented.
  • LSD was synthesized on November 16, 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann of Sandoz Laboratories.
  • Roy J. Plunkett invented tetrafluoroethylene polymers or Teflon.
  • Nescafe or freeze-dried coffee invented.
  • [liThe first working turboprop engine.

1939

Explore Inventors
About.com Special Features

10 Things You Can Do Today to Improve Your Credit

Easy steps to take control of your credit card debt. More >

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

  1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Inventors
  4. Technology Timelines
  5. 20th Century Timeline of Inventions - The 1930s or Industrial Thirties

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.